{"id":942559,"date":"2026-10-22T21:58:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T21:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/942559\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T21:58:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T21:58:17","slug":"welcome-to-the-trap-swaggering-atlanta-dream-turn-wnba-finals-into-a-hometown-spectacle-wnba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/942559\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to the trap: swaggering Atlanta Dream turn WNBA finals into a hometown spectacle | WNBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Atlanta Dream<\/a> were exactly where they wanted to be on Wednesday night, comfortably ensconced inside their downtown arena for Game 3 of the WNBA finals against the Golden State Valkyries<\/a>. Kerry Washington, Ludacris and Cam Newton led the courtside celebrity delegation. Quavo and TI headlined the half-time show, while two more hugely popular Atlanta rappers performed during other extended play stoppages \u2013 a mini-spectacle that speaks to the city\u2019s deep bench of hip-hop talent.<\/p>\n

But it was the crowd that really made State Farm Arena a house of horrors for Golden State. They didn\u2019t just fill the 17,608-seat venue. They donned matching sky-blue T-shirts and waved rally towels. They sang along with their favorite emcees and lived and died with every point. They were so loud in the first quarter that I couldn\u2019t hear the referee\u2019s whistle from my 100-level press seat. They stayed to the end \u2013 well, two minutes from the buzzer anyway (gotta beat traffic) \u2013 and, with the 97-71 win sealed<\/a> and DJ Khaled\u2019s All I Do Is Win blasting through the arena speakers, serenaded the departing Valkyries with the unofficial Atlanta battle cry: \u201cATL hoe!\u201d<\/p>\n

Angel Reese<\/a> never knew basketball could be like this. \u201cWhen you can have at the end of the quarter a performance,\u201d she gushed after a 21-point, 12-rebound effort. \u201cAnd at the timeout, another performance. You smell the chicken, you smell the fish. It\u2019s a blue-out in here. I didn\u2019t even get to see Kerry. You don\u2019t know who you gonna see in the A.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quick GuideWNBA finals 2026Show<\/p>\n

Schedule<\/p>\n

Best-of-seven series. All times Eastern.<\/p>\n

Sat 17 Oct Game 1: Golden State 68, Atlanta 64<\/a><\/p>\n

Mon 19 Oct Game 2: Atlanta 79, Golden State 65<\/a><\/p>\n

Wed 21 Oct Game 3: Atlanta 97, Golden State 71<\/a><\/p>\n

Sat 24 Oct Game 4: Golden State at Atlanta, 1pm (NBC)<\/p>\n

Mon 26 Oct Game 5: Atlanta at Golden State, 8pm (USA\/CNBC)<\/p>\n

Thu 29 Oct Game 6: Golden State at Atlanta, 8pm*\u00a0(USA\/CNBC)<\/p>\n

Sat 31 Oct Game 7: Atlanta at Golden State, 8pm*\u00a0(USA\/CNBC)<\/p>\n

*-if necessary<\/p>\n

How to watch<\/p>\n

In the US, the series will air on NBC, USA Network and CNBC, with all games streaming on Peacock. In the UK, it will be carried by Sky Sports. In Australia, fans can watch through WNBA League Pass, with selected coverage also available through ESPN.<\/p>\n

Thank you for your feedback.<\/p>\n

Atlanta has always been a strange sports town \u2013 one where fans learn not to fall too hard, lest they get burned by teams that either get ahead of themselves, self-destruct or wear out your patience with their underachievment. So fans proceed with apprehension. They find out-of-town teams to insulate themselves from disappointment, leave games early when defeat seems imminent and convince themselves they\u2019re just beating traffic. They enjoy the music, the invitations to sing along and swag surf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Atlanta\u2019s Isobel Borlase shoots over Golden State\u2019s Kaitlyn Chen during the third quarter of Game 3 of the WNBA finals at State Farm Arena. Photograph: Kevin C Cox\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The last time a playoff basketball game was played at State Farm Arena, the Knicks routed the Hawks<\/a> to seal their Eastern Conference first-round series \u2013 and by the end, the New York fans had cleared out most of the Atlanta supporters and glitterati. With the Hawks down some 40 points, rappers Young Joc and Lil Boosie performed their hits for a crowd that half-bobbed along. It was hard to imagine the Atlanta sports scene getting more unserious.<\/p>\n

