Valkyries Win WNBA Title in Game 7 at Chase Center

Gabby Williams poured in 30 points and the Golden State Valkyries topped the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday night at Chase Center. Williams scored her team's final 11 points of the third quarter and kept scoring through the fourth. She became one of two players in league history to post 30 points in a winner-take-all Finals game, joining Penny Taylor, who did it for Phoenix in 2007.

The win gave Golden State a title in the franchise's second season. Valkyries owner Joe Lacob had promised a championship within five years when the Bay Area was granted an expansion team three years ago. The club reached the playoffs in its first season in 2025, a first for an expansion organization.

Atlanta led 30-24 at halftime. The team that led at the break had won each of the first six games of the series. Rhyne Howard's layup tied the game at 57 with 2:41 left, and Williams answered with a 3-pointer. She hit two free throws with 1:40 remaining, and Kiah Stokes added a late basket. Allisha Gray made two free throws with 11 seconds left, then Atlanta forced a jump ball between Gray and Williams. Veronica Burton came away with it and converted two free throws with 5.1 seconds remaining.

"Gabby is our closer she stayed patient, she stayed with it," coach Natalie Nakase said. "Closing with 30, that is incredible!" Nakase told Williams at halftime that the game would open up for her. "Nat told me to stay patient, I trust her with my life," Williams said. "I stayed patient."

Jordin Canada scored 18 points for the Dream. Gray had 16, and Angel Reese finished with eight points and 12 rebounds. It marked Atlanta's fourth trip to the Finals without a title. DeWanna Bonner became the first player in WNBA history to reach 600 career postseason defensive rebounds.

Stokes contributed 13 rebounds and two blocks and now holds four WNBA titles. Kaila Charles and Tiffany Hayes started after Nakase changed the lineup, with Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini moving to the bench. Hayes, 37, came out of retirement two years ago and scored 11 points. She spent 10 seasons with the Dream.

Williams finished her first season in Golden State after leaving Seattle. "I just walked into a group full of love," she said, adding, "And that just changed the entire trajectory of my career." The sellout crowd at Chase Center has filled the building for every game since the team's first day, and fans chanted "Gabby! Gabby!" during the fourth quarter. "We gotta build a bigger trophy case," co-owner Peter Guber said during the victory ceremony.