Golden State Valkyries have reached the WNBA Finals in only their second season after beating the defending champion Las Vegas Aces 87-77 in overtime to complete a 3-0 semi-final sweep. The Guardian reported that the second-seeded Valkyries will have home-court advantage against fourth-seeded Atlanta Dream, with the Finals beginning on 17 October.
The result ended Las Vegas’s title defence and sent Golden State through after a tense game in which neither side secured control in regulation. It also means the Valkyries, who made the play-offs in their first season, have progressed from a new franchise to a Finals participant in two campaigns, a route The Guardian described as the quickest by an expansion team.
Golden State took over in overtime
Kayla Thornton led Golden State with 18 points, while Gabby Williams scored 16 and supplied eight of those in overtime, according to The Guardian. Former Aces players Kiah Stokes and Tiffany Hayes each added 11 points; Stokes also collected 10 rebounds.
The deciding stretch was unusually clear-cut after a closely contested final quarter. The Valkyries outscored Las Vegas 16-6 in overtime. After regulation ended tied, Golden State’s 16-6 overtime advantage produced the final 10-point margin, underlining how decisively Golden State finished.
Golden State had moved ahead 53-47 on a 17-point run, but the Aces reduced the gap to one by the end of the third quarter despite scoring seven points in that period. Las Vegas then led by six late in the fourth before Golden State recovered.
The Guardian reported that Williams stole the ball from A’ja Wilson before Thornton completed a transition lay-up to tie the game at 69-69 with one minute and 50 seconds left. Veronica Burton then put Golden State ahead with a nine-foot floater, only for Chelsea Gray to find Jackie Young from an inbound pass for the equalising basket with 27 seconds remaining. Las Vegas had forced overtime, but could not carry that late resistance into the extra period.
A title defence ends as a new finalist emerges
Las Vegas arrived with recent championship pedigree, having won three of the previous four WNBA titles. The Guardian reported that the Aces’ defeat was the first time a Becky Hammon-coached Las Vegas side had been swept in the play-offs. It was also the franchise’s first play-off sweep since Seattle beat the Aces in the 2020 Finals.
Wilson, recognised before the game for becoming the WNBA’s first five-time MVP, recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds but shot six from 19 from the field. The Guardian reported that she joined DeWanna Bonner as the only players to reach 1,300 post-season points and 600 post-season rebounds. Young scored 18 points and Gray contributed 17, but those returns did not prevent the Aces from falling short in the series.
Golden State’s success carries an added layer of personnel context. Head coach Natalie Nakase previously worked as a Las Vegas assistant, while Stokes and Hayes had also played for the Aces. The Guardian reported that Nakase acknowledged her familiarity with the opposition, while the late steal and the 16-6 overtime margin proved pivotal to Golden State’s win.
What awaits in the Finals
The Valkyries will meet Atlanta after the Dream swept New York. The second-seeded Valkyries will have home-court advantage and host Atlanta in the Finals.
For Golden State, the immediate competitive significance is simple: the team has removed the reigning champions without needing a fourth game and will face Atlanta in the Finals beginning on 17 October. For Las Vegas, the season ends despite Wilson’s individual accolade and a roster that repeatedly kept the game close. The decisive difference on the night was not merely Golden State’s ability to force overtime, but its 16-6 response once there.