![\"Valkyries'](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/261031-valkyries-3-cc-1100p-b7bb61.jpg\")
Valkyries’ Gabby Williams shoots the ball against Jordin Canada of the Atlanta Dream during the fourth quarter of Game 7.<\/p>\nTeammate Kiah Stokes led rebounds at 13.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is just incredible,\u201d she said on her fourth championship title. \u201cBut just my teammates, they\u2019re amazing. The love that we feel is just incredible. I mean, this one just might be as good as my first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guard Veronica Burton, who played a key role in the Valkyries\u2019 offense, was asked what she would tell her younger self, who just a few years ago was at home working out out at a YMCA, waiting for the opportunity to play in the WNBA.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would tell her it\u2019s all worth it. Like, it\u2019s not over. Don\u2019t let anyone put a limit on you,\u201d she said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t let anyone put a limit on us all year. And when you work, and when you put your head down and you grind, like, anything is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Golden State\u2019s quick rise to the top of the sport, coupled with the team\u2019s rabid fanbase, has already made the Valkyries one of the signature franchises in the WNBA.<\/p>\n
In the team\u2019s inaugural season, Golden State finished 23-21 and bowed out in the first round of the playoffs, the only time an expansion team reached the postseason in its first year in league history.<\/p>\n
Prior to the 2026 season, the Valkyries rebuilt their frontcourt, signing Williams after she made her first All-Star team, and also adding Stokes, previously of the Las Vegas Aces, via free agency.<\/p>\n
Williams became the team\u2019s leading scorer, while Stokes added a rebounding presence in the middle. Directing the action was fifth-year guard Burton, who led the team in assists during the regular season.<\/p>\n
The rebuilt roster allowed Nakase \u2014 a two-time champion as a player and the reigning Coach of the Year \u2014 to push the right buttons in the Finals. After Golden State won the first game, Atlanta roared back with double-digit blowout wins to take a 2-1 lead. <\/p>\n
Valkyries’ Gabby Williams shoots the ball against Jordin Canada of the Atlanta Dream during the fourth quarter of Game 7.<\/p>\n
Nakase shortened her rotation after Game 3, while also swapping out multiple players in her starting lineup. As she leaned more heavily on on her big three of Williams, Stokes and Burton, the Valkyries answered with two consecutive wins of its own to retake the series edge, at 3-2. <\/p>\n
Atlanta staved off elimination Thursday in Game 6<\/a> in Atlanta in a game that tipped off at 12:30 p.m. ET due to difficulties scheduling around previous events taking place at Atlanta\u2019s State Farm Arena, a much larger venue than the Dream\u2019s typical home arena, which seats fewer than 4,000. <\/p>\n Golden State\u2019s championship run coincided with a business boom for the franchise, which has the same principal ownership group as the NBA\u2019s Golden State Warriors. <\/p>\n In May, CNBC valued Golden State at $1 billion<\/a>, making the Valkyries the first WNBA team to reach that threshold. Meanwhile, during the regular season, Golden State led<\/a> the WNBA in both average attendance and total attendance.<\/p>\n Playing at the Chase Center \u2014 which Valkyries fans have dubbed \u201cBallhalla\u201d \u2014 Golden State has sold out every home game during its two seasons of existence. <\/p>\n Now, with a WNBA championship trophy in tow, the excitement around the Valkyries should only grow as the team looks to go back to back in 2027. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Teammate Kiah Stokes led rebounds at 13. \u201cThis is just incredible,\u201d she said on her fourth championship title.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":901798,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[99],"class_list":["post-901797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=901797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/901798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=901797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=901797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=901797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}