With their back against the wall, the Atlanta Dream put behind them the ghosts of the past two games and took Game 6 against the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 to level the 2026 WNBA Finals. The Dream were criticized for their shooting performance in the Game 5 loss, so they made their intentions clear right out of the gate in Game 6, knocking down a record 13 three-pointers, tied for the most made by a team facing elimination in WNBA Finals history.

Now that the WNBA title will be decided by the ultimate Game 7 at Chase Center, shared by the Golden State Warriors and the Valkyries as their home court, GSW head coach Steve Kerr expects it will be a hard-fought battle between two teams who will leave everything on the court, aiming for their first-ever WNBA title. On the “95.7 The Game” podcast, Kerr was asked what makes a closeout game different.

“Just the sense of desperation that the other team is playing with, and there’s just a different level of intensity, and there’s a sense of, ‘Man, we’re right on the cusp, we got to finish this thing off.’ So there’s some added pressure that comes with that,” Kerr replied on the podcast.

The Warriors HC insists that this will be the most challenging game of the series so far for the Valkyries.

“But there’s no doubt that the close-out game is always the most difficult one, and then Game 7s – what makes those special is that both teams have that desperation and that energy, and that’s why so many of Game 7s are rock fights. Everybody at that point, what your opponent is doing, you’ve played them six times already. There’s the pressure that comes with the Game 7 itself, and it just turns into a street fight, and that’s what I would expect for the Valkyries,” added Kerr.

The Valkyries will be well suited to heed Kerr’s words to prepare mentally and physically for Game 7. Kerr himself knows a thing or two about the Game 7s of pivotal series, holding an impressive 4-1 record in Game 7s as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors. However, Kerr suffered a heartbreaking end to the Warriors’ record-setting season in 2016, when they blew a 3-1 series lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James and the Cavs secured the championship in a tightly contested Game 7 at Oracle Arena that ended 93-89 in their favor. This remains Kerr’s only Game 7 defeat as a head coach.

As far as the Valkyries are concerned, they entered Game 6 with an opportunity to clinch their inaugural WNBA championship, but were decisively beaten. They were somewhat taken by surprise by Atlanta’s explosive start and trailed 32-15 after the first quarter.

“They scored 32 points in the first quarter. That’s unacceptable on our end,” Veronica Burton said in the post-game press conference. “So just got to play better defense. Obviously, they’re hitting good shots and getting good looks. I think we were sped up a little bit, but we cleaned it up in the other quarters defensively. But can’t let that happen right out the gate. There needs to be a sense of urgency. It’s the WNBA Finals.”

After being at the receiving end of a lot of criticism for her performance in the previous two games, where she finished with a combined 15 points, Angel Reese was happy that she and her team found their rhythm in this game.

“It’s been frustrating for all of us not being able to shoot great … and open shots that we have been getting, not hitting them at the right time,” said Angel Reese after the game. “And I always told the girls it’s not going to rain forever. And we were able to maximize that moment today. The sun peeked out a little bit more today and gave us an opportunity to see Game 7.”

Reese finished the game with a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds. Allisha Gray made five of her seven three-pointers, and Rhyne Howard made 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.

On the other hand, it was a rough shooting night for the Valkyries. Veronica Burton managed to grind out just eight points on a woeful 2-for-13 clip from the floor, including six missed threes, while adding six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. As usual, Gabby Williams carried the offensive load for the Valkyries, pouring in 26 points, including a massive 22-point explosion in the second half.

The Valkyries staged a late-game resurgence, outscoring the Dream 21-17 in the third quarter and 22-17 in the fourth quarter. But the 20-point first-half deficit was too much to overcome.

Still, it’s all to play for in Game 7. As Steve Kerr said, fans can expect nothing short of a battle on the court.

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