Pretty cool!

The WNBA x Jonas Brothers tether continues

She’s the WNBA version of a pre mvp Giannis

unorthodox, downhill slasher, who’s a playmaker on both ends. Steals, big blocks or taking a board and going coast to coast. When people say her game isn’t pretty to watch i laugh.

I personally like when 3 players go up for a ball and one person comes down(could just be the wide receiver in me) you see her make 8 plays in a row on both ends like her hairs on fire.

A positionless player that can playmake, switch 1-5, be the greatest rebounder we’ve ever seen and she talks trash? Sign me up!

You don’t like seeing a beauty and a beast all in one?

And she’s only 24 she’s gonna get better and better.

So Selfishly I want her to win finals mvp because then you have to acknowledge that she’s a star

What a roster. Still insane to me they couldn’t pull it off, I’d argue they’re much better than any of the Liberty’s “superteam” rosters since 2023.

Coach Jackie interviews Meg Stacy (Thee W Artiste @ wnbaart)

Timestamp: 17:27

State Farm.

Gotta imagine their impressions went up hella this past week. They probably moved their feet just fast enough to see a timely resolution, but not too quick that fans everywhere miss the opportunity to say State Farm, State Farm, State Farm all week.

Long time coming. Glad for her and to be able to tune out the fakes. She seems rested and ready for game 1.

yahoosports The family connections run deep in the WNBA Finals 🧬🏀
https://www.instagram.com/p/DekK1dYFfw_/

• Love seeing these connections 🥰

EDIT: Forgot the pic for Janelle Salaun. Please see below.

• Draymond and Sheryl Swoopes on why Angel Reese makes this WNBA Finals must-watch.
• "You should tune into the finals because of Angel Reese... She alone is worth the price of the ticket... 
• Angel is gonna have people watching this because there's a large consortium of people who wants to see her succeed.
• There's an even larger group of people who wants to see her fail, and they're gonna watch to see her fail."
• 📺 Watch on YouTube | 🎧 Listen everywhere podcasts are available

If I lived ANYWHERE close to Ballhalla or State Farm Arena, I would be catching every in-person game I could, even if I was limited to nose-bleed seats. As it is, I’m just too far away for it to make financial sense but the fomo is reaaaal. I want to see my Dream Girls take it home in 5! (Respectfully, Valks, respectfully)

Who else is suffering with me?

Thought this was interesting given ESPN’s role and how many of us on the thread don’t like seeing the sports gambling commercials.

I realize there are gamblers among us and who I am to judge 🤷🏻‍♀️

But there is rare discussion of critical perspectives of sports gambling by athletes, commentators or key networks.

1. Who will be the priorities for the Golden State defense?

In their three-game regular-season sweep of the Dream, the Valkyries worked their defensive matchup magic on Rhyne Howard. For the 2026 season, Howard averaged her fewest points per against Golden State, all while shooting barely above 30 percent from the field. With Howard’s offensive impact extinguished, largely due to the work of Williams, Atlanta managed to score less than 75 points per game across their three losses to Golden State, their poorest average against any team.

Beginning on Saturday in San Francisco, however, the Valkyries will face what the Dream themselves rightly insist is a different team, with the offensive command of Jordin Canada, plus the addition of the experienced DeWanna Bonner, equipping Atlanta with more offensive weapons that will require schemes and strategies.

Simply silencing Howard is no longer enough if Canada and Bonner, and maybe a returned Allisha Gray, have loud games.

So, what’s the approach for Nakase and company? Is corralling the speedy Canada now at the top of the scouting report? How much attention will she send to Angel Reese? And what happens if Angel and Naz Hillmon hit the wide-open, dare 3s they’re likely to see? Howard, meanwhile, still looms as a threat.

The Dream, somewhat surprisingly, might present more challenges for the Golden State defense than the Wings or Aces did.

2. Can the clutch magic of Ballhalla keep carrying the Valkyries?

In their seven-game postseason, Golden State has played 26 clutch minutes, as defined by WNBA Stats. Both Burton and Williams have been on the court for all those minutes. Burton has shot 50 percent from the field in clutch time, while Williams has scored nearly a point per minute in the clutch, with a playoff-leading 25-clutchtime points.

