The Golden State Valkyries are WNBA champions, and they didn’t need a decade to get there. In just their second season, the Bay Area’s newest franchise took down the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in a winner-take-all Game 7 at Chase Center, becoming the fastest North American pro expansion team to win a championship since 1967.
The night belonged to Gabby Williams, who managed just two points before halftime and then exploded for 28 in the second half, a WNBA postseason record. Her three-pointer with just over two minutes left helped seal it, and she walked away with Finals MVP honors. Golden State’s defense did the rest, holding Atlanta to 33% shooting and 20% from beyond the arc, even as Jordin Canada and Allisha Gray tried to keep the Dream alive.
What makes this title hit especially hard is how it happened. This wasn’t a superteam assembled from established stars. It was an expansion roster that grew into a contender faster than anyone expected, and the culture piece keeps coming up. So, what’s the bigger story here: the historic speed of the run, or the fact that a team-first build beat the superstar model?
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.