With the 2023 WNBA Finals seeing two superteams facing each other, the WNBA’s ticket prices for the Brooklyn game saw their first boom in recent years. The reason was obvious: New York was starved for its first championship. Fast forward to now, Atlanta is experiencing that same hunger. 

The Dream are back on the biggest stage of the WNBA after 13 years in hopes of claiming their first championship ring. Previously, as we predicted, precedent took over, and the team moved from a 3,500-capacity Gateway Center Arena to a 17,000-capacity State Farm Arena to host its Game 3 and Game 4 (and Game 6, if required). But there was still one thing not many would’ve seen coming.

According to TickPick, the current get-in price for Game 3 stands at $201, making it the most expensive WNBA Finals game on record. For a good comparison, let’s put the numbers in front:

• The 2023 Finals Game 3 average at Barclays Center was $268, outselling any and every regular season or playoff games until then.
• The Game 1 get-in price for the 2026 Finals series is $195.
• Last year’s Finals Game 1 between the Las Vegas Aces and the Phoenix Mercury sold for just $23. Nearly nine times the price!

With the ticket prices surging and Atlanta’s Finals venue finally changing, even star forward Angel Reese couldn’t help but show her gratitude.

“It’s a bittersweet moment because I do love Gateway so much,” Reese said. “I love the intimacy of being here and all the fans coming out and supporting us. And even if we couldn’t go to State Farm, I was going to be grateful to just be able to be here and have everybody here.

“I am looking forward to everyone showing up and supporting us at State Farm because every game has been a great turnout. Celebrities on the side, everybody coming to support.”

While we are talking about number-breaking records, here’s another interesting fact:

Brands run behind opportunities as WNBA ads break records

Long before Saturday’s first Finals matchup at Chase Center, NBC, which will air Games 1 and 4, has already sold out of ad inventory. The same is the case with USA Network, which will be airing the rest of the games, Sports Business Journal reported.

“We see the official partners leaning in in a way that they embrace the sport like we haven’t seen almost any other property,” Peter Lazarus, NBCU’s EVP/Advertising Sales & Partnerships, said of the WNBA. “We’re seeing that resonate with advertising dollars where you’re seeing money pour into sports in general and the W and women’s sports; it’s just another avenue to capture those dollars.”

This wasn’t the only surprising change they observed this season.

At least 80 brands, including American Express, Dick’s Sporting Goods, DraftKings, etc., bought time across linear and digital options even 12 months ahead of time. According to NBC, spend for women’s sports nearly doubled year over year for 2026-27, seeing lifts in attention (+22%), search likelihood (+17%) and brand connection (+15%).

We are certainly anticipating a blowout record viewership come Saturday as well. After all, the league’s best defensive team will go against the league’s second-best defense.

The fans did their part; now it’s up to the Dream

The Valkyries head coach, Natalie Nakase, has already made a specific request to Ballhalla as the Dream fly to the Bay Area. The Dream have moved their entire arena over to State Farm. At the end of the day, however, it will all come down to the two teams on the floor.

Before they return to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4, Angel Reese and Co. will have to navigate the first two games on the road at Chase Center, where the Golden State Valkyries will look to defend their home court and seize control of the series. Both teams have made a compelling case for why they belong here.

Led by Reese and Rhyne Howard, the Dream finished the regular season with a 30-14 record, the fourth-best mark in the league, before sweeping the New York Liberty in the semifinals. Golden State, meanwhile, went 32-12 to secure the second-best record and followed that up by sweeping the defending champion Las Vegas Aces. Neither team has left much room for doubt during its playoff run, showing off their strengths in the best form possible.

The Atlanta Dream’s biggest weapon has been its defense. With Reese, the 2026 Defensive Player of the Year, anchoring the paint, the Dream have made life difficult for opposing offenses throughout the postseason. Three of the league’s top four players in steals per game during the playoffs are from Atlanta, with Rhyne Howard and Jordin Canada averaging 2.2 steals each and Allisha Gray close behind at 2.0. Their relentless pressure on the perimeter disrupts passing lanes and forces opponents out of their rhythm.

Even when teams manage to penetrate the defense, Reese remains a formidable presence inside, averaging 2.2 blocks per game in the postseason — tied for the second-highest mark with Breanna Stewart. But the Dream have been just as dangerous at the other end of the floor too.

Averaging 92.6 points per game, Atlanta enters the Finals as the highest-scoring team in the playoffs, having won all five of its postseason games without a single loss. That balance between defensive pressure and offensive firepower has made the Dream one of the toughest teams to overcome. Still, Reese knows the job is far from finished.

“The job is not done. We’re definitely happy about where we are right now, but we’re not satisfied. I think we just continue to push every single day, get back to work,” she said during her postgame interview after Atlanta’s series-clinching win over New York.

Now, that hunger for a championship will be put to the test.

Despite the Atlanta Dream’s dominant postseason, the team enters the Finals having lost all three of their regular-season matchups against Golden State. Yet it’s the Valkyries’ depth that could prove particularly important over a seven-game series.

Golden State’s bench averaged 35.9 points per game during the regular season to surpass the previous WNBA record of 35.0 set by the 2020 Las Vegas Aces. And against a team that thrives on defensive intensity, the ability to generate offense from multiple sources could become a decisive factor.

Game 1 tips off Saturday, October 17, at Chase Center. The Valkyries will look to carry their regular-season success against Atlanta into the biggest series in franchise history. The Dream, meanwhile, will aim to keep their unbeaten playoff run alive and move a step closer to a championship that has eluded the franchise for years.

The countdown officially begins!