Atlanta and Golden State set for WNBA Finals

The Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries are set to begin the 2026 WNBA Finals on October 17 in San Francisco, with each franchise seeking its first league championship. The best-of-seven series brings together the fourth-seeded Dream and second-seeded Valkyries after both advanced to the finals for the first time in their current circumstances: Atlanta returns after reaching the championship series in 2013, while Golden State is in its second season. The teams enter the matchup with strong defensive credentials. Each had three players selected to the WNBA All-Defensive teams. Atlanta forward Angel Reese, the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, and guard Rhyne Howard were named to the first team, while guard Jordin Canada made the second team. For Golden State, forward Gabby Williams earned first-team recognition, with guard Veronica Burton and center Kiah Stokes named to the second team. Reese led the league with 12.1 rebounds per game and recorded 32 blocks, a career high, according to the reported statistics. Howard and Canada ranked ahead of Reese in steals per game, at 2.3 and 1.9, respectively. Williams and Burton each averaged 1.6 steals, while Stokes finished...