Golden State Valkyries Win the First Game 7 in WNBA Finals History, 68-63 Over Atlanta, for a Title in Their Second Season

The WNBA's first championship Game 7 produced a champion in its second year of existence. The Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 on Saturday night at Chase Center in San Francisco to win the franchise's first WNBA title, according to the CNN, USA Today and ESPN accounts read this cycle — the first time in the league's 30 years that the Finals reached a winner-take-all seventh game. Golden State became the fastest expansion team among the major North American leagues (NBA, WNBA, NHL, MLB, NFL) to win a title, per CNN, and the first WNBA champion without an All-WNBA player on its roster, per USA Today.

The game turned on one player's second half. Finals MVP Gabby Williams finished with 30 points, 28 of them after halftime — the most points in any half in WNBA Finals history — including 15 consecutive Golden State points spanning the third and fourth quarters, a Finals first per Elias via ESPN, and she tied the record for points in a winner-take-all Finals game. Atlanta, which led 30-24 at halftime — the team ahead at the break had won each of the series' first six games, per the AP account — got 18 points from Jordin Canada, 16 from Allisha Gray and 8 points with 12 rebounds from Angel Reese. Rhyne Howard's layup tied the game at 57 with 2:41 left; Williams answered with a 3-pointer, and Golden State closed it out before a violet-clad sellout crowd of about 18,000.

The title lands two years ahead of the promise. Valkyries owner Joe Lacob guaranteed a championship within the franchise's first five years when the Bay Area was granted the team in October 2023; his team, coached by Natalie Nakase and built largely from other teams' exposed players, did it in two. "Closing with 30!" Nakase said of Williams, per the AP account. The Sports Desk carries the result as the night's major national sports story alongside the Spurs' Halloween win at home.