SAN FRANCISCO — Still wearing her “WNBA CHAMPIONS” shirt over her uniform, Gabby Williams cradled the gleaming MVP trophy, kissed it and raised one finger toward the crowd. She hugged and high-fived fans on her way to the Golden State locker room, where she put on goggles for the champagne celebration.
Williams returned to the Bay Area, a place filled with treasured childhood basketball memories, hoping to help create a moment exactly like this: a championship and the beginning of something meaningful.
She delivered on both counts.
“I just walked into a group full of love,” Williams said. “And that just changed the entire trajectory of my career.”
Williams scored the Valkyries’ final 11 points of the third quarter and took over again in the fourth, finishing with 30 points as Golden State won its first championship. The Valkyries defeated the Atlanta Dream 68-63 on Saturday night in the WNBA’s first winner-take-all Finals Game 7.
“Gabby is our closer. She stayed patient, she stayed with it,” coach Natalie Nakase said. “Closing with 30, that is incredible!”
Williams became only the second player in WNBA history to score at least 30 points in a winner-take-all Finals game, joining Penny Taylor, who accomplished the feat for Phoenix in 2007.
Jordin Canada scored 18 points for Atlanta, while Allisha Gray added 16 and Angel Reese contributed eight points and 12 rebounds. The Dream fell short of their fourth championship appearance.
Gray made two free throws with 11 seconds remaining before Atlanta forced a jump ball between Gray and Williams. Veronica Burton came away with possession and sank two free throws with 5.1 seconds left.
“I’m just so blessed, this is insane!” said Burton, who was released by Dallas two years ago.
Rhyne Howard’s layup pulled Atlanta even at 57 with 2:41 remaining, but Williams answered with another clutch 3-pointer. She added two free throws with 1:40 left, and Kiah Stokes followed with a late basket. Stokes, now a four-time WNBA champion, finished with 13 rebounds and two blocks after another outstanding postseason performance.
Williams left Seattle convinced that Golden State’s close-knit culture was the right fit. She returned to the Bay Area eager to establish herself as a WNBA star after years of international success, and she now leaves the Finals as a postseason legend. Fans repeatedly chanted “Gabby! Gabby!” during the fourth quarter.
“All it took was good people,” she said. “All we heard last year was we don’t have no stars. We don’t have no talent. Yeah right! We got good people. We got good people. We got winners. We got people who are ready to put their bodies on the floor to win a game.”
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The final buzzer sent the violet-clad sellout crowd at Chase Center into celebration. Players rushed onto the court to embrace one another as confetti poured from the rafters.
On a raucous Halloween night, “Ballhalla” became “Boohalla.” Golden State now has a women’s championship to stand alongside the title won by the Warriors in 2022.
“We gotta build a bigger trophy case,” co-owner Peter Guber said.
In each of the first six games, the team leading at halftime went on to win. Atlanta held a 30-24 advantage at the break in Game 7. The Dream also entered the night 16-0 this season when Reese made at least one 3-pointer. Atlanta’s DeWanna Bonner became the first player in WNBA history to record 600 career postseason defensive rebounds.
At halftime, Nakase told Williams that the game would eventually open up for her.
“Nat told me to stay patient, I trust her with my life,” Williams said. “I stayed patient.”
Nakase also reshaped her starting lineup after Golden State fell behind 2-1 in the series. Kaila Charles and Tiffany Hayes entered the starting five, while Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini moved to the bench.
Hayes, 37, returned from retirement two years ago after spending 10 seasons with the Dream. She scored 11 points in the decisive Game 7 and supplied the energy throughout the series that made Nakase especially determined to win for the veteran guard.
Three years ago, when the Bay Area was awarded an expansion franchise, Valkyries owner Joe Lacob guaranteed a championship within the team’s first five seasons. Golden State fulfilled that promise in Year 2, following its 2025 achievement as the first expansion team to reach the playoffs in its inaugural season.
During the championship ceremony, Lacob praised the players and the organization’s leaders as Nakase, general manager Ohemma Nyanin and President Jess Smith embraced. He also thanked the fans who have filled Chase Center for every game since the franchise’s debut.
“Ballhalla!” Lacob shouted.
“These ladies deserve all the credit in the world for the incredible resilience, every last one of them, and our coach,” he said later. “I can’t even say how proud I am. I don’t care men, women, whatever, it doesn’t matter, that is an incredible year, an incredible performance, not only tonight but the whole playoffs.”
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