EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsThe Dream and Valkyries have stretched the season as long as it can go, until the last day in October. This year, Halloween will bring a championship trophy to one franchise in the WNBA's first Game 7 as Golden State hosts Atlanta on Saturday (8 p.m. ET).The first Game 6 went to Atlanta 80-69 on Thursday at State Farm Arena to even the WNBA Finals at 3-3. The league moved to a best-of-seven format for the Finals last season, but the Las Vegas Aces swept the Phoenix Mercury. This year, we're going the distance.Both teams have won twice at home and once on the road. The No. 2 seed Valkyries, whose passionate fanbase has turned Ballhalla into a legendary venue in just the franchise's second season, hope to celebrate at home. The No. 4 seed Dream, who were swept in three previous Finals appearances, want to take the prize back to Atlanta.We've seen three games in this series in which Golden State's defense had the last word and three when Atlanta's offense has busted past the 70-point mark. That has been the line in the sand: When the Dream have scored below 70, they've lost.Since many Golden State fans already show up in Valkyries costumes, Halloween night at Chase Center might not look that different from another game. But it will feel like the biggest night in both franchises' history. Both seek their first championship.ESPN looks at what could determine the champ or derail the dream.How does Golden State bounce back from Game 6, especially Atlanta's 32-point first quarter?Kendra Andrews: While Golden State coach Natalie Nakase called her team's tough start to Game 6 "unacceptable," guard Veronica Burton focused on the positive. She gave the Valkyries props for battling from as far down as 25 points to pull within eight toward the end of the game."At the end of the day, we feel good," Burton said. But under the silver lining, the Valkyries' tenor sounded more agitated than we've heard in the past.Tip your cap to the Valkyries for at least applying a little pressure to the Dream's utter dominance -- which Burton pointed out that Golden State failed to do in its other two losses. After dropping Games 2 and 3, the Valkyries had what they've said were brutally honest conversations with one another, holding everyone accountable for their mistakes and finding their fight. Nakase has encouraged her players to correct her when they believe her game plan is not working, always looking for ways she can improve communication about what she needs from her players. Expect them to do the same heading into Saturday.Before Game 6, Nakase complimented her team's composure, and that will be what it relies on in Game 7.Kareem Copeland: The Valkyries have never felt like a team with wide emotional swings. Sure, there was disappointment with the way they played in Game 6, but there were similar feelings after losses in Games 2 and 3 before answering with two consecutive wins to grab control of the series. Burton even said "we quit" in Games 2 and 3. Still, Golden State showed the ability to shake off losses and deficits already in this series without being emotionally shaken. And physical play hasn't really seemed like a significant concern for the 2026 Valkyries.Michael Voepel: Realistically, the Valkyries knew Game 6 on the road after winning the previous two games was a tall order. Atlanta had lost back-to-back games just once this season: during the Dream's only slump, a five-game losing streak from June 24 to July 4. The idea of Atlanta falling three times in a row in the playoffs was too much to ask from even the Valkyries' vaunted defense. So even though they would have loved to have packed up the trophy Thursday, the Valkyries are not going into Game 7 dispirited.Philippou: Game 6 was deflating for the Valkyries, but Nakase has said her team consistently learns from its losses and thrives with its back against the wall. Given the Valkyries actually outscored the Dream by six in the final 30 minutes on Thursday, being overly defeated about Game 6 would be foolish.What will decide Game 7?Copeland: Once again: turnovers, turnover differential, points off turnovers. That has been the biggest predictor of success in a low-scoring series where every possession is overly valuable. Game 6 didn't hold up in that way in the final numbers, but when the Dream built a 20-point halftime lead, they scored 21.7% of their points off turnovers. The Valkyries forced 10 second-half turnovers when they rallied.Philippou: Which team dictates the pace. The Dream fared so much better Thursday when they were able to push the ball up the floor and capitalize in transition or with early offense. The Valkyries, on the other hand, thrive when they can slow