Golden State Valkyries trail Atlanta Dream 2-1 heading into pivotal WNBA Finals Game 4

Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams (1) stands on the court during the first half in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals against the Atlanta Dream at Chase Center in San Francisco, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. Credit: AP/Stephen Lam
ATLANTA — The Golden State Valkyries are still confident.
Trailing 2-1 in the best-of-seven WNBA Finals against Atlanta, they know a win on Saturday will give them back home-court advantage with a trip to “Ballhalla” awaiting.
“It would be silly to overreact right now,” Valkyries guard Veronica Burton said. “We continue to point out the things where we lack discipline and where we lack maybe paying attention to their personnel. We address that and not overreact but also understand that there is a major sense of urgency, and we can’t necessarily wait for anything to change.”
Still, the Valkyries can ill afford to lose Game 4 after getting routed in Game 3. While it's only the second year that the WNBA has played a best-of-seven championship series, history in the NBA isn't on the side of teams trailing 3-1. Only the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers were able to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals.
For the Valkyries to have any chance, they'll need to find a way to contain Angel Reese.
Reese, who was traded to Atlanta from Chicago in the offseason, has made the most of her first postseason appearance since coming into the league three years ago. She became only the second player in finals history with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in consecutive games, joining A’ja Wilson.
At 24 years old, she also became the youngest with three straight double-doubles in the finals.

Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese (5) talks with Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray (15) during the first half of Game 3 of the WNBA basketball finals on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Atlanta. Credit: AP/Brynn Anderson
Reese has a really talented group around her in Jordin Canada, Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray, who has been dealing with a hand injury suffered in the semifinals.
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