Game 6 of the WNBA finals between the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries will be played at State Farm Arena on Thursday at 12.30pm ET, the league has announced. That means Valkyries fans in California will be watching the game at 9.30am local time.
Dream guard Allisha Gray said it didn’t matter what time the game was played.
“I mean, it’s the finals. You just gotta do what you gotta do,” she said. “We’re locked in on winning Game 6. I don’t care if we’re playing at 8am, 10am, midnight. We’ve got a championship to win.”
The WNBA worked hard with the NBA to move the game to State Farm Arena – home of the Atlanta Hawks – where Games 3 and 4 of the championship series were played. Game 5 will start at 8pm ET in San Francisco on Monday.
Quick Guide
WNBA finals 2026
Show
Schedule
Best-of-seven series. All times US Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
Sat 17 Oct Game 1: Golden State 68, Atlanta 64
Mon 19 Oct Game 2: Atlanta 79, Golden State 65
Wed 21 Oct Game 3: Atlanta 97, Golden State 71
Sat 24 Oct Game 4: Golden State 67, Atlanta 62
Mon 26 Oct Game 5: Atlanta at Golden State, 8pm (USA/CNBC)
Thu 29 Oct Game 6: Golden State at Atlanta, 12.30pm (USA/CNBC)
Sat 31 Oct Game 7: Atlanta at Golden State, 8pm* (USA/CNBC)
*-if necessary
How to watch
In the US, the series will air on NBC, USA Network and CNBC, with all games streaming on Peacock. In the UK, it will be carried by Sky Sports. In Australia, fans can watch through WNBA League Pass, with selected coverage also available through ESPN.
The Hawks have a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night that couldn’t be moved to another date or place. The only way they could make it work was to play in the early afternoon game. The Hawks game was moved back an hour.
“The sellout crowds and extraordinary atmosphere at State Farm Arena for Games 3 and 4 were a tremendous success, and we’re excited to give thousands more fans the opportunity to experience Game 6 with a championship on the line,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “We thank the NBA, Dream, Valkyries, Hawks, State Farm Arena and USA Network for the collaboration and flexibility that made this move possible. We look forward to delivering another unforgettable Finals experience in Atlanta.”
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By playing Game 6 in State Farm Arena, the Dream can have more than 17,000 fans as opposed to their normal home of Gateway Center Arena, which seats about 3,500. Games 3 and 4 were sold out.
It is the third time in the series that the WNBA made accommodations for the Dream to be able to play at the bigger arena. Game 3 was moved up a day to last Wednesday and Saturday’s contest started at 1pm ET so the Hawks could still host their home opener that night against Houston.
That game was moved back 30 minutes to allow more time for the arena staff to change the building over for the Hawks contest. Now there potentially could be a champion crowned that day so there will be more time between games.
The NBA and WNBA explored options to keep the game in primetime.
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