A championship run demands many sacrifices from the teams who wish to win it. But for one teammate of Angel Reese’s on the Atlanta Dream, adjusting to an unusual tip-off time is hardly a concern when the team is this close to winning the title. With the Finals against the Golden State Valkyries tied at 2-2, the Dream are preparing for a potential championship-clinching Game 6 in front of a massive home crowd.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“I mean, it’s the finals. You just gotta do what you gotta do,” Dream star Allisha Gray said during an online press conference. A clip of her response was shared on X by beat reporter Avery Braxton.
“We are locked in on winning Game 6. I don’t care whether it’s 8 a.m., 10 p.m., midnight. We got a championship to win.”
For those unaware, until yesterday, the location of Game 6 was not fixed. State Farm Arena, where the team has played all of its postseason games. The game was originally conflicting with an NBA regular-season game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Then, on October 26, it was announced that the NBA game, which is the home opener for the Hawks, was moved to one hour later, at 8 pm ET, and that Game 6 was scheduled for 12:30 pm ET.
This is a pattern that has bothered the team throughout the Finals. All three of their home games have required last-minute adjustments to the schedule to be hosted at State Farm Arena, which has a capacity of 17,000 fans. That’s a big increase compared to their regular-season home at Gateway Arena, which accommodated just 3,500 fans.
It took an agreement between the WNBA, NBA, the Dream, the Hawks, the Valkyries, State Farm Arena, and the league’s broadcasting partners to help make the arena available for Games 3 and 4, and now for Game 6.
“The sellout crowds and extraordinary atmosphere at State Farm Arena for Games 3 and 4 were a tremendous success, and we’re excited to give thousands more fans the opportunity to experience Game 6 with a championship on the line,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Monday.
“We thank the NBA, Dream, Valkyries, Hawks, State Farm Arena and USA Network for the collaboration and flexibility that made this move possible. We look forward to delivering another unforgettable Finals experience in Atlanta”
The Dream tried to schedule the game for its usual primetime slot, but with the Hawks-Cavs game scheduled for the same night, that was not possible. What complicated the situation even further was that the NBA matchup couldn’t be moved earlier in the day because both the Cavaliers and the Hawks played games the previous night.
Gray wasn’t the only one with a reaction during the press conference, with her backcourt partner Jordin Canada and head coach Karl Smesko also having their own takes on the situation.
“Super excited,” Canada said about playing at State Farm Arena.
“The crowd has showed up and showed out in Game 2 and Game 3, so looking forward to the game being at State Farm, Game 6.”
Smesko pointed out that his focus was on the team’s rest and recovery. He wasn’t worried about them being negatively affected by the earlier tipoff. The only adjustment he noted was that neither team would be able to have a pre-game shootaround, and that they would “put up with the earlier tip.”
The update also comes at a positive time for Gray. She had returned to play in Game 1 of the series after sitting out a majority of the semifinals against the New York Liberty due to a hand injury. Then, in the dying moments of Game 4, she had to leave due to what seemed like a reaggravation of that injury, but ahead of Game 5, she was cleared to play.
Now, as the series continues, only time will tell which team will seal the deal in front of 17,000 in the city of Atlanta.