Everything You Need To Know About The WNBA Finals

Just over a year ago, Angel Reese sat at home watching A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces sweep the Phoenix Mercury on their way to a WNBA title. Sitting at home after the Sky's lackluster 10-34 season, she tweeted, “manifesting the finals >>>”

Six months later, before the start of the 2026 WNBA season, Reese was traded from an unhappy situation in Chicago to the Atlanta Dream. And in her first season there, the now 24-year-old’s tweet became the one heard around the WNBA world when she retweeted it with the message “364 days later …”

Because Reese and the four-seed Atlanta Dream are on their way to the WNBA Finals.

Around the same time that Reese was sitting at home last year, the Golden State Valkyries had just finished their inaugural season. The team had overperformed on expectations, making it to the playoffs in their first year. But they had lost in the first round and weren’t satisfied with the ending.

Since then, Gabby Williams, the former UConn star and Seattle Storm forward, transferred to the Valkyries in the offseason. The league’s 2025 most improved player, Veronica Burton, re-signed with the team.

Both athletes were key in the Valkyries' success this season. And this year, the Valkyries swept the defending champion Aces – where Golden State coach Natalie Nakase was once an assistant coach – earning their own spot in the Finals.

So what can we expect when the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries face off in a best-of-seven series starting Saturday, Oct. 17?

“I think that it's anyone's game,” said Chiney Ogwumike, an ESPN analyst and host of the podcast, Chiney Today. “You're seeing two different stories that were very unlikely, but both beautiful in their own unique ways.”

Looking to tune in? Here are the top storylines to watch:

Can Angel Reese Take Atlanta All The Way?

It took more than just a tweet to get Reese and her team through the season. Reese added a consistent three-pointer to her game, took home the league’s Defensive Player of the Year and rebounding record. In the playoffs, with Dream leading scorer Allisha Gray injured, Reese put up 22 points to lead the Dream to its first Finals since 2013.

As for that tweet? "This team has poured so much into me. We poured so much into each other,” Reese told reporters. “I'm supposed to be here. I thank God for this moment."

But will her manifestation take her all the way to a title? She’ll of course have some help from teammates including Jordin Canada, veteran DeWanna Bonner, and if she’s healthy, Gray.

Gabby Williams Bet On Herself

On Oct. 9, Williams led her team with 16 points (including this clutch shot) and three steals (including a key one from league MVP A’ja Wilson) in a game three 87-77 overtime win over the Aces to secure a spot in the WNBA Finals. Speaking in a postgame interview, Williams said the key to the team’s success was simple: No one, she said, had believed in them. “And so we just leaned on each other... I signed here because I wanted to contend. I knew this team had what it took.”

Williams, of course, is a big reason why the team was able to take the next step to get to the Finals. She’s averaging 22.7 points per game in the postseason – up from 14.4 in the regular season (her minutes are up too) and grabbing 4.8 rebounds per game (up from 3.3 in the regular season.)

But of course Williams can't do it alone. Another former Huskies player, Kiah Stokes brings championship experience — she’s won three — and is averaging 9.5 rebounds per game in the postseason. She was key to shutting down Wilson in the semifinals and is likely to be the one tasked with shutting down Reese.

How Loud Can Ballhalla Get?

San Francisco’s Chase Center — the home of the Golden State Valkyries, nicknamed Ballhalla — has been sold out since before the team even tipped off its first game. Fans are known for bringing plenty of passion.

“My sister [Nneka Ogwumike] plays there,” Ogwumike says. ”She's told me the energy is through the roof. Something special happens. If there's one place that can will their team to win, it’s there.”

But Don’t Count Out Atlanta...

Due to a scheduling conflict (which seems like terrible planning, but we digress), the location of the Dream's home games — 3 and 4 — were up in the air until Oct. 13, when the WNBA announced they would be played at State Farm Arena (capacity 16,888) instead of at Gateway Center Arena (capacity 3,500 — the smallest in the league), where they played some of their home games.

Regardless of where they play, Atlanta fans will show up — but the discussion of this left a frustrated feeling for many, who felt the WNBA was close to squandering an important opportunity to highlight Reese’s talent. Especially for a league that's had record attendance this season, and a franchise that hasn't been in the Finals in over a decade, this was close to a self-own for the W in what should have been a final celebration of a historic season.

Once Colleagues, 2 Coaches Face Off

Last year, Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase was given a lot of credit for taking on an expansion team that — by virtue of then being in its first season — was made up of cast-away players. As an assistant, she won back to back championships in 2022 and 2023 with the Aces – the team that the Valkyries handily dispatched in the semifinals.

“I think it’s great for her,” Becky Hammon, Nakase’s former head coach with the Aces, said after her team’s Game 3 loss. “She had her club playing at a super high level all year.” Hammon also pointed to the league-best defense that Nakase coached as a key to their success.

In response, Nakase said she’d learned the most important thing from Hammon: “She showed me that if you lead with your heart, your players will run through a wall for you,” she said.

Both coaches seem to have that buy-in from their players. Karl Smesko, the Dream’s first-year coach, earned praise from Reese for developing her three-point shot. He handily guided the team through the loss of its leading scorer in the semifinals and his team seems to have reached its peak of playing in his system, making them one of the most effective offenses in the league.

It’s a long-held saying that offense wins games and defense wins championships, but this battle for the title will likely be anything but that simple. The only thing that’s for sure? This series will be worth tuning into.