The Atlanta Dream vs Golden State Valkyries Finals Game 1 tips off Saturday, Oct. 17 at 3:30 p.m. ET at Chase Center in San Francisco, with a first-time WNBA champion guaranteed no matter which team wins the series. The No. 4 seed Dream reached the Finals by sweeping the 2024 champion New York Liberty in the semifinals, while the No. 2 seed Valkyries eliminated defending champion Las Vegas with an 87-77 Game 3 win. The biggest question entering Game 1 is whether Atlanta’s turnover-driven, fast-paced attack can crack a Golden State defense that held postseason opponents to a league-low 80.4 points per game.
Atlanta Dream Vs Golden State Valkyries Game 1 Information
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 17
- Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
- Venue: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA
- TV/Streaming: NBC, Peacock
- Series: WNBA Finals, Game 1 of a series that starts Oct. 17
Game 2 follows Monday, Oct. 19 at 8 p.m. ET, also at Chase Center. The WNBA then moved Games 3 and 4 to State Farm Arena in Atlanta, shifting Game 3 to Wednesday, Oct. 21 and Game 4 to Saturday, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m.
ET. The move gives the Dream a venue with capacity over 17,000, far larger than their regular home floor, Gateway Center Arena, which holds only 3,500 fans. It marks the first WNBA Finals game in the Atlanta market since 2013, the last time the Dream reached the championship round.
Can Atlanta’s Turnover-Forcing Style Beat Golden State’s Defense?
The Dream generated 10.4 steals per game in the regular season and thrive on getting out in transition off forced turnovers, according to Bleacher Report. Atlanta also played at the second-fastest pace among playoff teams. Golden State, by contrast, played at the slowest pace in the league and allowed just 11.7 points off turnovers all season, a sign the Valkyries are built to take away exactly the possessions Atlanta wants most.
The season series offers a data point, though not a guarantee given how both rosters have evolved. Golden State swept Atlanta 3-0 in the regular season, winning 77-66 on June 24, 78-75 on June 26 and 88-83 on July 4. In those matchups, the Dream shot just 30.6% in the half court overall and 37.7% at the rim in the half court against Golden State’s defense.
Dream guard Jordin Canada addressed the earlier meetings, telling reporters, “They’re a great defensive team. They’re physical, they rebound really well. They have great shooters.
We played them back in July. So they’re probably a completely different team… It really doesn’t matter going into the Finals.
It’s a clean slate. Both teams are 0-0.”
What Is Angel Reese’s Status And Role In Her First Finals?
Angel Reese, Atlanta’s leading rebounder at 12.1 per game, is making her first Finals appearance and has been central to the Dream’s postseason run. She is adding 2.3 blocks per game in the playoffs, and Atlanta is 12-0 when she makes at least one three-pointer and 5-0 when she scores 15 or more points in the first half. Since the All-Star break, Reese has shot 52.4% at the rim in the half court, an 8.2 percentage-point jump from her pre-break mark, giving the Dream a more efficient interior scorer heading into the series.
Atlanta’s backcourt has not been as clean. Canada, Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray are each averaging more than two turnovers per game in the postseason, and Howard shot just 29.2% from three in the semifinal series against New York. Guard Allisha Gray is listed as out with a left hand injury, with Total Apex Sports reporting she is day-to-day before Finals Game 1.
Forward Brionna Jones (left leg) and guard Matilde Villa (coach’s decision) are also out for Atlanta. Golden State center Iliana Rupert is out for a reason listed as not injury related.
How Has Gabby Williams Carried Golden State’s Offense?
Gabby Williams leads the Valkyries at 14.4 points per game in the regular season and has been even more productive in the playoffs, scoring 136 points through six postseason games, the most over any six-game stretch of her career. She is shooting 47.7% from two-point range and 40.5% from three in the postseason, and more than half of Golden State’s points on pull-up jumpers this postseason have come from her shot-making. Point guard Veronica Burton leads the team with 5.7 assists per game, and center Kiah Stokes leads Golden State’s rebounding at 5.8 per game.
Golden State’s rebounding has also been a weapon beyond Stokes. The Valkyries posted a 38.7% offensive rebound rate against Las Vegas in the semifinals, with 41 offensive rebounds that tied for the fourth-most over a three-game playoff stretch since 2020. Williams, speaking after the Valkyries clinched their Finals berth, credited the defense for the run: “Our defense, man, whatever is happening on the other end, our defense never fails us.
We definitely showed that throughout the series. We definitely showed this throughout the season. And so I’m just happy that we’re finally making it.
This is a dream come true, not only for me, but for the rest of my teammates.”
Key Matchup: Dream Transition Attack Vs Valkyries Tempo Control
The series opener figures to come down to pace. Atlanta forces turnovers and runs at the second-fastest clip among playoff teams, while Golden State plays the slowest pace in the league and has allowed the fewest points off turnovers in the WNBA this season. If the Dream can speed up possessions and get Reese and Howard scoring in the open floor, Atlanta’s offense, which outscores Golden State by more than five points per game this season, has room to operate. If the Valkyries slow the game down and force Atlanta into half-court sets, where the Dream shot just 30.6% against Golden State in the regular season, the defending-season-series winner’s physical rebounding edge (27.3 defensive boards per game to Atlanta’s 23.8) becomes a bigger factor.
Angel Reese
Reese enters her first Finals averaging a team-high 12.1 rebounds and adding 2.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game, with her rim efficiency sharply up since the All-Star break.
Gabby Williams
Williams has been Golden State’s postseason engine, scoring 136 points over her last six games while shooting better than 47% from the floor.
Jordin Canada
Canada leads Atlanta with 7.3 assists per game but is part of a Dream backcourt trio averaging more than two turnovers per game in the playoffs, a number Golden State’s defense is built to exploit.
What To Watch
Both franchises are chasing a first championship. Atlanta last played for a title in 2013, and Golden State has competed in the league only since joining as an expansion franchise in 2025. The Dream enter on a 10-game winning streak dating to Aug. 30, while the Valkyries have won five of their last six games, with four of those five wins decided by single digits or in overtime.
ET at Chase Center before the series shifts to State Farm Arena for Games 3 and 4.
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