Defense wins championship. You know the old adage, and the 2026 Golden State Valkyries are trying to prove that's true. The league's No. 1 defense this season has held the Atlanta Dream under 80 points in both games of the WNBA Finals, and knowing that, you might think "oh, wow, so Golden State is up 2-0, right?" Well...no. It's a 1-1 series as things head back to Atlanta, and a big part of why is the same concern we've had for Golden State all season: a complete lack of offense.
Maybe defense wins titles, but it doesn't win titles on its own. You've got to score at least a few baskets.
Offensive struggles could derail Golden State's title hopes
The Valkyries put on a defensive masterclass in Game 1, holding the Dream to just 64 points. The problem? Golden State somehow only won that game by four points. In Game 2, the defense surrendered 79 points, which is still enough to win most nights, but the final score showed a 14-point Valkyries loss.
What's happening here is simple: Golden State lacks the go-to scorer that it needs to have on the sport's biggest stage. The starting trio of Kiah Stokes, Kayla Thornton and Ceceilia Zandalasini combined to score seven points in Game 2. Stokes played 30 minutes and didn't attempt a single shot. Sixth Player of the Year Janelle Salaun, a theoretical source of offense, played four minutes. Golden State's leading scorer, Gabby Williams, had 14 points but shot 3-for-15 from the floor, while TIffany Hayes was really the only offensive bright spot, also scoring 14 off the bench but on a much more efficient 5-for-11 night.
Not great! Not great at all!
Unfortunately for the Valkyries, there's not a ton of recourse here. Salaun should play more, but that's really about it as far as in-series fixes for this offense. Give Hayes more shot attempts? Maybe, but the returns might be diminishing then. Hope Williams just starts actually making shots? Sure, but she isn't built to be a No. 1 option; ideally, the Valkyries bring in a No. 1 option this offseason and can use Williams as a secondary scoring threat, a role she'd really excel at.
Meanwhile, Atlanta has Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard and Angel Reese, the three best offensive players in this series. That's something that's really, really hard to overcome, and while the Valkyries have an elite-level defense, Atlanta also has a full series here to adjust to that defense. If the Valkyries offense can't adjust, Golden State will be in real trouble. (And, like...Golden State is in real trouble. What's that other saying: a playoff series doesn't start until a road team wins, and a road team has won now.)
Golden State will have to address this issue before next season, and there a decent number of options for the team to go after, but for now, the team just has to hope its defense can continue to play at an extremely high level and that something works itself out on the other end. Otherwise, this series can get away from the Valkyries in a hurry.
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