In contrast, their opponents have hit under 28 percent of their shots in clutch situations.

Is all this sustainable? Yes, the Golden State defense is very good, but holding opponents to such poor shooting requires more than a bit of fortune. On the other side, can Williams, never considered a star-level offensive option, keep performing like one when it matters the most?

Atlanta, likewise, has been nails in the clutch, arguably overperforming expectations even more than Golden State; the Valkyries have outscored opponents by six points in their 26 clutch minutes, while the Dream have a scoring margin of +15 points in their 16 clutch minutes. So, it’s also fair to question whether the Dream can keep it up in clutch moments.

And maybe, there’s no concern for the Valkyries because Ballhalla will continue to conjure it’s greatest magic in winning time.

3. Will Nakase keep pushing the right rotational buttons?

The Valkyries are dangerous because of a shared belief that anyone is capable of being that difference maker. While Nakase devises defensive schemes to stall out other teams’ stars, her counterparts often cannot do the same, as Golden State’s offensive egalitarianism can upend the most exacting plans. Even as Williams has emerged as a more featured offensive star in the postseason, she still is averaging just 31 minutes per game in the playoffs, the most of any Valkyrie. Four Dream players, for comparison, are at more than 33 minutes per game; head coach Karl Smesko, in contrast to Nakase, eliminates potentially complicated choices and maximizes his core.

A well of potential contributors is a positive, until it’s not.

If Nakase’s pulse doesn’t produce in near-perfect fashion, do things start to get sticky for Golden State, where her efforts to identify an X factor begin to resemble DeMarco’s desperation?

Read Full Article - https://www.swishappeal.com/wnba-content/88848/finals-preview-gsv-valkyries-atl-dream-natalie-nakase-history-light-years-lacob-gabby-williams-veronica-burton-defense-clutch-kaitlyn-chen-championship-title-expansion-prediction-stokes-rotation-lineu

By Shayna Rubin

Just two years into the franchise’s existence, the Golden State Valkyries are still introducing themselves. To the WNBA, and to the Bay Area. The Valkyries’ introduction quickly turned into its arrival, as the lavender-clad franchise is in the WNBA Finals, four wins shy of a title and coronation — much earlier than expected.

A roster pieced together with players discarded by other teams is so bound by a collective identity that it has taken historic performances, overtime stunners and grind-it-out upsets to beat them in any game this year.

The Atlanta Dream are the last hurdle. They’re a team that Golden State swept 3-0 in the regular season, but one that has grown tremendously since their last matchup on July 4.

The Valkyries have a defense that disrupts even the most star-studded and accomplished teams in the league, but the Dream present perhaps their trickiest challenge yet: a multifaceted offense and a top-ranked defense that can go toe-to-toe with Golden State’s unit.

“A defensive-minded Finals, which is great,” head coach Natalie Nakase said. “So for us, we’re still trying to thrive for our four quarters. I think we’re about three quarters of really good, intense defense, and so just can’t wait for game day to show to see if we can perform four quarters.”

Here are the keys to watch heading into the Finals, which start with Game 1 on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Chase Center.

Veronica Burton vs. Jordin Canada:

The Dream may be without one of their best scorers in Allisha Gray, who underwent a minor procedure on her hand after injuring it during Game 1 of the semifinals against the New York Liberty.

Whether she plays, the Dream can score on a variety of levels — from 3-point distance, off second-chance opportunities and on-ball — but the key may lie at the point of attack with Dream guard Jordin Canada, who emerged as a key scorer beyond the arc while also taking advantage of Atlanta’s spacing that created open driving lanes.

The Valkyries’ strength defensively has always been at the point of attack, derived from Burton and Gabby Williams’ ball pressure. Statistically, Burton’s defensive impact shows in the numbers when she’s on or off the court. The Valkyries boast a stingy 96.7 defensive rating when Burton is on the court in 44 regular season games, according to hoopsjunkie, which drops to 103.5 when she’s off the court. The 6.8-point gap is one of the larger ones in the WNBA.

