The WNBA's seven-game championship series delivered big gains across several categories for the league. In addition to viewership, records were also set for attendance and merchandise sales.
The Golden State Valkyries and Atlanta Dream delivered the most-watched WNBA Finals since 1999. The Valkyries’ championship-clinching Game 7 drew the best postseason rating in league history
, with 3.3 million viewers.The seven-game series averaged 1.88 million viewers, the most for a WNBA Finals since 1999, up 30 percent from 2025. It was the WNBA’s most-watched postseason since 1997, averaging 1.49 million viewers, up 27 percent from 2025.
Records were also set for WNBA Finals attendance. The seven games drew 123,553 fans and averaged 17,650, both were the
best in the history of the league. The full 2026 WNBA postseason generated record gate revenue, more than doubling the previous record set in 2024. The league beat that record by the conclusion of the semifinals.
The Valkyries also became the best-selling WNBA champion with 48 hours of the finish of Game 7, setting a league record for championship merchandise sales. The Valkyries’ championship merchandise sales through WNBAStore.com and WNBA-owned stores exceeded sales from the 30 days following last year’s championship by 42 percent.
The WNBA Finals will return to ESPN in 2027. USA Network secured WNBA rights as part of NBCUniversal's broader media rights package announced in July 2024, and later finalized an expanded 11-year Versant agreement in September, 2025.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA Finals: Record crowds, merchandise sales and biggest audience since 1999