the game and turn things into more of a rock fight."Today we made it very intentional to get out, push the pace, get to the corners, spreading the ball around, having that ball movement, creating as much space as we can for our team," Atlanta point guard Jordin Canada said postgame.Dream coach Karl Smesko echoed Canada in the news conference: "I think the biggest problem is when we're not playing at our pace, and if the game is at their pace, they have an advantage. If the game is at our pace, we have an advantage. We have to be just locked in to the way we play, and we can't let them take us out of that."I think that will be the challenge in Game 7 for both teams, probably."Voepel: Whichever team is less haunted by its mistakes. The weight of every play gets a little heavier for everyone in a Game 7. Both teams are in the exact same position, and composure matters from the tip. Missed shots, bad passes, foul calls all take on more meaning because so much is on the line. The Valkyries like the game best when it's gritty and even a bit ugly because that means they are dictating the pace and frustrating the opponents' offense. The Dream want to see shots go down early, as that has had an impact on their confidence.What one player is the biggest X factor for determining Game 7?Copeland: The Dream have struggled to score in each of their losses. In the Game 6 victory, Allisha Gray looked like her healthy self as the team sprinted out to a 46-point first half. A low-scoring slugfest isn't Atlanta's advantage against this particular opponent, so it needs to put points up. Gray was the No. 9 scorer in the league during the regular season and averaged 22.0 points in the first round before that finger/hand injury suffered in Game 1 of the semifinals sidelined her for the rest of that series. She combined for 15 points in losses in Games 4 and 5 and dropped 23 in Game 6. Can a four-time All-Star be considered an X factor? She should be.Philippou: Kiah Stokes -- the so-called Warden of Valcatraz by Golden State fans -- looked like the potential Finals MVP after Game 5, but in Game 6 she only saw the floor for 20 minutes, with Nakase opting to go with Laeticia Amihere for her first meaningful minutes since Game 1. Nakase said she thought Stokes' legs weren't moving as well as Amihere's. Even though Angel Reese was relatively contained -- she finished with 15 points on 5-for-18 shooting but stepped up as a playmaker with six assists -- the Valkyries have been at their best this series when Stokes has been able to win that matchup. With her relentlessness, Reese is tempting to take in a winner-take-all championship setting; Stokes, meanwhile, has the edge in experience as a three-time champion. It'll be a fascinating matchup to watch unfold.Voepel: There's one No. 1 draft pick on the floor in this series: Dream guard Rhyne Howard. The 2022 top pick and Rookie of the Year, Howard has scored in double figures in all but one game in this series. In the past two, she has combined for 41 points on 50% shooting (13 of 26) from the field. Howard was a big part of the Dream's lethal first quarter Thursday and will look to do the same Saturday. But it won't be easy, as Gabby Williams, Burton and the rest of the Valkyries defense will throw their best at her. And it should be noted that Williams also has scored in double figures in all but one game this series.Golden State is 2-1 at Chase Center in the Finals. Will home-court advantage play a factor in Game 7?Andrews: Expect Chase to be otherworldly Saturday night. Ballhalla on Halloween with a title at stake? It will be impossible to hear anything. So, yes, of course it will give the Valkyries an advantage.But the Dream have spoken about how they like to play there, in such an elite basketball environment. After Game 6, Reese said having played there three times throughout this series -- one of which Atlanta won -- helps prepare them for this moment."I think that the crowd doesn't really get to us much, but I think, obviously, Game 7 is going to be a lot louder," Reese said. "The energy is going to be electric in there."The Dream have to make sure their communication has little to no error, and they don't let the Valkyries get off to a hot start to get the building rocking.Voepel: As mentioned, this is the second year of the best-of-seven format and the first time it will go all seven games. But history favors the host Valkyries based on results from best-of-five WNBA Finals series. The WNBA moved to that format in 2005, and it went the distance eight times. The home team won six of those, most recently with New York in 2024. The exceptions were in 2007, when Phoenix claimed Game 5 at Detroit, and 2016, when Los Angeles won Game 5 at Minnesota.
