Golden State Valkyries advance to WNBA Finals
Valkyries reach championship series in their second season
By ALEXIA NAVARRO GARCIA— sports@theaggie.org
On Oct. 9, the Golden State Valkyries swept the defending champion Las Vegas Aces to clinch their spot in the 2026 Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Finals.
The Valkyries made league history by becoming the first expansion team in the WNBA to reach the finals within the franchises’ second season. This achievement followed last year’s playoff run, when the team made league history by qualifying for the playoffs in its inaugural season.
“This is a dream come true to be going to the finals in our second year,” Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase said in a postgame interview. “As we know, the job’s not done.”
Despite being a team that wasn’t talked about throughout the season, Williams shared that showing up to work every day and the culture the team was able to create made them feel that they had something worth fighting for.
Valkyries forward Gabby Williams said, in a postgame interview, that winning against the Aces and reaching the finals feels special because of the group of people she is playing with.
“We about to have some bandwagoners because we ain’t get no love all season,” Williams said. “Nobody believed in us, but it made us smile because we were like, all we need is each other.”
The Valkyries finished their regular season with a 32-12 record, placing second in the league. The team previously took on the Dallas Wings and won the series 2-1 to advance.
Valkyries center Kiah Stokes held off the Aces making huge blocks in overtime during game three of the semifinals to help the team take down the former three-time WNBA champions and five-time WNBA Most Valuable Player A’ja Wilson.
“They are a team that can get hot really quick,” Stokes said in a postgame interview with Williams. “We didn’t want this to go to game four or game five because they are defending champs, and they’ve been in this position. You don’t want to give them any life.”
Both Stokes and Williams, former University of Connecticut Husky teammates, led the team in postseason game statistics. Williams, having played a total of 31.2 minutes across the first six playoff games, averaged 22.7 points and 4 assists per game. Stokes, having played a total of 29 minutes across all six postseason games, averaged 9.5 rebounds and 2 blocks per game.
The No. 2-seeded Valkyries advanced to the finals and will play the No. 4-seeded Atlanta Dream, who also swept their playoff series against the New York Liberty and whose last finals appearance was in 2013. Both teams previously met during the regular season, where the Valkyries swept the Dream in the three-game series.
“They are a great defensive team, they’re physical, they rebound really well. They have great shooters,” Stokes said about the Atlanta Dream. “But like I said, “We played them back in July, and they’re probably a completely different team, […] Going into the finals, it's a clean slate. Both teams are 0-0.”
During the finals, the Valkyries will be focusing on defense and minimizing mistakes offensively that Atlanta can capitalize on. The team will want to start each game strong, putting up points early to maintain a lead and prevent finishing games from behind.
The defense will also look to isolate Dream guard Jordin Canada and forward Angel Reese. Canada leads her team in postseason points and assists, averaging 19.2 points and 8.8 assists across five games. Reese leads her team in rebounds and blocks, averaging 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks across five games.
The Valkyries tip off the first two games in the final series at home at Chase Center in San Francisco on Oct. 17 and Oct. 19. Games three and four will take place at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Oct. 21 and Oct. 24. If necessary, game five will be played at Chase Center on Oct. 26, game six will be played in Atlanta on Oct. 29 and game seven will wrap up on Oct. 31 in San Francisco.
In a best-of-seven series, both teams are looking to clinch their franchises’ first WNBA title.
Written by: Alexia Navarro Garcia — sports@theaggie.org