The Atlanta Dream have stormed past the New York Liberty to secure a trip to the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Finals.
The Dream defeated the Liberty 85-83 in New York to complete a three-game sweep this past Friday and are now set to face the Golden State Valkyries, with Game 1 of the matchup to be played on Oct. 17.
The Finals matchup appears evenly matched; the Valkyries finished with the second-best record in the league, while the Dream finished with the fourth-best record. Both teams swept their opponents in three games in the semifinals.
This upcoming Finals appearance marks the fourth Finals appearance for the Dream since its founding in 2008. The Dream is hoping that this time around, the team will come home as champions and deliver the Dream’s first title win in the best of seven series.
The Valkyries, on the other hand, are one of the newest teams in the league, having debuted just one season ago in 2025.
Fandom for the Dream has been growing in popularity, especially over the last year, with the acquisition of star forward Angel Reese from the Chicago Sky, who has been breaking records in rebounding. Reese tallied the single-game record for rebounds back in August with 26 rebounds, became the leader for rebounds in a single season with 521 rebounds, and finished her magical season with the 2026 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award — the first player in franchise history.
“When I came to Atlanta, I knew what I was getting,” said Reese in a postgame interview after the Dream won game 3. “This team has poured so much into me, and we pour so much into each other.”
The Dream has also seen its two other All-Stars, Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray, flourish this year — players whose talents will be needed to beat this Valkyries team, which has beaten the Dream all three times the two have faced off this season.
The venue dilemma
With the growing support, the Dream recently announced that the team will play all of their home games in State Farm Arena for the upcoming 2027 season.
Many fans rejoiced at the news of the move to State Farm Arena, which can hold over 17,000 seats for fans — a huge capacity increase from the Dream’s current home court in College Park, Ga at Gateway Center Arena, which holds about 3500 maximum capacity. For these 2026 Playoffs, the Dream have been playing at State Farm Arena — and reportedly sold out five out of six games.
The venue closed off the top portion of the arena and began opening portions of it once the lower half of the arena’s more than 8,800 seats sold out. Front Office Sports reports that the Dream had more than 9,700 attendees for its first two Playoff games, and The Athletic reports an average attendance of 9,700 attendees throughout these Playoffs — nearly tripling the maximum capacity of Gateway Center Arena. In short, the city was excited to watch the Dream.
However, the jury’s still out on how this 2026 season will end — and where.
Some fans online were hoping for the Dream to continue play in State Farm Arena for their first Finals appearance since 2013. However, the arena is booked for a concert and Hawks games during games 3, 4 and 6 when the Dream would be playing at home in Atlanta.
Now, the team is looking into options with larger capacities to host the team, which has clearly generated momentum and excitement from fans. The team’s regular home court at Gateway Center Arena is available, but the venue’s limited capacity and lack of premium seating are drawbacks.
Regardless of where the team ends up calling home court for these Finals, however, the players remain focused on one goal: bringing home a championship to Atlanta.
“The job is not done; we’re definitely happy about where we are right now, but we’re not satisfied,” said Reese in a postgame interview.
This sentiment was shared by her team, especially those who have had Finals experience before.
“I think the biggest thing is you can’t get too high or too low at this moment. We have to stay level, stay steady, manage our emotions,” said Jordin Canada, a two-time champion herself previously with the Seattle Storm and now a veteran for the Dream. “We want to enjoy this moment; we’re very proud of getting here. It took a lot of hard work, it took staying together… so being proud of getting there, but knowing that the job is not done and we can’t get too high or too low — we have to stay steady.”
This article will be updated when a venue is selected for the Dream’s home games in the Finals.