Burton and Williams collaborate to muck up screens and force much more stagnant half-court offensive possessions for the other team. Canada directs Atlanta into a dynamic offense with multiple threats — Rhyne Howard is dangerous from distance, averaging 8.8 3-point shots per game, while Gray and Canada can capitalize on space and score off the dribble.

If Burton and Williams can contest up top without fouling and prevent any need for help defense, they could hold Atlanta at bay.

The Angel Reese factor:

Reese is a main driver of the Dream’s feisty defense because she can wrangle rebounds like few others. That doesn’t just mean cleaning up on defense — Reese is a master of creating second-chance opportunities on the offensive boards, another main source of scoring for this Dream team.

“She just has a knack for the ball,” center Kiah Stokes said. “She has great hands, great timing. I just feel like wherever the ball is going, she’s going to be right there. It’s one of her specialties. I think that’s what got her to an elite spot in her career. And then obviously her offensive game has taken leaps, so we can’t really discount that, either. But, really, just trying to keep her off the glass as much as possible.”

The Valkyries have stated clearly the priority against Reese: get physical and box out.

That’s easier said than done. Stokes showed it’s entirely possible when she took on the Las Vegas Aces’ 6-foot-4 A’ja Wilson in the semifinal. She collected 21 rebounds in the first two games and helped Golden State win the rebounding battle in each of their three victories for the sweep. Six-foot-four Aminata Gueye tag-teamed with Stokes effectively from off the bench to give Golden State some size in the series.

Kayla Thornton was also essential in the rebounding game last series and may be an X-factor against Reese. The Valkyries’ defensive rating with Thornton on the court is stingy, too: a 95.9 rating on against a 103.0 rating with her off in 44 regular-season games.

Burton does the little things that will also help. She’s able to defend multiple positions and get physical under the rim, which could present another challenge for Reese.

The biggest difference between the Dream on July 4 and now? Veteran DeWanna Bonner.

The Dream signed her on Aug. 27 after the Phoenix Mercury bought out her contract. There’s a Warriors connection there; former director of basketball operations Nick U’Ren now serves as the Mercury general manager and negotiated the buyout specifically to put Bonner into free agency, where the 39-year-old could sign with a contender in what might be her final season or close to it.

And she has been just the presence Atlanta needs in this series. Bonner, a two-time champion, adds more length to complement Reese’s rebounding and scoring. She’s averaging 13.2 points per game and 6.4 rebounds in the playoffs.

“The biggest difference is DeWanna Bonner,” Williams said Wednesday. “On and off the court. I can imagine how much she’s talking in the locker room about what it takes to win. I think the championship experience is going to give Atlanta a different type of boost.”

Valkyries have Gabby Williams:

A title seemed far out of reach for the Valkyries without a bucket-getter — a player who could take the ball with a game on the line and score at near will.

Williams has been that player, consistently taking her calling card as a two-way player to the next level.

Against both Dallas and Las Vegas, Williams glided into the closer role. Her 17-foot jump shot gave the Valkyries their ultimate lead after erasing a 16-point deficit against the Wings.

She scored eight points in overtime in a deciding Game 3 against the Aces, including a step-back midrange shot that served as the dagger.

She averaged 14.4 points per game in the regular season, leading the Valkyries. In the playoffs, that average bumped to 22.7 points per game.

What’s fueling this ascent? Williams has said a few times: Golden State’s belief that she could.

“They just believe in me here,” Williams said on Tuesday. “It’s really it. I know it’s not respected as much here, but I’ve played on big stages before. I played in the Olympics, I’ve played for championships, so I know what it feels like to play big games. Just now, our culture is great here and we have other champions. We have WNBA champions. Kiah has won three times, KT (Kayla Thornton) has won, (Cecilia Zandalasini) has won, so we know how to get it done.”

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/valkyries-dream-wnba-finals-22477432.php

From realistic to not likely but would be nice.

Here are the best 15 players in the postseason, as ranked by Michael Voepel, Alexa Philippou, Kendra Andrews and Kareem Copeland.

