Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Godwin Mathew Tue, November 3, 2026 at 5:40 PM UTC · 3 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark thinks that the Golden State Valkyries being in the WNBA Finals was the best part of the series.
The Valkyries became the first expansion team in American pro sports history to win a championship in their second year. They achieved this feat by beating the Atlanta Dream in a gruelling seven-game series, which they sealed with a 68-63 win in Game 7.
Gabby Williams won the Finals MVP award, as she put on a 30-point performance in Game 7. However, the likes of Kiah Stokes and Veronica Burton also played vital roles in helping the Valkyries beat the Dream.
While discussing the WNBA Finals, Caitlin Clark offered major praise for how the Valkyries managed to do what many thought was unthinkable.
The Valkyries made the playoffs in their very first WNBA season. However, many were not convinced about them, as they felt that the team lacked the star presence that was required to win the WNBA championship.
Gabby Williams made sure to bring this point up after the Game 7 win. The togetherness of the team showed that they were ready to do whatever it takes to win, and Clark had nothing but praise for them.
"I feel like the best part about the Finals has been that the Valkyries are in it. They've been a franchise for two years. I don't think people realise how ridiculous that is, that they've been able to put together a roster and run an organisation as well as they have," said Clark on Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce.
"For Natalie, their coach, to get everybody to buy in, and to get everybody to believe, and they have really talented players but at the same time, on any given night, any of them can have 20 points and be the star. It seems like nobody's bothered by that, that's just how they are. They're a close-knit team. That's the coolest storyline of the Finals."
No player on the Valkyries roster averaged 15 or more points in the 2026 season. Chicago Sky and Connecticut Sun were the only two teams to have a similar stat. Both of these teams failed to make the playoffs, while the Valkyries marched on to win the championship. The key reason behind this is that all the players on the Valkyries knew their roles and fulfilled them to their best potential.
Williams, who was the star of the Finals, had several off games even against the Dream, but other players stepped up and made the difference. Game 5 was a perfect example of that, as Williams struggled and scored 9 points while shooting 3-for-14 from the field. Burton stepped up to add 13 points, 8 rebounds and also had 4 blocks to help the Valkyries get to a 64-55 win.
There were multiple games during the season that their bench won them. They had the best bench unit during the regular season, which averaged 34.3 points per game.
All these factors proved to not just make it difficult for opponents to game plan against them, but even if they did, the Valkyries' defence was just suffocating and made it extremely difficult for teams to score on them.
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Source: Sports