Then the Dream reached the WNBA finals<\/a>, only to learn they wouldn\u2019t be able to play at State Farm Arena<\/a> \u2013 their occasional home court. The Hawks, State Farm\u2019s main tenant, were opening their season, while emo-pop artist Sombr had a gig scheduled. The Dream faced the possibility of hosting their first WNBA finals game in 13 years at the 3,500-seat airport arena where they played most of their home games, with neither the local college arenas nor the 13,000-seat suburban concert venue available. Gateway would have made for a jarring contrast with Chase Center \u2013 the NBA arena where the Valkyries\u2019 passionate, violet-clad fans have created Ballhalla<\/a>, one of the WNBA\u2019s toughest places to play. The racial and economic makeup of the Atlanta and Golden State crowds would have surely added another dimension. But a combined effort by the teams, the league and the arena to bring the games to State Farm spared us that discourse.<\/p>\n

Atlanta rapper Quavo performs during the half-time show of Game 3. Photograph: Paras Griffin\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

It allowed Dream fans to show they can match that home-court advantage when Atlanta has a team worth believing in and the right venue. Three previous times the Dream have reached the finals, only for all three appearances to end in sweeps. But no one was thinking much about that on Wednesday night. Not with the Dream holding the Valkyries scoreless for the first five minutes before picking up where they left off in Game 2 and smothering them with their defense. Not with Reese jawing at the Valkyries bench after tough layups and, for good measure, setting off the crowd with a pair of open threes as her college coach, LSU\u2019s Kim Mulkey<\/a>, looked on in her blued-out pantsuit. Not with the Dream\u2019s length and speed throwing a spanner into the Valkyries\u2019 carefully choreographed offense, forcing Golden State to heave away at the basket late in the shot clock.<\/p>\n

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Only thanks to three-point shooting from Cecilia Zandalasini and Gabby Williams did Golden State cut the deficit to six by half-time, then pulled level at 48 in the third quarter, with Zandalasini perfect beyond the arc to that point. Otherwise, a Valkyries team that prides itself on depth and balance was mostly caught off guard by a Dream team beating them at their own game while also doing what they do best: short-circuiting the pick-and-roll, winning extra possessions on steals and rebounds and scoring in transition.<\/p>\n

Atlanta\u2019s Angel Reese celebrates after making a three-pointer against the Valkyries during the second quarter. Photograph: Kevin C Cox\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Former No 1 draft pick Rhyne Howard, one of three Dream players named to the WNBA\u2019s all-defensive team last week, became the first player to record five or more steals in consecutive finals games. Reese, the newly crowned defensive player of the year, became the youngest player in WNBA history to record a double-double in three straight finals games and joined A\u2019ja Wilson<\/a> as the only players to record at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in consecutive finals games. The Valkyries bench was a major factor again, outscoring the Dream reserves 38-27. But that advantage counted for little with Atlanta neutralizing Golden State starters Kiah Stokes, Veronica Burton and Kayla Thornton, who combined for five points on 2-of-11 shooting.<\/p>\n

When the final buzzer sounded, the Dream gathered at midcourt to drink in the atmosphere and toss mini balls into the stands, hard-won souvenirs for the sixth man who showed up and showed out. Hardly a Sombr crowd. And to think: if it hadn\u2019t been for a sloppy final two minutes in Game 1<\/a>, Atlanta would still have a perfect playoff record and be looking at a chance to clinch a title in Game 4 on Saturday in front of their fans. Instead, they\u2019ll look to exploit their fearsome new home-court advantage for a shot at closing it out on Monday in California. If Golden State have Ballhalla, beware Atlanta: home of the trap.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Atlanta Dream were exactly where they wanted to be on Wednesday night, comfortably ensconced inside their downtown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":942560,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":["post-942559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/942560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}