The Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream are two teams defined by the historic nature of their success, so it's fitting that they are the two teams ushering fans and the WNBA into a historic Game 7 in the WNBA Finals. The Valkyries will host the Dream on Saturday, the final match between two teams who have offered up everything they have in them in pursuit of the win.
And make no mistake: Game 7 is a very, very exciting milestone for the WNBA to achieve, especially as the league is celebrating its 30th season of play. But as much as the end of Game 7 will represent something magnificent for one team and something a little less so for the other, it also represents something bittersweet for all of us: the end of the 2026 season.
Of course, a basketball season has to end, if only because players need breaks. And who knows? Maybe we'd all hate it if the WNBA was on every week all year long; maybe we'd start to take it for granted, or we'd get tired. But this year it feels like the WNBA will be truly missed when the final teams go into hibernation mode, before the league is fully scattered in European leagues or in Miami for Unrivaled, or on vacation somewhere fantastic.
The NCAA season will begin the next day, so that offers a bit of respite to fans of women's basketball. But the two experiences are different; collegiate basketball and professional basketball aren't the same thing, and though there's certainly a Venn diagram that encompasses fans of both, there are still plenty of people on the fringes. For some fans, the NCAA will be more than enough until the W is back in session; for others, it will barely scratch a very important itch.
The success of the 2026 WNBA season is owed to a lot of people: fans, beat reporters, national media, the league's leadership, and the front office of each team are all on the list. But more than anyone, it's owed to the players, past, present, and future. This season began in historic fashion with the signing of a blockbuster Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that was built on the labor of women whose careers spanned decades, and this season concludes in historic fashion with a shining example of how far the league has come.
No matter who wins tomorrow, Game 7 is special — and that can never be taken away from anyone.
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