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Opinion
Two franchises with zero titles meet in the WNBA Finals - and the expansion team nobody predicted would be here might be the one best equipped to win it all.
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Two years ago, if you had told a room full of WNBA analysts that the Golden State Valkyries would be playing for the championship in their second season, every single one of them would have smiled politely and changed the subject. Expansion teams do not do this. They are supposed to stumble, learn, and maybe - maybe - become relevant by year four.
The Valkyries did not get the memo. And now they are four wins from the ultimate prize, facing an Atlanta Dream side that has never lifted the trophy either. This is a Finals between two franchises with zero championship pedigree. One of them is about to make history - and I think the wrong team is getting most of the attention.
Angel Reese's journey from Chicago outcast to Atlanta talisman is a wonderful storyline, and her role in dragging the Dream to their fourth Finals appearance deserves every column inch it has received. But what Natalie Nakase has built on the other side of the bracket is something rarer and, frankly, more significant for the league's future.
Consider what the Valkyries have overcome just to reach this series. Nakase literally collapsed on the sideline during the playoffs - a moment that would have shattered most teams' composure. Instead, her players rallied, finished the job, and then beat the defending champion Las Vegas Aces to punch their Finals ticket. That is not depth. That is identity - forged in less than two seasons, which should be impossible.
Karl Smesko has done fine work with Atlanta. The Dream's defensive numbers are excellent, and he navigated the Allisha Gray injury situation with impressive tactical flexibility. But Nakase is operating on a different level of emotional connection with her roster. Players like Gabby Williams and Veronica Burton have spoken about how she knows them as people, not just pieces on a tactical board.
That distinction matters in a best-of-seven series, where adjustments come thick and fast and trust becomes the currency that separates winners from nearly-theres. The Valkyries have it in reserve. Whether Atlanta can match it under sustained Finals pressure is the question nobody is asking loudly enough.
Golden State have never played a Finals minute. Not one. Atlanta have been here three times before, and that scar tissue - knowing what the stage feels like, understanding its rhythms - counts for something. The Dream also hold home-court advantage for Games 3 and 4, and Reese in front of a full State Farm Arena is a genuinely frightening prospect for any defence. Experience and environment are real advantages, and dismissing them would be naive.
There is a freedom in having nothing to protect. No legacy to uphold, no previous Finals heartbreak to relitigate in the back of your mind at 2 a.m. the night before a decisive game. Golden State play like a team unburdened by expectation - because they are. They were not supposed to be here. Every game from now on is bonus basketball, and teams playing with house money are dangerous opponents.
Nakase's side knocked out Dallas, survived their coach's health scare, and dethroned the Aces. If that sequence does not scream championship-calibre resilience, nothing does.
Atlanta are chasing a first title. Golden State are chasing something even bigger - proof that you can build a winner from scratch in 24 months. Game 1 has already tipped off, and I suspect by the time this series is over, the expansion franchise nobody saw coming will be the one lifting the trophy. The Valkyries have defied every template so far. Why would they stop now?
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Copyright 2026 VIASPORT
Eva Hernández, Editor-in-Chief
VIASPORT uses AI to generate, enhance, and quality-assure its journalism. While we strive to create engaging and accurate material, imagery, grammar, and spelling may occasionally deviate from conventional standards.
