The Golden State Valkyries are now down 2-1 in the 2026 WNBA Finals series against the Atlanta Dream, and cracks are beginning to appear in the Golden State motto of ‘strength in numbers’. Most recently, these cracks showed up after the Game 3 97-71 loss on Wednesday night, when the postgame Valkyries huddle showed how emotions were running high for the Valkyries’ court general, Gabby Williams. Williams is now shouldering the responsibility for the Valkyries’ two-game losing streak as the team fights for their place in the finals.
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Ahead of Game 4 tonight, Williams spoke during a media availability session about what she would like to do better as she hopes to lead the Valkyries to the fastest WNBA championship for any team in the history of the league. The clip of her interaction shared on Instagram by B/R W Sports shows how responsible Gabby Williams feels for her team.
“I think I’ve been a little bit too loose as a leader, and that’s where, especially, Coach Nat has been pushing me. I think I’ve been a little bit too much of ‘It’s alright, we’ll figure it out, we’re good, we’re good, we’re good.’ So I just wanted to show my team something different because we need something different.”
Williams sure showed the world a different side to her usual calm and humorous demeanor. The whole debacle began when the Valkyries were caught on the broadcast after Game 3 having a heated conversation, with Williams looking the most charged. The video shows Williams speaking animatedly to her teammates about what we can presume were their subpar performances in the last two games.
“These are two games that just haven’t been us, so I had to get out of my comfort zone and try to re-motivate the troops,” the 30-year-old added. “So that’s what that speech was about, and then maybe we’ll be able to go back to the locker room and talk more about it. But yeah, it’s never easy to do, but I definitely just wanted to show my teammates a different kind of fire.”
The Valkyries will definitely need the fire Gabby Williams is speaking of if they hope to win in Game 4 against the Dream side that seems to be running away with the series. Williams has been the Valkyries’ top scorer all postseason, averaging 21.2 PPG, while also leading the team in assists (3.9 APG) and steals (2.0 SPG).
But the Dream defense has had a chokehold on the two-time All-Star in Games 2 and 3. After a decent showing in Game 1 (26 points), Atlanta had held Williams to 14 points in Game 2 and 15 points in Game 3.
While the Valkyries are known for primarily being a defensive side, their offense, led by Williams, Janelle Salaun, and Veronica Burton, won them the second seed going into the playoffs.
Apart from Gabby Williams and Cecilia Zandalasini, none of the Valkyries’ starters scored over three points in Game 3. Tiffany Hayes came off the bench to score 14 points, while Zandalasini added another 13. Salaun, who was recently named the unanimous Sixth Player of the Year, joined Hayes off the bench to score 13 points. But nothing they do is stopping the Dream and their relentless pressure.
The Valkyries had 17 turnovers in Game 3, conceding an expensive 22 points. This is similar to Game 2, when Williams and Co. gave up another 24 points off the 19 turnovers they had. The Valkyries’ defense, which is usually ironclad, seemed to falter in Game 3, as the game ended with a 26-point difference. The Golden State is not a team that allows 49% success from the field to any opponent, but that’s what happened on Wednesday night.
Angel Reese led the Dream with another double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 boards. The Defensive Player of the Year carried the offense too, backed by Naz Hillmon and Rhyne Howard, who added 15 and 16 points each. The Dream got 29 attempts from the charity stripe, making 20 of those shots, compared to the Valkyries, who made 11 of 17 from the free-throw line.
Nothing seemed to go right for the Valkyries in Game 3, and Williams now feels the immediate need to inspire her team during a time when morale might dip. The Valkyries and Williams need the kind of defense that put them near the top of the regular season if they harbor any hopes of shutting down the Dream to become the youngest team ever to win a WNBA Championship.