The WNBA Finals will feature a matchup that would have been difficult, if not downright impossible, to predict when the season began. The Dream and the Valkyries will contest the championship, with neither franchise having won a title and each arriving at this point by taking a route few, if at all, anticipated. Atlanta is returning to the Finals for the first time since 2013, while Golden State, only in its second year of existence, has reached the title series ahead of more established contenders. That said, the unusual pairing also serves as a reminder that the postseason does not always follow the league’s familiar hierarchy.
The Dream’s journey is a story of persistence, although their history makes the opportunity particularly complicated. They previously reached the Finals in 2010, 2011 and 2013, only to lose all three series, which is to say they have experienced championship basketball without ever quite getting close enough to claim the ultimate prize. This year, they have taken a different route, sweeping the Mystics and Liberty to come to within four wins of the hardware. Beating the latter was especially significant given the hitherto established order they had to displace. And they did not merely benefit from a favorable bracket. They earned their place by upending opponents with legitimate championship ambitions.
The Valkyries’ appearance is even harder to reconcile with conventional expectations. Expansion teams are ordinarily given time to establish their identities, develop their rosters and learn how to compete consistently against the league’s more experienced organizations. They have compressed that process dramatically. After making the playoffs in their inaugural 2025 season, they have advanced to the Finals in their second year, becoming the first expansion team in WNBA history to reach the championship series so quickly.
To be sure, the Valkyries’ semifinal sweep of the vaunted Aces was the clearest indication that their progress is not simply a novelty. They combined defensive pressure, depth, and composure to eliminate the erstwhile defending titleholders, who had been accustomed to operating at the highest level. Needless to say, they have benefited from the organizational resources and basketball infrastructure associated with the Warriors, but resources alone do not explain their achievement. They still needed players capable of executing under pressure and a team identity strong enough to survive the postseason.
The unlikely pairing also reflects the competitive uncertainty that makes a playoff tournament compelling. The Lynx, the Liberty, and the Aces have all occupied prominent positions in recent championship discussions, and it would have been reasonable to expect at least one of them to remain standing at this point. Instead, the Dream and the Valkyries have taken advantage of their opportunities without requiring a lengthy series to establish their superiority in the semifinals. Both brandished broomsticks, the close shaves in the clinchers notwithstanding.
The paths the finalists took may have been different, but the outcome was the same: They were not necessarily the obvious preseason choices, but are now four wins away from a championship. The Finals will also offer an interesting contrast between the Dream’s accumulated disappointment and the Valkyries’ relative freedom from historical baggage. One franchise is trying to finally complete a journey that has repeatedly ended short of its destination; the other is attempting to establish a championship tradition almost before it has had time to establish a history.
There is, of course, a difference between reaching the Finals unexpectedly and being unprepared to win them. The Dream must prove that their latest breakthrough can produce success even as their previous Finals appearances could not, while the Valkyries must demonstrate that their remarkable acceleration can culminate in a title. Neither has the luxury of treating the appearance itself as the achievement. And though their meeting is unlikely in the sense that few would have confidently selected this exact pairing before the playoffs, it is not an accident. They have both earned their opportunity through the same unforgiving process that eliminated the league’s more familiar contenders.
The Finals will determine who between the Dream and the Valkyries take the last step to success. Whatever happens, their presence has already made the point that in a league still expanding its possibilities, the next contenders do not always announce themselves in advance.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.