SAN FRANCISCO — Wearing a fresh WNBA CHAMPIONS T-shirt over her uniform, Gabby Williams cradled the sparkling MVP trophy, kissed it and raised a No. 1 with her left hand. She then hugged and high-fived fans on her way to Golden State’s locker room, where she put on goggles for the championship celebration.
Williams returned to the Bay Area, a place filled with treasured memories from her youth basketball days, with one clear goal: win a championship and help create something meaningful with the Golden State Valkyries.
She accomplished both in unforgettable fashion.
“I just walked into a group full of love,” Williams said. “And that just changed the entire trajectory of my career.”
Williams delivered when the moment demanded it, scoring the Valkyries’ final 11 points of the third quarter before taking over again in the fourth. She finished with 30 points as Golden State won its first championship in only its second season, defeating the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in the WNBA’s first winner-take-all Finals Game 7 on Saturday night.
“Gabby is our closer. She stayed patient, she stayed with it,” coach Natalie Nakase said. “Closing with 30, that is incredible!”
With her 30-point performance, Williams became only the second player in WNBA history to score at least 30 points in a winner-take-all Finals game, joining Penny Taylor, who did it for Phoenix in 2007.
Jordin Canada added 18 points, Allisha Gray scored 16 and Angel Reese contributed eight points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta, which fell short of its fourth championship attempt.
Gray sank two free throws with 11 seconds remaining before Atlanta forced a jump ball between Gray and Williams. Veronica Burton came away with possession and calmly made two free throws with 5.1 seconds left.
“I’m just so blessed, this is insane!” Burton said. The guard had been waived by Dallas two years earlier.
Rhyne Howard’s layup evened the score at 57 with 2:41 to play, but Williams immediately answered with another clutch 3-pointer. She added two free throws with 1:40 left, and Kiah Stokes followed with a late basket. Stokes, now a four-time WNBA champion, finished with 13 rebounds and two blocks to cap a remarkable postseason.
Williams had left Seattle convinced that Golden State’s tight-knit culture was the right fit. She came back to the Bay Area determined to establish herself as a WNBA star after building an international résumé, and instead emerged as a postseason legend. Throughout the fourth quarter, the home crowd repeatedly chanted, “Gabby! Gabby!”
As the final buzzer sounded, the sold-out crowd dressed in violet erupted inside Chase Center. Players rushed onto the court to embrace one another while confetti poured from the rafters.
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On a raucous Halloween night, “Ballhalla” transformed into “Boohalla.” Golden State now has a women’s championship to stand beside the title won by the Warriors in 2022.
“We gotta build a bigger trophy case,” co-owner Peter Guber said.
The team leading at halftime had won each of the first six games in the series, and Atlanta appeared to be following that pattern after taking a 30-24 advantage into the break. The Dream were also 16-0 this season when Reese made at least one 3-pointer. Atlanta’s DeWanna Bonner made history as the first WNBA player to record 600 career postseason defensive rebounds.
At halftime, Nakase told Williams that opportunities would open up for her after the break.
“Nat told me to stay patient. I trust her with my life,” Williams said. “I stayed patient.”
After Golden State fell behind 2-1 in the series, Nakase reshaped her starting lineup. The adjustment paid off as Kaila Charles and Tiffany Hayes moved into the starting five, while Kayla Thornton and Cecilia Zandalasini shifted to reserve roles.
Hayes, 37, returned from retirement two years ago after spending 10 seasons with the Dream. She scored 11 points in Game 7 and supplied the energy throughout the series that made Nakase eager to win for the veteran guard perhaps more than anyone else.
Valkyries owner Joe Lacob guaranteed a championship within the first five years for this franchise three years ago when the Bay Area was granted an expansion team, and in improbable, joyful fashion, his team accomplished it in Year 2. That after becoming the first expansion organization to reach the playoffs in its inaugural year in 2025.
During the victory ceremony, Lacob shouted out the team and its leaders, while Nakase, general manager Ohemma Nyanin and President Jess Smith hugged. And Lacob thanked the fans who have sold out Chase Center for every game since Day 1.
“Ballhalla!” Lacob hollered.
“These ladies deserve all the credit in the world for the incredible resilience, every last one of them, and our coach,” he said later. “I can’t even say how proud I am. I don’t care men, women, whatever, it doesn’t matter, that is an incredible year, an incredible performance, not only tonight but the whole playoffs.”
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