SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Valkyries are in a winner-take-all situation for the second time this postseason, the difference now is the 2026 WNBA title is on the line.
The Valkyries are headed back to San Francisco after the Atlanta Dream forced the first-ever Game 7 in a WNBA Finals after their 80-69 win to tie the best-of-seven series on Thursday, Oct. 29.
There have been 13 do-or-die situations in the 30-year history of the WNBA Finals, but the Valkyries-Dream is the first seven-game series. History suggests Golden State has the advantage, the home team has won 11 of the 13 titles in winner-take-all games.
Golden State has a 6-1 postseason record in 2026 playing at Chase Center in front of their Ballhalla crowd. Their lone loss coming to
the Dream during Game 2 of the Finals.
"It's not just going to be handed to us just because we're at Ballhalla," Golden State guard Veronica Burton said. "Like we love Ballhalla. We have the best fans, but at the end of the day, it's going to be a dogfight. We understand that both teams want it, and so the mindset is a sense of urgency. Like it is do-or-die officially."
Their last time the Valkyries were faced in a win-or-bust situation was in the first round against the Dallas Wings. Coming off of an overtime loss Game 2 where Arike Ogunbowale scored 45 points, Dallas led by as many as 16 points in the deciding game before Golden State mounted a comeback to save their postseason. The stakes of winning will be a lot higher on Saturday, Oct. 31.
Here's what they need to do to bring their first WNBA championship to the Bay Area:
Scoring, shot quality
The Valkyries don't have many scorers so the ones they do depend on can't have a bad shooting night. Gabby Williams had 26 in Game 6 on 8-of-22 shooting, Tiffany Hayes had 15 on 6-of-10 shooting.
Offensively, they could have used more from Cecilia Zandalasini, who scored nine points on 3-of-12 shooting off the bench. Burton shot 2-for-13. Kaila Charles could have gotten more attempts after going 2-for-5, scoring all her points on two 3-point field goals.
As a team, the Valkyries shooting woes for the series continue. They shot 31% in their Game 6 loss.
Valkyries must avoid a slow start
Golden State knows how to respond. The Valkyries did a lot of things right after an atrocious first quarter in Game 6.
Golden State lost the physicality battle early. They were left completely defenseless as they were outhustled and bullied by the Dream, who knocked down open shot after open shot, shooting 73% from the field including 6-of-8 on 3-pointers in the first quarter taking a 32-15 lead. The Valkyries shot 29% int he first 10 minutes.
"Frustrating really. Just unacceptable, our poor start," head coach Natalie Nakase said.
It was a simple fix that carried into the rest of the game. The increased their defensive pressure, played with more physicality and aggression as the Dream came back down to reality. They shot 35% and under for the rest of the game.
"(We) just upped our ball pressure," Valkyries guard Gabby Williams said. "They were just too comfortable. That's pretty much it."
Atlanta finished the game with 15 total turnovers.
Golden State needs to show defensive identity
If Golden State wants to win Game 7, they can't afford to have a bad quarter. More importantly, they can't afford to get punched first.
"Every time we threw the first punch, we won the game. So just being able to set the tone early," Angel Reese said after their Game 6 win.
The Valkyries advanced to the Finals because of their defense and bench production. They have to rely on that what got them here. When they focus on the final 30 minutes of game clock, they have a lot to be confident about going into Game 7.
"We had a terrible first quarter, but yeah, we cleaned it up. We found a way. We didn't quit," Burton said. "We were still in the game, and yeah, we didn't give ourselves a good position to start out the game. But we feel good, and there's a lot to take away from the second, third, and fourth quarter. Our defense, you know, is a little bit more like us, and so we'll watch that, see the adjustments that they made, see where we can adjust, and I think we're in a good spot."
Golden State will have to rely on their identity to win because Atlanta has the offensive firepower to do damage. The Dream are a team that have multiple scorers and high-energy players that also lock down defensively. Pick your poison between Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, Angel Reese, Naz Hillmon, Isobel Borlase or Jordin Canada.
"It started with us being able to have a little players only meeting before film and talking through things and getting our confidence back, getting our swagger back," Reese said. "Naz really emphasized like, remember who you are. All of us have been superstars on a team at some point, and you've maximized things and done things to have led to winning."
Valkyries' bench needs to step up
Someone on the Golden State bench has to be ready to impact in the game. Throughout the regular season, it was Janelle Salaun as she won the Sixth Player of the Year Award. In the postseason it's been a little bit of tossup. Hayes and Charles worked their way into the starting lineup. Aminata Gueye had an effective presence at different points in the playoffs.
One standout was Valkyries forward Laeticia Amihere, who pulled down 10 rebounds in 20 minutes in Game 6. Amihere brought energy off the bench, at a period when the Valkyries needed a spark.
"LA was incredible," Burton said when asked about her teammate Amihere. "I think her energy. She was ready, and honestly, she was probably one of the only people that showed up to play, the entire game today. And so we gave a big shout out to her.
"She met the moment, and she honestly changed the game for us. So big props to her."
That same energy is required of her and the entire team in Game 7. With streaky shooting, the Valkyries main objective has to be preventing the other team from scoring. Simple, yet easier said than done.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Valkyries need their identity back with WNBA championship at stake
