Game 6 of the WNBA Finals in Atlanta officially has a venue... and a truly baffling start time.
The potentially series-deciding Game 6 between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries will take place at 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursday at State Farm Arena, a much larger venue than Dream home base Gateway Center Arena by more than 10,000 seats, per USA TODAY's Meghan L. Hall.
A scheduling conflict with the Atlanta Hawkes kept Thursday evening out of bounds, so the WNBA had to decide between the team playing in a much smaller venue at night or the much larger one at an odd time of day.
Now, the WNBA may crown a champion while people are eating lunch on the East Coast and people are eating breakfast and settling into the work day on the West Coast. It's
just silly to have such a huge sporting event at such an unserious time in the day for live television that isn't geographically limited like the Olympics or World Cup.
A source with direct knowledge of the situation tells USA TODAY that Game 6 will be at State Farm Arena at 12:30 P.M. ET on Thursday.@ramonashelburne was first.
— Meghan L. Hall (@ItsMeghanLHall) October 26, 2026
State Farm will see a double-header (again) during these Finals. Hawks play at 7 p.m. ET that night.
Story to come.
WNBA Fans were just as baffled as we were about this daytime Finals tipoff.
I’d rather Gateway than State Farm at 12:30 PM ET ON A THURSDAY
— Tyler DeLuca (@TylerDeLuca) October 26, 2026
WE MIGHT BE CROWNING A WNBA CHAMPION AT A WNBA KIDS CAMP GAME-TIME?? https://t.co/oBAsXog81B
A new WNBA champion could potentially be crowned at *checks notes* 3pm on a Thursday afternoon and then promptly kicked out of the arena so that they can turn over the court for the Hawks 🫠
— chelsea leite (@chelsealeite) October 26, 2026
Like it’s good it’s at the bigger arena but… really??? https://t.co/EIyKhUFf7m
So Valkyries fans will need to be free at 9:30 am on a Thursday to possibly watch their team win a championship?
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) October 26, 2026
I'm convinced the WNBA is either run by interns or the owners' nieces and nephews. https://t.co/wsPWNeNz6L
Potential Finals clinching game being played on a Thursday at 12:30 in the afternoon. This is not a serious league https://t.co/de0d7PtFbr
— Josh Gross (@josh3302) October 26, 2026
A 9:30AM start in one of the two WNBA Finals' teams' home markets is insane. https://t.co/MKhLTS0CW8
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) October 26, 2026
Seems like a strange decision by the WNBA. I understand the decision to move the game into a bigger arena but you lose a lot of potential viewers by playing at 12:30PM on a Thursday. https://t.co/NTzodkxgKL
— Manny Soloway (@sportsontvguy) October 26, 2026
NOON???!!?!???!! https://t.co/mBXyR6ZgGx
— Jon Dutton (@SoufsideBravo) October 26, 2026
This is less than ideal https://t.co/D7NBmQs7lP
— name cannot be blank (@413to404) October 26, 2026
Maybe put the Hawks game early in the day? How is playing a potential title decider at 12:30 the solution, and why was that option taken over using the open date? https://t.co/sQ9qek6uwv
— Vishnu Parasuraman (@vrp2003) October 26, 2026
The Atlanta Dream are sabotaging themselves at this point. Whom in Atlanta, Georgia in this year of 2026 is going to a basketball game at 12:30PM on a workday??? Just hand the Valkyries the title at this point. https://t.co/LrSHWYqDEZ
— T. Lou (@travTHEengineer) October 26, 2026
A weekday afternoon?! What? https://t.co/Dy6VIp9fdM
— Brett Rasdall (@BrettRasdall) October 26, 2026
This is a terrible look for the WNBA -- and there is no way spin it.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) October 26, 2026
I realize all the potential solutions sucked but the prospect of crowning a champion on a Thursday afternoon is just brutal optics (and will be brutal television ratings.) If you are the league, you are… https://t.co/XPn3wNebYC
Well, this seems like it could have gone better. The lack of planning is a bit bewildering, to say the least.
When would WNBA Finals Game 7 be?
That game would be at 8 p.m. ET at Golden State on Saturday night if necessary.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: WNBA Finals Game 6 Atlanta daytime tipoff baffles fans
