Neither team in the 2026 WNBA Finals has ever won a title. The No. 2 Golden State Valkyries and No. 4 Atlanta Dream both swept their semifinal series to set up a best-of-seven showdown. WNBA fans get a rare kind of finals: a second-year expansion team against a franchise that has never won a Finals game.

How they got here

Atlanta is 5-0 in the 2026 WNBA playoffs. The Dream swept Washington in the first round, then closed out New York 85-83 with 22 points from Angel Reese and 21 from Rhyne Howard.

Golden State came back from 16 points down to beat Dallas in a deciding Game 3. The Valkyries then swept the defending champion Aces, finishing with an 87-77 overtime win, and became the fastest expansion team ever to reach the Finals. They also swept the regular-season series against Atlanta 3-0 and have home-court advantage.

Team history

• Atlanta Dream: Founded in 2008. They reached the Finals in 2010, 2011, and 2013 and were swept every time, so they have never won a Finals game. They have no championships. Reese came over from Chicago in April and became the franchise’s first Defensive Player of the Year.
• Golden State Valkyries: Founded in 2025. This is their first Finals, and they have no championships. In their first season, they set the expansion-team record for wins and sold out all 22 home games. Natalie Nakase was named Coach of the Year.

Injury watch

Allisha Gray, Atlanta’s leading scorer at 19.0 points per game, had a minor procedure on her left hand. She has missed the last two games and is day-to-day.

WNBA schedule: every WNBA game (ET)

• Game 1: Sat., Oct. 17, 3:30 p.m., at Golden State (NBC)
• Game 2: Mon., Oct. 19, 8 p.m., at Golden State (USA)
• Game 3: Thu., Oct. 22, 8 p.m., at Atlanta (USA)
• Game 4: Sat., Oct. 24, 3:30 p.m., at Atlanta (NBC)
• Game 5*: Mon., Oct. 26, 8 p.m., at Golden State (USA)
• Game 6*: Thu., Oct. 29, 8 p.m., at Atlanta (USA)
• Game 7*: Sat., Oct. 31, 8 p.m., at Golden State (USA)
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*If necessary. Every game streams on Peacock.

The weeknight WNBA games air opposite prime-time NFL games, so fans checking NFL games today on Oct. 19 or 22 will find the Finals in the same slot. The series also competes with MLB’s postseason and the NBA’s opening weeks.

2026 WNBA All-Defensive Team

• First Team: Shakira Austin, Rhyne Howard, Angel Reese, Gabby Williams, A’ja Wilson
• Second Team: Veronica Burton, Jordin Canada, Sonia Citron, Breanna Stewart, Kiah Stokes

Six of the 10 honorees play in this series, three from each team.

Storylines driving WNBA today

Napheesa Collier’s WNBA free agency is the offseason’s biggest story. Surgery on both ankles delayed her 2026 debut until just before the All-Star break.

Indiana’s season ended in the first round against the Aces, but Caitlin Clark is still driving searches. One is “Caitlin Clark NBA 2K27 Season 2”: Clark is the first WNBA player to get her own global NBA 2K cover. Another is “is Caitlin Clark leaving the WNBA,” which has no credible reporting behind it.

Both rosters have WNBL ties. Reigning WNBL MVP Isobel Borlase signed with Atlanta, and Townsville Fire champion Miela Sowah signed with Golden State.

Atlanta-born actress and singer Aria Brooks is also trending as Dream fever builds in her hometown.

The pick

The WNBA playoffs 2026 have rewarded depth, and Golden State has the most of it. Either way, WNBA 2026 ends with a first-time champion. Dream in six if Gray is healthy, or seven.