The Dream are heading to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2013
Oct 9, 2026 at 9:56 pm ET • 2 min read
The Atlanta Dream are moving onto the 2026 WNBA Finals. The Dream finished off a three-game semifinal sweep of the New York Liberty on Friday night. It's Atlanta's first Finals appearance since 2013. The team has never won a WNBA championship.
The Dream will face either the Valkyries or Aces in the Finals. The Valkyries are going for a sweep of their own in Game 3 on Friday.
The Dream knocked the Washington Mystics out in the first round and are a perfect 5-0 in the playoffs. The 2026 WNBA Finals start on Oct. 17. The eighth-seeded Liberty took out the top-seeded Lynx in the first round, becoming the first No. 8 seed to knock out a No. 1 seed.
The 2026 WNBA season has been groundbreaking, on and off the court. It launched on the heels of a contentious and extended labor battle that resulted in a historic raise for the players (the salary cap increased from $1.5 million in 2025 to $7 million in 2026), and in return, the players raised the bar on a weekly basis. Multiple regular-season records fell this year, from Clark becoming the first player in WNBA history with a 40-point, 10-assist game, to Angel Reese breaking the single-game rebounding record with 26 to Kelsey Mitchell passing A'ja Wilson's single-season points record.
Here's how you can follow the playoffs.
2026 WNBA playoff bracket
2026 WNBA playoff schedule
Semifinals schedule
(All times Eastern)
Friday, Oct. 9
- Game 3: Dream 85, Liberty 83 (Atlanta wins series 3-0)
- Game 3: Valkyries vs. Aces, 9:30 p.m., NBCSN
Sunday, Oct. 11
- Game 4*: Valkyries vs. Aces, TBD, NBC/fubo
Wednesday, Oct. 14
- Game 5*: Valkyries vs. Aces, TBD, NBCSN
Semifinals scores
Sunday, Oct. 4
- Game 1: No. 4 Dream 92, No. 8 Liberty 82
- Game 1: No. 2 Valkyries 71, No. 3 Aces 60
Wednesday, Oct. 7
- Game 2: No. 4 Dream 101, No. 8 Liberty 98 (OT)
- Game 2: No. 2 Valkyries 83, No. 3 Aces 81
WNBA Finals
Saturday, Oct. 17
- Game 1: TBD vs. TBD, 3:30 p.m. ET | NBC/fubo
Monday, Oct. 19
- Game 2: TBD vs. TBD, 3:30 p.m. ET | USA/fubo
Thursday, Oct. 22
- Game 3: TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. ET | USA/fubo
Saturday, Oct. 24
- Game 4: TBD vs. TBD, 3:30 p.m. ET | NBC/fubo
Monday, Oct. 26
- Game 5*: TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. ET | USA/fubo
Thursday, Oct. 29
- Game 6*: TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. ET | USA/fubo
Saturday, Oct. 31
- Game 7*: TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. ET | USA/fubo
* - denotes if necessary
First-round scores
Sunday, Sept. 27
- Game 1: No. 8 Liberty 91, No. 1 Lynx 75
- Game 1: No. 3 Aces 102, No. 6 Fever 85
- Game 1: No. 4 Dream 92, No. 5 Mystics 77
- Game 1: No. 2 Valkyries 104, No. 7 Wings 80
Tuesday, Sept. 29
- Game 2: No. 6 Fever 99, No. 3 Aces 89
- Game 2: No. 8 Liberty 87, No. 1 Lynx 71 (New York wins 2-0)
Wednesday, Sept. 30
- Game 2: No. 4 Dream 93, No. 5 Mystics 75 (Atlanta wins 2-0)
- Game 2: No. 7 Wings 108, No. 2 Valkyries 100 (OT)
Thursday, Oct. 1
- Game 3: No. 3 Aces 94, No. 6 Fever 83 (Las Vegas wins 2-1)
Friday, Oct. 2
- Game 3: No. 2 Valkyries 77, No. 7 Wings 73 (Golden State wins 2-1)
