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Atlanta Dream Take 2-1 Finals Lead With 97-71 Win

By Drooid · Oct 23, 2026, 2:14 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Atlanta Dream Take Lead

Atlanta Dream took a 2-1 series lead with a 97-71 win over the Golden State Valkyries.
Atlanta forced 17 turnovers and kept Golden State scoreless for the first five minutes.
Angel Reese posted her third straight double-double with 21 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Coach Natalie Nakase accepted responsibility for the Valkyries’ defensive lapses.
Game 4 will be played Saturday, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. ET in Atlanta.

Summary

Coalition Shifts Finals

A last-minute coalition cleared State Farm Arena’s schedule, moving the WNBA Finals game from the 3,500-seat Gateway Center.
The shift gave fans a 17,608-seat venue, the largest Atlanta Finals crowd since 2013.
Both teams skipped the national anthem for the third straight Finals game, sparking debate over league anthem-standing rules.
The sold-out game generated significant ticket revenue and exposed resource gaps between WNBA and NBA arenas.

History

Historical Context

The WNBA opened on June 21 1997 with the New York Liberty beating the Los Angeles Sparks before 14,284 fans at the Great Western Forum, backed by a national NBC TV deal. Decades of growth—2024’s 20,711-fan Mystics–Fever game and a $2.2 billion media contract—culminated in the 2025 expansion Golden State Valkyries breaking attendance marks, prompting today’s Atlanta Dream–Valkyries Finals to demand larger arenas.

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Atlanta Dream Take Lead

Atlanta Dream took a 2-1 series lead with a 97-71 win over the Golden State Valkyries.
Atlanta forced 17 turnovers and kept Golden State scoreless for the first five minutes.
Angel Reese posted her third straight double-double with 21 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Coach Natalie Nakase accepted responsibility for the Valkyries’ defensive lapses.
Game 4 will be played Saturday, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. ET in Atlanta.

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