For only the eighth time in the WNBA’s 30-year existence, two teams are chasing their first WNBA title. After starting the series with a loss, the Atlanta Dream now lead 2-1 and are just two wins away from becoming WNBA champions. Meanwhile, after losing back-to-back games, the Valkyries will desperately look to cut the deficit and level the series 2-2.

So with everything on the line and Game 4 set for 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, will the Dream get one step closer to the title, or will the Valkyries adjust? Let’s take a closer look at what each side needs to do.

The Valkyries need to make some crucial adjustments

While the Valkyries started the series with a win, it was a shaky win at best, with the team shooting below 33%. Despite winning the contest 68-64, the Valkyries had turnovers. Although that was less than the Dream’s 12 turnovers on the night, it’s become a massive problem for the Valkyries in the following two games.

In Games 2 and 3, the Valkyries have given the ball away 36 times, as per ESPN’s Alexa Phillippou, leading to the Dream scoring 46 points off those turnovers. That’s highly uncharacteristic of the team with the best-rated regular-season defense.

In fact, Golden State was the only WNBA team to keep their average DTRG below 100.0 points, securing a 99.3. In contrast, the second-best defense, which belonged to none other than the Dream, had a 103.5 defensive rating as per StatMuse.

When we look at turnovers, the Valkyries once again average the fewest turnovers in the league in the regular season at 11.5 per game. Before facing the Dream, they had averaged even fewer during the postseason at just 10.3 per game.

However, solving the ball possession problem has become a priority for the Valkyries ahead of Game 4. Tiffany Hayes made it clear that they weren’t unaware of the problem following the 79-65 Game 2 loss.

“It’s about us being disciplined. We were loose with the ball, so again, very uncharacteristic of us. We’ve got to get back to who we are. They bring some pressure; we’ve got to stay together. We’ve got to not get flustered,” Hayes told the media.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t make a meaningful adjustment. On the contrary, the Atlanta Dream dominated the Valkyries in Game 3, where they took an early lead and never let up, ultimately winning by 26 points.

“I think this game, they wanted it more than us. That’s not who we are, that’s not who we’ve been, and that’s not how we got here,” Hayes said after their third WNBA Finals clash.

Gabby Williams also aired her frustration, which you can learn more about in our report.

Yet, for a team like the Valkyries that thrives on defense, Atlanta has made the adjustments and made them pay for every turnover. However, it’s not just the turnovers, as Angel Reese has dominated the WNBA Finals, leaving the Valkyries scrambling for an answer.

Can the Valkyries solve the Angel Reese puzzle?

The Bayou Barbie has become a force to reckon with. After setting the benchmark for rebounds and double-doubles throughout the regular season, Reese earned the Defensive Player of the Year honor. You can read more about that right here.

Now in her first WNBA Finals, Reese is making the regular season look like a warm-up.

Despite not scoring in the entire second half of Game 1, the Dream star managed to have a significant impact on the game, scoring a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and she hasn’t slowed down.

“More history for Angel Reese: She is the youngest player (24 years & 168 days) in WNBA Finals history with three straight double-doubles. Just remarkable,” Phillippou wrote on X after Game 3.

“Reese is just the seventh player ever with three consecutive double-doubles in a Finals series, joining Catchings, Fowles, Leslie, McWilliams-Franklin, Stewart and Wilson,” added women’s basketball historian Joshua Jonah Fischman.

These aren’t the only highlight-worthy stats from Reese’s first trip to the finals. In Game 3, the Dream forward hit both of her three-point attempts and kept another remarkable stat alive: The Dream doesn’t lose when she knocks down a three-pointer.

With the Game 3 win, Atlanta is now 15-0 in games where Reese has scored a three-pointer.

Angel Reese turned up in front of the home crowd,” the WNBA posted after the win. “She was consistent from start to finish, recording 21 PTS, 12 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL & 2 3 PM on 7-12 shooting! She’s averaging 21.7 PPG & 13.3 RPG through the #2026WNBAFinals and becomes the second player to reach those averages across any 3-game WNBA Finals span, the other being A’ja Wilson.”

And that brings us to Reese’s shooting improvements. While the Dream star had been working on her shooting under Karl Smesko, those benefits really started showing right before the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup in early September.

Dan Falkenheim, a fact-checker at Sports Illustrated, tracked how much her shooting efficiency had improved since late August and found it on par with Napheesa Collier.

“She has averaged 1.18 points per true shot over her last 200 attempts—on par with Napheesa Collier’s efficiency (1.19) during the regular season,” Falkenheim wrote in his October 21 post on X.

While the Valkyries won’t be able to stop Reese from getting on the boards, they will have to find a way to at least disrupt the Bayou Barbie’s blistering form, because with Reese dictating the rhythm, things have only gotten worse for the Valkyries between Games 2 and 3.

Karl Smesko isn’t celebrating yet

However, just because his team seems to have cracked the Valkyries’ code doesn’t mean coach Karl Smesko is celebrating just yet. Rather, he is expecting coach Natalie Nakase to make adjustments of her own.

That’s why, despite getting two wins in a row against the Golden State Valkyries, Smesko told his players not to get carried away while addressing them in the locker room instead of celebrating their 26-point margin of victory.

“That was one fantastic second half. I like the energy you played with,” Coach Smesko told his players, as per USA Today.

“Even after getting off to a little slow start in the second half, you guys on your own regrouped, figured it out, and made all the plays. We should be happy with the way we competed today, but we also should be cognizant that it’s only halfway done. The job is only halfway done.”

We just have to look back at this year’s semifinals between the Valkyries and the Las Vegas Aces to understand why Smesko isn’t being cautious.

After working as an assistant coach under Vegas head coach Becky Hammon, Nakase was one step ahead of her former boss as she switched up her tactics to counter the Aces’ size and physicality advantage.

Instead of playing small, Nakase utilized 6’3 French national Aminata Gueye to directly counter the Aces’ bigs. While the Valkyries couldn’t completely neutralize A’ja Wilson, they choked the ball supply to an offense that relied heavily on Wilson.

Although the Valkyries have struggled with something similar to the likes of Angel Reese, Smesko isn’t ruling anything out. Nakase did see limited success by utilizing Janelle Salaun in Game 3.

After spending just nine minutes across the first two games against Atlanta, something that former college basketball player Rachel DeMita flagged after the Game 2 loss, and you can read more about here, the Sixth Player of the Year scored 13 points in 12 minutes. On top of that, she knocked down 5-of-7 from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Then again, Smesko is confident that his team has what they need to continue their march toward the title. It’s the same mentality that helped Smesko and his team over that Game 1. You can check out what he had to say following that loss here.

“There is more work to be done, and we are going to do it,” Smesko added as his team took the 2-1 advantage.

So with the stage set for another high-stakes showdown, you can tune in to NBC or livestream all the WNBA Finals action on Peacock.