SAN FRANCISCO – Gabby Williams was done being a decoy.
The All-Star had, by design, floated through the most important first half of the most important game of her life. Williams was asked to distract the Atlanta Dream: Create space for others by virtue of her presence.
The Dream were locking down a stagnant Valkyries offense to begin Game 7 of the WNBA Finals, and Williams had taken only four shots in the first half.
She walked into the locker room at Chase Center and had a question for her team.
“When is it my time, when is it my time?” Williams asked assistant coach Kassib Powell.
With the title on the line, the answer to her question became “right now.”
Williams, unbound from the restraints placed upon her in the first 20 minutes, put on an all-time great performance to lead the Valkyries to their first title as they beat Atlanta 68-63 on Saturday night.
The crowd cheers after Golden State Valkyries’ Gabby Williams (1) makes a shot against Atlanta Dream in the third quarter during the WNBA Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
After scoring just one basket in the first half, she poured in 28 points on 9-of-19 shooting, four steals, six clutch free throws and one jump ball won with eight seconds left that sealed the Valkyries’ first championship.
Williams took 19 of the team’s 34 shots after halftime, firing from midrange, hitting a tough layup over Dream star Angel Reese with three minutes remaining and banging in four 3-pointers.
With 1:40 left in the game, “M-V-P” chants morphed into calls of “GAB-BY, GAB-BY.” They meant the same thing.
Her teammates were in awe but not surprised by Williams scoring the most points in a half in WNBA playoff history. After all, Williams had scored at least 20 points in half of the Valkyries’ 12 playoff games.
“She does what she does,” forward Kayla Thornton said with a shrug.
Point guard Veronica Burton, who geared the Valkyries’ offense to spotlight Williams, said her teammate entered a “different mode.”
“Natalie told me to stay patient, and I trusted her with my life,” Williams said. “She said the game’s going to open up for you, and it did.”
If there was anyone in the building who might have expected Williams’ historic second-half salvo, it was Joe Lacob, who made her offseason priority No. 1.
Golden State Valkyries’ Gabby Williams (1) holds the MVP trophy after the Golden State Valkyries win against the Atlanta Dream during game 7 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
After watching his scrappy team overachieve in Year 1 before bowing out in the first round of the 2025 playoffs, Lacob and the Valkyries knew they needed a player who could elevate in high-pressure situations.
The team honed in on Williams, a stellar defender who had never been a team’s offensive focal point in the WNBA. The Valkyries saw her as capable of doing more.
They were proven correct after making her their first major free agent signing. Basking in the afterglow of lifting Golden State’s first WNBA trophy, Lacob held court a few yards outside the team’s locker room after the game and took a victory lap.
“She’s the best player in the world. I said it and I meant it,” Lacob said. “She’s a two-way player extraordinaire, and that’s why I think she’s the best player in the world. There are some other great players, don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to belittle them, but she just proved it on the highest stage.”
At the end of the night, she raised the Finals MVP trophy to her hometown crowd. Having spent much of her childhood visiting the East Bay, she decided to live in The Town rather than San Francisco.
Those drives over the Bay Bridge only cemented in her mind that she had made the correct choice.
“I live farther than the other girls,” Williams said. “My drive is longer so I pass a lot of Valkyries (expletive). And every time, I’m just thinking like ‘This is the community I want to play for,’ and I just want to thank Mr. Joe again for that investment.”
Before walking into a lounge deep within Chase Center to celebrate with “Mr. Joe,” a musician whose favorite word Williams referenced in her trophy interview stopped in the hallway to sing her praises.
The Golden State Valkyries’ owner Joe Lacob celebrates with the team after they won against the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Wearing a Valkyries bomber jacket and a purple beanie, Earl “E-40” Stevens nodded his head as he described the Bay Area’s newest superstar.
“Man, it was destiny; she was destined to do this,” he told the Bay Area News Group. “You can tell her heart is pure, and you can tell how humble she is.”
In the immediate aftermath of the trophy presentation, Williams wandered the confetti-ridden court. She posed for pictures with awestruck Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, hugged teammates and greeted friends.
What began as a difficult night concluded with Williams taking a backseat, then taking over and ultimately taking her place as one of the game’s biggest stars.
“I just want to focus on the people who believed in me,” Williams said. “There were a lot of people who believed in me and us … that’s so special.”
Golden State Valkyries’ Gabby Williams (1) reacts after defeating the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026. The Golden State Valkyries defeated the Atlanta Dream to win the WNBA Championship 68-63. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)