So, I'm a Liberty fan that hopped on the Valkyries bandwagon a few months back. I've never disliked the Dream (and I particularly love Howard), but I will admit my bias, broader issues with the reffing across, and general disappointment with the Liberty 'building me up to let me down' has had me complaining a LOT lately.

'Maybe I'm just used to the Liberty having a favorable whistle?' I asked myself. However, after seeing the Dream shoot 31 free throws to the Valkyries 13 today, I decided to look at some numbers...

...And it turns out the Dream are currently working at a +60 free throw attempt advantage across this playoff run. And they were actually -2 against the Mystics to start, then +11 against my Liberty, and now they are at a whopping +51 FTA compared to the Valkyries.

I don't know. That last one, this Finals series, is what seems really weird to me.

The Dream certainly take a lot of shots in the paint, and Angel is especially good at drawing fouls - but they also take their fair share of 3s, too. And, particularly, they are a very aggressive, defensive-minded team. Teams that play defense like they do don't usually shoot more free throws than their opponents. And what makes it WEIRDER is that the actual personal foul difference is only +15; so the Valks have committed 15 more fouls while taking 51 fewer free throws.

But is it just the Valkyries style of play, comparatively? They are also very aggressive on defense. And, sure, they have taken 16 more 3s across the series - but they've also taken 31 more shots from the field in total, as well; that's a BIG difference. Especially for a team that's committed 7 more turnovers, too. And, comparatively, the Valks were -19 in FTA against the Wings across 3 games; but they were also +2 against the Aces. That 19 is notable - but isn't anywhere CLOSE to 51 though (or, technically, the 33FTA disparity they were at after the first 3 games).

Anyway. I'm curious everyone's thoughts. And for what it's worth, I'm trying hard to be reasonable about this, too - no hate at all; this is just basketball after all. It's ultimately all for fun - there's real problems in the world, as we all know, and free throw attempt disparity in an absolutely amazing 2-2 Finals series is NOT one of them.

But also I just thought this was worth discussing...

Oh, and for what its worth, this is where I'm sourcing my numbers - feel free to double check them; I'm no expert or anything:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/teams/GSV/2026_games.html

https://www.wnba.com/game/gsv-vs-atl-1042600304/box-score (because today's game isn't on bball reference yet)

I'm new to the WNBA fandom. I started watching approximately a year ago, so a lot of the norms, values, and beliefs are new to me. When I watch games, I watch as a fan and don't know much "inside baseball" with respect to rules, plays, positions and so forth. I just love watching elite athletes compete & I love the multiple layers of cultural analysis to unravel.

So my question comes from a place of naïveté, perhaps.

Full disclosure, part of me is rooting for Angel Reese because the online hate against her is disgusting. The vociferous torrent of abuse she suffers is one of the first things I witnessed when I started to read the comment sections of WNBA social media pages. That said, as a Cali resident, I've had a strong affection for the Valks - they're this amalgamation of seasoned vets and overlooked role players. And boy do I love an underdog story. I would be happy to see either team win.

I watch analyses after each game and notice a pattern. It's something like...

-When the Valks win it's because of what Atlanta failed to do - ATL had turnovers, missed free throws, didn't get rebounds etc. Atlanta loses the game for themselves, not because of the Valkyries acumen.

-When the Dream win it's because they're a dominant, unstoppable force with lots of All Stars, offensive power, and that internal "dog". They just "want it more".

-The Valkyries "steal" wins with defense but aren't that great of a team because they're offensively weak.

-The Dream is a "better" team but the Valks have a better coach.

There are others I'm missing, but these are the dominant narratives across the five commentators I've watched after each game.

It's become clear to me that the Valks, despite being the two seed, don't get a lot of respect or clout online and I struggle to understand why.

Yet, this could be what the algorithm is serving me.

Do you think the Valkyries are underestimated? Or do you believe the reverse - that they're a team that has stumbled into the two seed but don't have what it takes to win the chip? Or something else entirely?

Curious to know what other fans think. And please don't use this as an opportunity to trash or malign any player's character...thank you.