The rankings come with one asterisk: Dream guard Allisha Gray, when healthy, is easily one of the WNBA’s best. But she sustained a hand injury in the first game of the semifinals and hasn’t played since. Gray made the cut after she said Thursday she was optimistic about playing in Game 1 at Chase Center in San Francisco.

1. Angel Reese, Atlanta Dream

2. Gabby Williams, Golden State Valkyries

3. Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream

4. Jordin Canada, Atlanta Dream

5. Veronica Burton, Golden State Valkyries

6. Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream

7. Tiffany Hayes, Golden State Valkyries

8. Kiah Stokes, Golden State Valkyries

9. DeWanna Bonner, Atlanta Dream

10. Kayla Thornton, Golden State Valkyries

11. Cecilia Zandalasini, Golden State Valkyries

12. Naz Hillmon, Atlanta Dream

13. Kaila Charles, Golden State Valkyries

14. Kaitlyn Chen, Golden State Valkyries

15. Isobel Borlase, Atlanta Dream

Read Full Article About Their Rankings - https://www.tsn.ca/wnba/article/reese-sits-first-in-ranking-of-top-15-players-in-the-wnba-finals-n1-50190828/

Three years ago, during a press conference to officially introduce the Golden State Valkyries as the WNBA's first expansion franchise since 2008, Joe Lacob took the microphone and gave the rest of the league a warning.

"First press conference with the Warriors, I said we will win a championship in the first five years," said Lacob, who has owned the NBA's Golden State Warriors since 2010 and paid a then-record-setting $50 million expansion fee for the Valkyries in 2023. "I'm telling you right now, we will win a WNBA championship in the first five years of this franchise."

At that point, the Valkyries were little more than an idea. They were seven months away from hiring Ohemaa Nyanin as their general manager, a year away from hiring Natalie Nakase as their coach and 14 months away from having any players on their roster.

Lacob's success in turning the Warriors into one of the premier franchises in all of sports made it hard to completely write off his proclamation. The Warriors had won 29 and 26 games, respectively, in the two seasons before he bought the team. Five years later, they won their first championship since 1975, and have since added three more titles in the Steph Curry era.

Still, few outside of the Bay Area thought the Valkyries, who will host Game 1 of the WNBA Finals against the Atlanta Dream on Saturday, would actually follow suit. And even the most strident believers, including Lacob himself, never imagined they could do so as soon as their second season.

"It's just a perfect confluence of events and people and experience and timing. It's just a lot of things that have all come together at the right time," Lacob said this week. "I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I am shocked by this, I'm not. I think all the ingredients were there and I made that prediction knowingly and understood what I was saying. Now to do it in two years, no one could sit here and tell you that would be something they would predict. No one, not even me."

READ MORE - https://www.cbssports.com/wnba/news/wnba-finals-golden-state-valkyries-joe-lacob-prediction-atlanta-dream/

The WNBA today announced the game officials assigned to the 2026 WNBA Finals.

WNBA Finals action tips off tomorrow with Game 1 at Chase Center in San Francisco, where the No. 2 seed Golden State Valkyries will host the No. 4 seed Atlanta Dream (NBC/Peacock; 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT).

Finals officials are selected by the WNBA Referee Operations management team based on key criteria assessed throughout the season including: WNBA Referee Operations grades and rankings, play-calling accuracy and team ratings. Officials are evaluated after each playoff round to determine advancement to the next playoff round.

“This group of officials has earned the right to represent the WNBA and their profession on the ultimate stage, the Finals,” said Bethany Donaphin, Head of WNBA League Operations. “Being selected to officiate in the WNBA Finals is an opportunity they have worked for and is testament to their on-court achievements this season and across their respective careers.”

The 14 referees assigned to the 2026 WNBA Finals are listed below and include 12 on-court officials and two alternates*:

https://www.wnba.com/news/wnba-announces-2026-wnba-finals-officials

We saw the post from u/RodBlago1699 and dug into some numbers.

Regarding Burton and Canada: For the regular season, we had them #1 and #3 in our Net Points on passing metric, which is the value of their assists minus the cost of their bad pass turnovers. They are ranked #3 and #2, respectively, in Net Points on creating turnovers.

