The Golden State Valkyries just made WNBA history by winning the title in their second year of existence, and it will be fair to say that their NBA counterparts have also noticed. Especially Golden State Warriors star Yaxel Lendeborg, who was in attendance at Chase Center as the Valkyries won Game 7 68-63.
Lendeborg walked up to Gabby Williams, who had the Finals MVP trophy in her hand, before congratulating her and posing for pictures, per a post on X by ClutchPoints. Williams, 30, won her first Finals MVP after a masterclass performance that saw her finish with 30 points, 28 of which came in the second quarter, the highest in a single half in WNBA Finals history.
The Valkyries, who played Game 7 at home arena, started the game slowly, and fell behind by as many as ten points after the first half. However, Williams took matters in her own hands, scoring 15 points in the third quarter and 13 in the fourth to land the title for her team.
The Valkyries became the first team in North American sports to win the championship in just their second year of existence, and also the first team to win the WNBA title despite not having a single All-WNBA selection in the same season. Game 7 proved to be a low-scoring affair, with both teams struggling to generate offence except the singular Williams. Golden State had the opportunity to pack things up in Game 6, but the Atlanta Dream fought till the end to force a Game 7.
Williams’ dominance became evident when one considers the fact that only two other Golden State players finished in double digits. Veronica Burton had 10 points, while Tiffany Hayes was her team’s second-highest scorer on the night, with 11.
For Atlanta, Jordin Canada top-scored with 18 points while Allisha Gray finished with 16.