Dream hurt by WNBA Finals loss, but it’s ‘delayed, not denied’
SAN FRANCISCO — The Dream had a WNBA championship within their grasp. But with several miscues, bad shots and a rocky five-minute stretch in the third, their shot slipped right by.
Even in the aftermath of the hurt that comes with a dream unrealized, they believe they will be back.
“It’s tough, especially with the good group, great group that I’ve honestly had an honor to battle with all year,” Dream forward Angel Reese said.
“They changed my life, and I’m just so grateful for them, and I’m so thankful for them. And it is tough in the moment, but we’ll be back. And I always say, ‘Delayed, not denied.’”
The Dream opened Game 7 of the WNBA Finals missing their first nine shots. But they rallied, leaning on their play style and running the floor.
It put some early pressure on the Valkyries’ defense, allowing the Dream to pull the deficit to 2 by the end of the first quarter. Then, by the end of the second, the Dream had a 30-24 lead, thanks a 13-point first half from guard Jordin Canada.
The veteran point guard powered them, using her speed to get downhill and pressure the Valkyries in the post. It allowed the Dream to dictate the pace, as well as find optimal spacing.
But the Valkyries adjusted and flipped the pressure in the second half.
Valkyries wing Gabby Williams, the Finals MVP, called for switch after switch, looking for mismatches on Canada.
Williams got them pretty much every time, finishing the night with 30 points on 4-of-8 shooting from 3. Williams joined Penny Taylor (2007) as the only players in WNBA history to score 30-plus points in a winner-take-all Finals game.
The Dream, though, had chances down the stretch to grab the franchise’s first WNBA title, even as the Valkyries stretched the lead to seven.
Dream guard Allisha Gray hit a 3 with 34 seconds to play, which brought them within 64-60. Reese split a pair of free throws that cut the game to 5 after a pair of clutch free throws from Valkyries’ Tiffany Hayes.
Gray got to the line after Reese picked off an inbounds pass, and she made both free throws to cut their deficit to a one-possession game.
Then the Dream forced a jump ball with just seconds to play that could have gotten Atlanta one more possession. But the Valkyries won it and forced the Dream to foul, putting the Valkyries’ Veronica Burton on the free-throw line to end any further last-ditch efforts.
But the missed opportunities, miscues and missteps have only fueled the Dream’s desire to change the outcome next season.
“Nobody wanted us here and we got here on our own, as a team, as a unit, and everybody that’s in that locker room, we have been saying that’s all we need,” Canada said. “Yeah, we didn’t get the end result that we wanted, but at the end of the day, what’s delayed is not denied, and I do believe this team will be back for years to come.”
The Dream have all of their core players under contract through the 2027 season. They’ll have most of their players under contract through ’28 minus Reese, who will be a restricted free agent, and Canada, who will be unrestricted.
But they’ll think about this 2026 bid for a championship. Then it’ll be about getting better.
“We’re going to reflect, obviously,” Canada said. “Everybody is going to take their time to reflect on the game, but at the end of the day, we battled. We fought and we did everything that we could.
“Going into next year, just have that mindset knowing that we can’t take plays off. We can’t take games off. We’ve got to come out and bring it every single night.
“Adding Bri (Jones, who missed much of the season with a leg injury) will also help as well, another body and another dominant force in the paint. I’m excited this group. We’re going to be together for a couple years. So, like I said, we’ll be back. This is not the end for us.”