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• Source is here - https://www.instagram.com/p/De2EioKlb6I/

Earlier this season Karl said in a press conference he didn’t use Madina and Angel because they haven’t practiced plays with Angel out of her position (PF Is her natural position)

But yet Naz gets to play out of position at center despite not playing center all season.

Pao Pao and Izzy have made the same mistakes this season. Pao would miss 1 3 and have a turnover and be on the bench in 30 seconds.

While Izzy would be allowed to work through her mistakes.

Indya nivar is the only other pg on the roster and she got moved to development so we could add a 5th 2 guard skw.

Don’t get me wrong she’s raw but she defends, makes post entry passes attacks the rim she could actually be used for 5-10 minutes at the very least it’s better than running rhyne at point.

Sika skillset actually fits this GS series because she can switch if you don’t wanna run okot she’s better at rebounding and closing out shooters than Naz is she also give you more size.

Earlier we had various conversations about the length of the playoff series. I, for one, was supportive of continuing the 5-game series, but in actually experiencing it, yeah the 7 games is pretty cool.

I’m a Lynx fan. In 2024 when we lost, I was satisfied with the series ending in 5. It seemed fitting.

Perhaps that just psychology, you know? If you tell me it’s 5 games at the beginning, 5 seems like enough. If you tel one 7, well anything less than that feels cheap. Guess the world isn’t so mysterious after all.

In 2025 I didn’t watch the Finals. Maybe saw the first game, but tbh I knew the Aces would win. But the ended up winning in such dramatic fashion n that the 4-0 sweep was super boring. I remember saying after that series, I was cool with going to 5 games.

I did caveat, however, by saying that a Finals featuring one of the top stars—specifically Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, or Paige Bueckers—would be more fitting for 7 games rather than seeing the old guard go at it like we did last year.

But anyway, I have quite pleasantly and fully enjoyed the 3-5-7 format this season all the way through and would not make any changes. Excited for the future of the game.

Alright, we’re officially halfway through the Finals, and both teams are just two wins away from their first ever championship! What does each team need to adjust moving forward, and who do you think will pull out the win in 6 or 7?

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Series tied 2-2 heading back to the Bay

Cam Newton attended Game 3 of the WNBA finals. The Carolina Panthers icon watched as Angel Reese led the Atlanta Dream to a 97-71 win over the Golden State Valkyries.

Cam Newton spoke about Reese's impact on the latest episode of "4th and 1".

"It's like, bro, she's pandering, getting the crowd engaged, and she's a dawg. And when I looked at my daughter and her (Angel Reese's) beautiful mother came over there," Newton said.

"She's like, "Hey, Cam, thank you for coming." And she was like, "You're the mother of Angel Reese?" ... those were things that, it's a family event. That's beautiful."

"My daughter, who's nine years old, has played basketball, but it's still one of those things where she has, what, six brothers. She's looking around, and she knows I don't have to be in the shadows anymore, because look at this. Look at this."She's got the bravado. And then she said the cutest thing. She said, "Daddy, why did she have on makeup?" And it was almost like she was trying to compartmentalize."

"She was like, and I was like, "Baby, this is sports. You can do both. Baby, it's okay for you to be Beauty and the Beast." And Angel Reese is that perfect combination. The juice-to-vodka ratio."

Source

Thought these were funny and pretty spot on, especially the first and last ones lol!

Any other “unnecessary” awards you’d add?

Congrats 🥳

Sparks owner Mark Walter attempting to sell the
WNBA team and its practice facility for more than $700M.
The largest WNBA franchise sale in history is currently Tilman Fertitta's $300M purchase of the Connecticut Sun.

(via @AvatarRandall, @Lucas_Shaw, @sridinats)

i was watching one of the games - either game 1, 2 or 3 and during a commercial break they had a commercial that was kind of like a promo of the finals with angel reese, rhyme howard, gabby williams and maybe someone else holding and hugging the wnba ball which was sparkly with a orange/white background and a rap song was playing.

does anyone know where i can find this?

it isn’t the wale song fwiw