Two points at halftime. Thirty at the final buzzer. The Golden State Valkyries are WNBA champions, and the Valkyries Game 7 win belongs to Gabby Williams.
Golden State beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 on Saturday night at Chase Center. It closed out the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history in just the franchise’s second season. For the full backstory on that history-making setup, see our look at how the Dream forced the first Game 7 in Finals history.
Williams was named Finals MVP after a night that started as a disaster. It ended as one for the record books. According to the Associated Press, she had just two points at halftime, with Golden State down six. She finished with 30.
Two points to 30: how Williams powered the Valkyries Game 7 win
Twenty-eight of those points came after the break, a Finals record for points in a half. She scored 15 in the third quarter alone. As a result, the Valkyries entered the fourth up 45-44.
Then she finished it. With the game tied at 53, Williams scored nine straight points. A deep three capped the run and made it 60-57 with 2:18 to play. Veronica Burton then sealed the win with two free throws with 5.1 seconds left, NBC Sports reports.
Her explanation was refreshingly simple. “Natalie (Nakase) told me to be patient in the first half. I listened to her,” Williams said.
Not every championship story needs a twisty plot. Sometimes the star just takes the coach’s advice.
Williams shot 10-of-23 in the clincher. It wasn’t pretty from the field, and it didn’t need to be. “I love moments like this,” she said.
The supporting cast sealed the Golden State title
Burton added 10 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Tiffany Hayes scored 11. Kiah Stokes grabbed 13 boards to go with eight points, according to the Yahoo Sports live box score. In short, it was a classic grind-it-out finish. This team scored 68 points or fewer in five of its seven Finals games.
And the series itself was a roller coaster. Golden State won Games 1, 4 and 5 by a combined 18 points. Atlanta won Games 2, 3 and 6 by 14, 26 and 11.
The Valkyries had a 3-2 lead and a shot to clinch in Atlanta. Instead, they lost Game 6 and forced the first Game 7 in Finals history. Then they won it at home.
Why this Valkyries Finals win is such a big deal
Here’s the thing: this is the Valkyries’ second season. Yahoo Sports notes it makes them the fastest franchise in WNBA history to win a championship. In 2025, they became the first expansion team ever to make the playoffs in its debut season. They went from the No. 8 seed that year to the top of the league.
Williams is the piece that made it happen. She is 30, spent earlier years in Chicago and Seattle, and signed with Golden State in the offseason. She grew up playing basketball in the Bay Area, and this was her first WNBA title.
She had also been brilliant all year. She posted a career-best 14.4 points per game and earned a spot on the All-Defensive First Team, ESPN reports. She led Golden State in scoring in six of seven Finals games.
Coach Natalie Nakase is the reigning Coach of the Year and a two-time champion as a player. Now she adds a title to her résumé as a head coach. For Atlanta, it’s a bitter one: the Dream are 0-for-4 in the Finals.
What happens next after the Valkyries championship win
Golden State hasn’t announced a parade or celebration yet, so check the team’s site for details.
Meanwhile, the bigger question is whether this is the start of something. A team this young is built to be a problem for a long time. It has a Finals MVP in her prime and a coach who just proved herself.
The rest of the league has an offseason to figure out how to stop it. Good luck with that.
If you’re craving more basketball news while the offseason churns, LeBron James’s stunning move to Philadelphia is still the talk of the NBA.
