The Golden State Valkyries can win their first WNBA championship on Thursday, 29 October 2026, when they face the Atlanta Dream in Game 6 of the WNBA Finals at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Golden State leads the best-of-seven series 3-2, so a win ends the series, while an Atlanta win forces a deciding Game 7 in San Francisco on Saturday, 31 October.
The game tipped off at 12:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. PT), an unusually early start for a championship game. It is shown on USA Network, E! and SYFY, and streamed on Peacock, with a re-air scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on USA Network and CNBC for viewers who cannot watch live.
A lunchtime final, in a bigger building
The early tip is a trade-off for a bigger crowd. Atlanta’s usual home, Gateway Center Arena, seats only about 3,500 people, while State Farm Arena seats about 17,000. Like Games 3 and 4, Game 6 was moved to State Farm Arena, but the building already had an NBA game booked for Thursday evening.
The Atlanta Hawks host the Cleveland Cavaliers at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday in the same arena, which is why the WNBA game was moved from its original evening slot to the afternoon. USA TODAY’s explanation of the midday start notes that Atlanta Dream ownership said it had raised concerns about scheduling conflicts months earlier.
Atlanta guard Allisha Gray was blunt about the timing. “We locked in on winning Game 6. I don’t care playing at 8 a.m., 1 p.m., midnight. We got a championship to win,” she said. Golden State center Kiah Stokes struck a similar note, calling it a close-out game and saying the Valkyries did not want to give Atlanta any life.
How Golden State took control of the series
Golden State won the opener 68-64, then lost the next two games as Atlanta took a 2-1 lead. The Valkyries have won the last two games by holding Atlanta to 62 and then 55 points, turning a series that once looked like it was slipping away into a championship opportunity.
Neither team has won a WNBA title before, so Thursday will either crown a first-time champion or set up a deciding Game 7. Golden State, in only its second season as a franchise, would complete one of the fastest championship runs for an expansion team if it wins in Atlanta.
| Game | Date | Result | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | Saturday, 17 October | Valkyries 68, Dream 64 | Golden State 1-0 |
| Game 2 | Monday, 19 October | Dream 79, Valkyries 65 | Tied 1-1 |
| Game 3 | Wednesday, 21 October | Dream 97, Valkyries 71 | Atlanta 2-1 |
| Game 4 | Saturday, 24 October | Valkyries 67, Dream 62 | Tied 2-2 |
| Game 5 | Monday, 26 October | Valkyries 64, Dream 55 | Golden State 3-2 |
| Game 6 | Thursday, 29 October | At Atlanta, 12:30 p.m. ET | Golden State can clinch |
The full run of results is set out in ESPN’s Finals schedule and scores, which also lists Game 7, if necessary, for Saturday in San Francisco.
Game 5 showed why points are so hard to find
Game 5 was a defensive grind from the start. Golden State led 25-22 at half-time, the lowest-scoring first half in WNBA Finals history, and Atlanta finished shooting 29.2 percent from the field for a season-low 55 points.
Kiah Stokes and Veronica Burton each scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Golden State in Game 5. Stokes also blocked three shots, continuing a Finals run in which rim protection has been as important as scoring.
| Game 5 key numbers | Golden State | Atlanta |
|---|---|---|
| Final score | 64 | 55 |
| Field-goal shooting | 39.3% | 29.2% |
| Turnovers | 9 | 17 |
For Atlanta, Rhyne Howard led the way with 20 points in Game 5, while Angel Reese was held to seven points on 2-of-8 shooting despite grabbing 15 rebounds. That contrast is the series in miniature: when Reese scored 30 in Game 2 and powered Atlanta’s Game 3 rout, the Dream looked unstoppable.
In the last two games, Golden State has kept Reese in check and forced Atlanta’s guards to beat its defence from the perimeter. Jordin Canada scored 12 in Game 5, but Atlanta still committed 17 turnovers, and Golden State turned those mistakes into 21 points.
What Atlanta must change, and what Golden State must repeat
Atlanta’s path back is straightforward to describe and hard to execute. Reese needs a return to her early-series form at home, Howard needs another big scoring night, and the Dream need a second reliable scorer to ease the pressure on both.
Experience is on Atlanta’s side in one respect. Veteran forward DeWanna Bonner has played 108 postseason games, the most in league history, and has won two WNBA championships with Phoenix. That calm matters in an elimination game, even after a quiet Game 5 in which she went scoreless in limited minutes.
Golden State’s task is to repeat its defensive discipline without waiting for a perfect offensive night. Coach Natalie Nakase has built the Valkyries around pressure across all five positions, and the last two wins came even when leading scorer Gabby Williams was held to nine points in Game 5.
That depth was also the story earlier in the week in the NBA, where the Trail Blazers beat Lakers behind four players scoring at least 20 points. Golden State does not need one hero on Thursday; it needs the same shared effort that won Games 4 and 5.
How to watch Game 6
| Detail | Game 6 information |
|---|---|
| Matchup | Golden State Valkyries at Atlanta Dream |
| Date | Thursday, 29 October 2026 |
| Tip-off | 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT |
| Venue | State Farm Arena, Atlanta |
| TV | USA Network, E!, SYFY |
| Streaming | Peacock |
| Re-air | 8 p.m. ET on USA Network and CNBC |
| If Atlanta wins | Game 7 on Saturday, 31 October, in San Francisco |
A championship week in American sport is already under way after Milwaukee’s first World Series title on Wednesday night. On Thursday afternoon, women’s basketball gets its own chance to crown a new champion, just not at the hour most fans expected.
If Golden State wins, the celebration starts on Atlanta’s floor. If Atlanta wins, the series goes back to San Francisco, and a season that has already produced a 26-point rout, a defensive masterclass and a midday scheduling row gets one more game to settle it.
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