Two years were all it took for Natalie Nakase to lead her team to a championship. The Atlanta Dream had been chasing a title since 2008, and while Angel Reese and Co. finally ended their record of not having won a single game in the WNBA Finals this season, the Golden State Valkyries became the fastest expansion team in American pro sports history to win a title.
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With Warriors stars Draymond Green and Yaxel Lendeborg cheering from the sidelines, the Valkyries made history in just their second WNBA season, beating the Dream 68-63 in Game 7 behind big performances from Gabby Williams, Veronica Burton and Tiffany Hayes. So, as Golden State celebrates the 2026 championship, here are the biggest takeaways from the winner-take-all showdown at Boohalla.
Angel Reese’s lane violation puts Game 7 officiating under scrutiny
With the championship on the line, tonight was always going to bring plenty of tension. But the officials quickly found themselves at the center of the conversation as two first-quarter calls, both involving Angel Reese, left fans questioning the officiating and voicing their frustration on social media.
The first incident came with 7:36 left in the opening quarter. As Atlanta brought the ball up the floor, Reese attempted to set a screen on Veronica Burton near the three-point line. Burton, who was focused on defending the ball-handler, made contact with Reese and both players went to the floor. However, rather than calling a foul on Reese for the screen, the officials whistled Burton for a personal foul.
That decision did not sit well with some fans, who felt the call should have gone the other way. One fan took to X and wrote, “They’re not even trying to hide it lol. Angel Reese just blatantly runs into opponent & it should be a moving screen, but NOPE……. Foul on Golden State.”
The same fan also pointed to the free-throw disparity between the two teams, adding, “Going into tonight, Atlanta has taken 52 more free throws than Golden State. That’s the largest discrepancy in a WNBA playoff series, EVER The fans know what’s going on! That’s why Caitlin Clark’s regular season games had better ratings.”
The frustration didn’t stop there. With just 26 seconds left in the first quarter, Burton was called for another foul, this time on Naz Hillmon, sending the Dream forward to the free-throw line. Hillmon converted her first attempt to tie the score at 12-12, but before she could take her second shot, the officials blew the whistle on Reese for a lane violation. The call resulted in a turnover, handing possession back to Golden State.
This decision sparked another wave of frustration among fans as one viewer questioned the timing of the call, writing on X, “Refs just called a lane violation against the Dream in a Finals Game 7. How many times has that been called the ENTIRE SEASON?????” Another was equally unimpressed, adding, “Angel Reese called for a lane violation? Ok Refs on some bulls**t already.”
With two contentious decisions arriving in the same quarter, the officiating had already become a major talking point in a game with a championship on the line. And fans watching the Finals showdown were certainly not holding back their reactions.
Gabby Williams makes WNBA Finals history as Valkyries take control in third quarter
The Golden State Valkyries found their unlikely hero in Gabby Williams, who delivered a historic third-quarter performance to turn the game around.
Trailing Atlanta 30-24 at halftime, Golden State needed a spark, and Williams provided it. She outscored Atlanta’s entire third-quarter output (14 points) by herself, scoring 15 in the period alone.
Her brilliance completely shifted the momentum, helping the Valkyries erase a six-point deficit and head into the fourth quarter with a 45-44 lead. Williams finished the quarter with 17 points overall, while Veronica Burton added eight and Kiah Stokes chipped in six.
From there, the Valkyries never looked back. They carried their momentum into the fourth quarter, adding another 23 points to close out a historic night with a 68-63 victory.
Williams finished with 30 points, tying the WNBA Finals record for the most points scored in a winner-take-all game. And her remarkable performance also earned her the Finals MVP award as she made history by recording 28 points in the second half to set a new WNBA Finals record for the most points scored in a half as per Underdog.
Valkyries set the tone early with a defensive masterclass
Although Williams took over in the third quarter, the Golden State Valkyries had shown signs of their dominance much earlier. To kick off the game, Angel Reese won the opening tip, but Golden State wasted no time making its presence felt. A block on Allisha Gray, a 10-foot fadeaway from Veronica Burton, and another rejection on Reese gave the Valkyries an early spark. Their active hands and relentless pressure kept Atlanta from getting into its offensive sets, forcing the Dream to settle for difficult shots late in the shot clock.
The defensive pressure quickly showed on the scoreboard. Less than four minutes into the game, Karl Smesko was forced to call a timeout with Atlanta trailing 8-0 and still searching for its first points. Reese eventually got the Dream on the board with a two-point shot, finally giving Atlanta some life.
The Dream began finding their rhythm on both ends of the floor, holding Golden State to just two more points while turning their 8-0 deficit into an 11-10 lead. However, the Valkyries responded before the quarter ended, with Burton leading the charge to put Golden State back in front, 14-13. She finished the opening quarter with six points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Angel Reese and DeWanna Bonner deliver historic feats in WNBA Finals despite Dream’s defeat
The record books got another update in Game 7. In her 17th WNBA season, DeWanna Bonner reached 600 career postseason defensive rebounds with her second board of the second quarter, becoming the first player in league history to hit that milestone.
But Bonner wasn’t the only Dream player making history. Angel Reese added another remarkable achievement to her already historic playoff run.
According to DraftKings, Reese surpassed A’ja Wilson for the most rebounds in a single WNBA postseason, taking her tally to 121 and counting. She needed just one rebound in Game 7 to break the record, and by halftime she had already collected seven, giving her another piece of WNBA history on the biggest stage.
However, despite Bonner and Reese delivering historic performances and the Dream keeping the contest within reach throughout the night, Atlanta ultimately fell short.
The Dream mainly struggled on the offense as Reese finished the night with 12 rebounds but managed just eight points. Meanwhile, Rhyne Howard recorded only six points, going 0-for-7 from beyond the arc, while Naz Hillmon added just three.
This loss marks another painful chapter in franchise history. The Dream made their first WNBA Finals appearance since 2013, but for the fourth time in Atlanta history, they fell short of a championship.