2026 WNBA Finals schedule: Dream vs. Valkyries Game 6 gets moved up to afternoon tip

The WNBA Finals are knotted at two apiece after the Golden State Valkyries held on for a Game 4 win on Sunday over the Atlanta Dream. Defense stole the show for Golden State, aided by a poor showing from Dream star Angel Reese, in a 67-62 final.
The series resumes on Monday in San Francisco as the Valkyries host Game 5. Both teams are looking to win a title for the first time in franchise history.
Whoever wins on Monday will be playing for a title on Thursday ... and they'll be doing it with an early start time. The WNBA announced Monday that Game 6 was being moved up to 12:30 p.m. ET so it could be played at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The league chose to have the matinee at the larger arena rather than play an originally scheduled night game at Gateway Center Arena -- the Dream's 3,500-seat regular-season home.
The Dream and Valkyries both completed semifinal sweeps, giving them a week off before the Finals. Atlanta knocked out the New York Liberty, while Golden State ousted the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces.
The Dream knocked the Washington Mystics out in the first round and are a perfect 5-0 in the playoffs. The Valkyries defeated the Dallas Wings in the first round, needing all three games to do so. The Finals, for the second season ever, are a best-of-seven series in 2026.
The 2026 WNBA season has been groundbreaking, on and off the court. It launched on the heels of a contentious and extended labor battle that resulted in a historic raise for the players (the salary cap increased from $1.5 million in 2025 to $7 million in 2026), and in return, the players raised the bar on a weekly basis. Multiple regular-season records fell this year, from Clark becoming the first player in WNBA history with a 40-point, 10-assist game, to Angel Reese breaking the single-game rebounding record with 26 to Kelsey Mitchell passing A'ja Wilson's single-season points record.
2026 WNBA playoff bracket
2026 WNBA Finals scores and schedule
(All times Eastern)
Saturday, Oct. 17
Monday, Oct. 19
Wednesday, Oct. 21
Saturday, Oct. 24
Monday, Oct. 26
Thursday, Oct. 29
Saturday, Oct. 31
* - denotes if necessary
First-round scores
Sunday, Sept. 27
Tuesday, Sept. 29
Wednesday, Sept. 30
Thursday, Oct. 1
Friday, Oct. 2
Semifinals scores
Sunday, Oct. 4
Wednesday, Oct. 7
Friday, Oct. 9

2026 WNBA playoffs bracket: Game 6 tip time moved up
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Valkyries' Gabby Williams found 'different kind of fire' in Game 4 win Lindsay Gibbs 5 min read
Fever clean house, but front office refresh isn't enough Lindsay Gibbs 4 min read
WNBA moves Game 6 to early afternoon to stay at State Farm Arena Jack Maloney 2 min read
Big changes for Fever: President Krauskopf steps down, GM Cox fired Jack Maloney 7 min read
Mark Walter reportedly looking to sell WNBA's Sparks after Lakers sale Jack Maloney 3 min read
2026 WNBA awards: A'ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark headline All-WNBA teams Jack Maloney 7 min read
How Dream's Angel Reese rebuilt her 3-point shot 'from scratch' Jack Maloney 4 min read
Angel Reese's superpower: Her confidence has Dream on verge of title Lindsay Gibbs 5 min read
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