The Golden State Valkyries host the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday, 31 October 2026, at Chase Center in San Francisco. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. ET, and the winner will lift the first WNBA championship in either franchise’s history.
No WNBA Finals series had ever reached a seventh game before Thursday, when Atlanta’s 80-69 Game 6 win tied the series 3-3. The championship format only expanded from best-of-five to best-of-seven in 2025, so this Halloween-night decider is the first of its kind.
How to watch a winner-takes-all Saturday
Game 7 returns to prime time after Thursday’s unusual lunchtime tip-off in Atlanta, which was forced by a scheduling clash with the Atlanta Hawks in the same building. Saturday’s game is back in Golden State’s home, known to its fans as Ballhalla, where the second-seeded Valkyries will have the crowd behind them against the fourth-seeded Dream.
The NBC Game 7 viewing guide lists USA Network and CNBC for television coverage, with streaming on Peacock, USANetwork.com and the USA Network app.
| Detail | Game 7 information |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, 31 October 2026 |
| Tip-off | 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT |
| Venue | Chase Center, San Francisco |
| TV | USA Network and CNBC |
| Streaming | Peacock, USANetwork.com, USA Network app |
| Series | Tied 3-3 |
| Stakes | Winner takes a first WNBA championship |
A series that has refused to follow a script
Neither side has managed a run of form for long. Golden State won the opener 68-64, Atlanta answered with two straight wins, Golden State reclaimed control with two more, and Atlanta then produced its most emphatic performance of the series to force a decider.
That pattern is why Saturday resists easy predictions. The Dream’s Game 6 rout came after two games in which they scored only 62 and 55 points, while the Valkyries’ late-season surge had looked like a title run until Atlanta’s first-quarter blitz on Thursday.
| Game | Result | Series after game |
|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | Valkyries 68, Dream 64 | Golden State 1-0 |
| Game 2 | Dream 79, Valkyries 65 | Tied 1-1 |
| Game 3 | Dream 97, Valkyries 71 | Atlanta 2-1 |
| Game 4 | Valkyries 67, Dream 62 | Tied 2-2 |
| Game 5 | Valkyries 64, Dream 55 | Golden State 3-2 |
| Game 6 | Dream 80, Valkyries 69 | Tied 3-3 |
| Game 7 | Saturday, 31 October, San Francisco | Winner takes the title |
Gray and Howard against Williams and the home crowd
Atlanta’s route to a title runs through the backcourt pairing that saved its season on Thursday. Allisha Gray scored 23 points with five three-pointers in Game 6, Rhyne Howard added 21 with four three-pointers, and Angel Reese recorded 15 points and 14 rebounds.
Golden State’s answer starts with Gabby Williams, who scored 26 points in Game 6, including 22 after half-time, and almost dragged the Valkyries back from a 25-point deficit. Tiffany Hayes added 15 points, and the Valkyries’ defence, the foundation of their season, will need to rediscover the discipline that held Atlanta to 55 points in Game 5.
| Player to watch | Team | Game 6 line | Why it matters tonight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allisha Gray | Atlanta Dream | 23 points, 5 three-pointers | Atlanta’s perimeter spark in the rout |
| Rhyne Howard | Atlanta Dream | 21 points, 4 three-pointers | Ended a shooting slump at the right time |
| Angel Reese | Atlanta Dream | 15 points, 14 rebounds | Double-double presence on both ends |
| Gabby Williams | Golden State Valkyries | 26 points, 22 after half-time | Nearly rescued Game 6 single-handedly |
| Tiffany Hayes | Golden State Valkyries | 15 points | Second scoring option beside Williams |
Experience, history and one uncertain injury note
Atlanta can lean on veteran forward DeWanna Bonner, who has played 108 postseason games, the most in league history, and has won two WNBA championships with Phoenix. That calm matters in a one-game season, even after a quiet Game 5 in which she went scoreless in limited minutes.
Golden State, in only its second season as a franchise, is chasing one of the fastest championship runs for an expansion team. History offers the hosts one encouragement: according to ESPN figures cited by NBC, the home team has won 11 of the 13 decisive Finals games in league history, most recently when New York beat Minnesota in a Game 5 in 2024.
One fitness question remained open on Saturday morning. Golden State guard Te-Hina Paopao was listed as questionable on the initial injury report after being ruled out before Game 6, so her availability is worth checking closer to tip-off. Everything else about this game is settled: 40 minutes, one trophy, and a first-time champion guaranteed by the final buzzer.
Thursday’s stakes were set out in the WNBA Finals Game 6 preview, which warned that an Atlanta win would send the series back to San Francisco. That is exactly what happened, and now the season that began with Golden State’s surprise rise and Atlanta’s mid-series fightback gets the ending it deserves, under the lights on Halloween night.
