After the Golden State Valkyries swept the defending champion Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA playoff semifinal series on Friday, Aces head coach Becky Hammon tipped her hat to Natalie Nakase's squad.
"(Nakase) had her club playing at a really high level all year. It's a number one defense in the league all year," Hammon said after the Valkyries' 87-77 overtime win in Game 3. "And look, if you want to win championships, you need to be a top three, top four defense. And we weren't this year. We weren't."
The No. 2 seed Valkyries, who had the best defensive rating in the regular season, advanced to the WNBA Finals to face the the No. 4 seed Atlanta Dream, who've had the best defensive rating in the postseason. One franchise will walk away with their
first WNBA title. The best-of-seven series, which tips off Saturday, Oct. 17, in San Francisco, will likely come down to who does a better job defending.
Defense, after all, wins championships.
"We're the top two (defenses) in the league," Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton said. "It comes down just to details and who wants it more."
Let's take a look at how the Valkyries' and Dream's defenses stack up against each other:
Atlanta Dream trio leads pesky defense
After Angel Reese was named the 2026 Defensive Player of the Year, she said Rhyne Howard and Jordin Canada should have their name etched on her trophy. "They deserve it just as much as I do," Reese said.
The trio has powered the Dream's disruptive defense, which has turned over opponents at an unbelievable rate with Howard (2.3 steals per game), Canada (1.9) and Reese (1.8) leading the league in regular-season steals. The Dream has turned up the pressure during the postseason, improving the team's average of 9.1 steals per game to 10.4 steals per game in the playoffs. Atlanta has the highest opponent turnover percentage in the postseason (22.4%), forcing a playoff-high 18.2 turnovers per game.
"We have to get in the passing lanes. We have to force turnovers. We have to get out in transition," Howard said after the Dream's Game 3 win over the New York Liberty on Oct. 9, describing how the team's active defense will show up in the WNBA Finals. "We have to make our presence felt on the defensive end. That's going to give us the confidence to go. It's going to wear into the other team... it's going to kill their confidence."
Defense fuels the Dream's offense. Not only can they turn opponents over, Atlanta is highly efficient in capitalizing on those opportunities with a playoff-high 24.4 points scored off turnovers. During the Dream's semifinal sweep of the 2024 WNBA champion Liberty, Atlanta forced New York into double-digit turnovers in each of the three games and averaged 24 points off turnovers per game in the series.
Look no further than Game 1 between the Dream and Liberty. Canada intercepted a pass from Liberty guard Sabrina Ionesco with 4:22 remaining in the first quarter and took the ball coast-to-coast for a layup. Canada finished with 25 points and five steals in the Dream's 92-82 Game 2 win, becoming the sixth player in WNBA postseason history to record 25-plus points and five-plus steals in a game.
"To use my quickness to my advantage. If I can get downhill and attack the basket and get a layup, I'll get a layup," Canada said on Oct. 4. "If someone comes to try and help, kick it out. It's just simple as that, just reading the floor. But I know that my quickness is my strength and I know that I bring that to this team. So I just try to do that as much as I can and yeah, just making the right play at the right time."
JC doin' the work on defense! pic.twitter.com/tFmsYVHKb1
— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) October 4, 2026
The Dream averaged 10.6 fast break points per game through five playoff games. On the flip side, Atlanta is able to get back on defense and get set, leading to the fewest fast break points allowed in the postseason (2.6).
"Like people say, defense wins championships. It's (expletiv) true. It is. And Atlanta, they have ... the top three (players) in steals," Breanna Stewart said after Game 3.
Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco added, "They play a different brand of basketball with some of their switchability on the ball with their physicality."
Valkyries' defense fueled by 'never satisfied mindset'
When Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase assembled the Valkyries' inaugural roster, she told USA TODAY Sports in December 2024 she was building a culture rooted in a "never satisfied mindset."
"It’s not just a skill set we are looking for. I’m looking for ultra competitive. I’m looking for that player that is diving on the floor and getting the rebound," said Nakase, who went on to win 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year and lead the Valkyries to the playoffs in their first year of existence. "High character. I’m looking are they picking their teammates up or are they high-fiving their teammates? Just putting the team before self at all times,"
The offseason additions of Gabby Williams and Kiah Stokes has only boosted the grittiness of Golden State, which allowed the fewest overall points (75.1) and lowest opponent field goal percentage (41.4%) in the regular season.
The Valkyries have been relentless on the glass this postseason, averaging 37.8 rebounds, 10.5 offensive rebounds and 13 second-chance points per game, the most of any playoff team. Stokes has led the charge, upping her regular-season rebound average from 5.8 to 9.5 rebounds per game in the playoffs. Stokes finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the Valkyries' Game 3 win over the Las Vegas Aces — her former team.
BLOCKHALLA TRAVELS @kstokes41 pic.twitter.com/7vBoDnIyQB
— Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) October 10, 2026
"(Kiah Stokes) is the reason we're here. She makes the clutchest plays out of all of us ... sometimes they just don't show up on the box score," said Williams, who finished second in DPOY voting this season. "The way she communicates her activity on defense, the way she's just so unselfish on offense, she's just always doing something to make someone else's life easier. There's a reason that she is a three-time champion."
Golden State outrebounded the Las Vegas Aces 125-85 (37-18 offensive rebounds) across three games in their semifinal sweep. And their interior defense has limited opponents to 29.3 paint points per game in the postseason, the second fewest of any playoff team. The Valkyries' have allowed 3.7 fast break points per game, the second fewest behind the Dream.
"(The Atlanta Dream) is a great defensive team. They're physical. They rebound really well. They have great shooters," Stokes said on Oct. 9. "It's two top defensive teams. It's definitely going to be a battle."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA Finals between Valkyries, Dream will be defensive masterclass. Who has the edge?
