The WNBA will crown a first-time champion as the Dream and Valkyries will face off in a best-of-seven WNBA Finals set to start Oct. 17 in S.F. A “capacity crowd” of 10,218 was on hand at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas as Golden State completed a sweep of the reigning champion Aces (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/9).
The Valkyries have the highest valuation in the WNBA at $1B and are the highest-earning team in the WNBA, surpassing $100M in revenue. Now, they are in the WNBA Finals in “just their second year of existence.” The first game of the series will start at 3:30pm ET at the Chase Center, and will be carried by NBC (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/9).
The series will take on a different look as five of the last six WNBA Finals have “included either the Aces or the Liberty,” or in the case of 2023, both. This year’s finals “looks like the future, declaring itself as the now” (THE ATHLETIC, 10/10).