If the WNBA title is won in Game 6, the celebration may not happen on the court where it was won. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne says the Atlanta Hawks’ game later that night could force the party somewhere else.
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“Guess what happens if someone wins a championship after game 6? They have to turn that arena over for the Hawks game,” Shelburne said in a clip shared on X. “And so that championship celebration may not actually be on that court. I’ve heard there are discussions about whether there’s enough time to turn the arena over in time for the fans to celebrate on the court. It could be moved to, like, a practice court.”
On Monday, the WNBA moved Game 6 between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries to 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday at State Farm Arena. The game had been set for 8 p.m. that night, while the Hawks were scheduled to host the Cleveland Cavaliers in the same building at 7 p.m. To make room, the Hawks pushed their game back to 8 p.m.
That leaves only a few hours between the two games, and Shelburne said the new schedule is what creates the problem.
“Look, at 12:30, you just do the math,” she said. “They’d have five and a half hours before the game tips off. So what do you want to do, tell people to wrap up your celebration so we can get the Hawks game started? It’s not a great option, but it’s the option they’ve chosen, and none of the options were good.”
The series is tied 2-2 heading into Game 5 on Monday night in San Francisco. Whichever team wins that game can clinch the title on Thursday in Atlanta.
Getting Game 6 into State Farm Arena took time as well. The Dream generally play at Gateway Center Arena, which has a seating capacity of 3,500. The team has played every playoff game this season at State Farm Arena, which holds around 17,000.
With the Hawks already booked Thursday night, a Dream spokesperson said over the weekend that the game would be played at Gateway Center if nothing changed.
According to ESPN, the WNBA, NBA, Hawks, Dream and Valkyries held talks through the weekend. Another option under strong consideration was playing Game 6 at State Farm Arena on Friday and pushing a possible Game 7 to November 3 in San Francisco.
This is the third time in this Finals in Atlanta that a game needed to be adjusted. Game 3 was moved up a day because of a concert already booked at the arena. Game 4 ended just hours before the Hawks’ home opener, which was pushed back 30 minutes.
The decision has drawn criticism. However, this problem should go away next season, when the Dream move to State Farm Arena full-time.
But for now, if the championship is decided in Game 6, the winning team will be racing against time to finish their celebrations.