So if we stick with those metrics, let's look at last year, the Aces vs. the Mercury. The Aces didn't have anyone in the top 10 in passing, but the Mercury had Alyssa Thomas at #1. Neither team had a player in the top 10 in creating turnovers.
 
What about the year before? It was the Liberty and the Lynx. The Liberty had three players in the top 10 in passing, the Lynx had one. In terms of creating turnovers, the Lynx had one player in the top 10. 
 
So I'd say that what GSV and ATL have this year in terms of good guards is not a standard formula for achieving success. (In general, in my experience, the biggest formula is just maximizing the talent that you have, so this doesn't surprise me.)

Let us know if there's anything else you want our team to dig into!

-Dean Oliver, data scientist for ESPN Analytics

The players I caught in the commercial are:

• Diana Taurausi
• Dawn Staley
• Kara Lawson
• Cynthia Copper
• Swin Cash
• Tamika Catchings
• Lisa Leslie
• Katie Smith
• Alana Beard
• Sheryl Swoops
• Sue Bird

https://www.threads.com/share/FLPbKAzKW/

This is a piece written about a family friend and amazing woman who has kind of accidentally become a minor celebrity through sheer force of personality and her love of the Valks!

On the afternoon of Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals last week, Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard warmed up on a stationary bike just outside the visitors’ tunnel of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The Dream were one win shy of sweeping the New York Liberty and clinching the franchise’s first WNBA Finals appearance since 2013. Understandably, Howard appeared locked in, wearing a steady game face as she pedaled out the final moments of the team’s media availability before shootaround.

Her demeanor shifted after a question about the impact of LaToya Sanders, one of her assistant coaches. A full smile now radiated across Howard’s face as she sat back in her seat, her expression answering the question before she even said a word.

“My mom, she’s like, ‘[LaToya]’s your big sister.’ We’re so much alike. I think that’s what helps [LaToya] to keep me grounded,” Howard said. “I think she’s been perfect thus far. I hope that I can have her for the rest of my career.”

In her second season with the Dream, and her fifth as an assistant coach, Sanders has become a pivotal sideline contributor to Atlanta’s on-court success. Those close to Sanders, whose 12-year professional career included seven WNBA seasons and a 2019 championship, laud her basketball intellect and meticulous work ethic. Her pursuit of excellence in basketball, whether as a coach or a player, has been tireless.

Ultimately, her work is for one goal: to pull the best out of her players, to win a championship and one day, hopefully soon, to become a head coach. For now, she’s looking for her first title as an assistant.

“You sacrifice a lot as a player. You sacrifice a lot as a coach,” Sanders said. “To then come out with the ultimate prize, a championship, it would be wonderful.”

Among Sanders’ responsibilities is working individually with Howard and Angel Reese, two of the Dream’s All-Stars. She helps craft training plans and watches film with them, tailoring her presentations to highlight how they can use their skill sets to exploit defenses in upcoming games.

Sanders’ key to the pair’s success? Finding ways to elevate their teammates’ play.

“Both of them know that when other players get involved and have success, that the game is easier for them,” Sanders said. “We feel like no matter how good you are, there’s always areas that even the best players can improve in. We try to focus on those so they can be unstoppable.”

READ MORE - https://andscape.com/features/latoya-sanders-atlanta-dream-coach-wnba-finals-championship/

Looking at the valkaries game in particular they looked like a team that rolled out of bed.

offense was super stagnant way too much dribbling, zero ball movement, guards not hitting the roller on pick and rolls and really quick shots.

There was a couple of times Angel was leaking out and nobody bothered to look up.

On the defensive end it was worse. zero help defense

Gabby and Burton would drive and be met with no resistance. Screens led to wide open 3s because no one would switch up to that point the dream allowed the highest 3 point percentage in the league.

But In the last 20 games this team transformed completely. If you watch the New York series Actually switching and hedging ball handlers on screens. Hitting rim runners in transition. Offensively the dream aren’t taking 15 seconds to get into sets anymore.

Angels Avg 18 ppg with 1.8 blocks

Jordin Canada is avg 19.8

DB is giving you an extra 13 ppg