WNBA FINALS: DREAM VS. VALKYRIES

October 31, 2026

Natalie Nakase

Gabby Williams

Kiah Stokes

Golden State Valkyries

Game 7: Postgame

Golden State Valkyries 68, Atlanta Dream 63

Q. Does this moment feel like you imagined it would?

KIAH STOKES: Hell yeah. Hell yeah.

NATALIE NAKASE: F--- yeah.

GABBY WILLIAMS: Hell yeah. F--- yeah.

Q. Gabby, what were you feeling going into halftime and what were you feeling coming out of that halftime break?

GABBY WILLIAMS: Nat told me to stay patient. I trust her with my life. I stayed patient. I trusted her. She said, "Stay patient, stay patient. The game is going to open up for you it did."

It's what we did all year, just trust each other.

NATALIE NAKASE: You had a 30 piece? F--- good job, Gabby.

Q. That's tied for the most in a winner-take-all Finals game, 30. When you think about what you accomplished and the winding road your career has taken, how do you put into words what it means to be on the stage and to hear the crowd chant your name, to win that Finals MVP trophy?

GABBY WILLIAMS: I think, like, we were making jokes, like I can't wait to win and shut everybody up. I don't want to focus on that. I want to focus on people who believed in myself the whole time. There was obviously a lot of negativity but tonight I want to focus on the positive. There were a lot of people that believed in us and believed in me as well. It started with us believing in each other and that's so special.

We just kept our circle so tight to shut out the outside noise or shut out the talk of we don't have this or whatever. We focused on the good stuff, focused on the positive. That was a beautiful thing to come in every day and feel that.

KIAH STOKES: I want to say, I'm super impressed by Gabby. I'm very, very proud of her and I'm just glad that tonight she showed who she really can be because she's been our leader, like our -- she's been our offense, like the head of it all season and for her to just come out tonight, Game 7, do or die and everything on the line, and she showed up and showed out, I just want to tell you, I'm super proud of you and glad to call you my teammate. We did this and we could not have done this without you.

GABBY WILLIAMS: That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me.

No, going back, there's a reason why Kiah Stokes is a four-time champion. As soon as we signed her, I knew it, done deal, championship. This mother f----- is a winner, period.

NATALIE NAKASE: Yeah, mother f-----

On that, too, Gabby is our closer. She stayed patient and she stayed with it. Closing with 30, that is f---ing incredible. To me the MVP Is the Finals MVP. You have to play through the playoffs, you have to grind, you have to go through a seven-game series. Like she's the Most Valuable Player in the world hands down.

KIAH STOKES: Hell yeah, Gabby.

NATALIE NAKASE: Good job, Gabby.

GABBY WILLIAMS: No more questions about me.

Q. How about the love?

NATALIE NAKASE: Love wins, right?

Q. It did tonight. We spoke to Joe and he called it insane. He set that mark for you guys to win it within the first five years and you did it in two and he called it insane. How would you characterize this moment?

NATALIE NAKASE: I'm impatient. I'm impatient. But no, No. 1, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Joe. Joe interviewed me. He hired me. He believed in myself and he set the standard. Look, whoever takes this job has to win in five years, and so it's like, yes, that's going to happen but even faster.

I'm impatient. I'm obsessive but it's because he pushes me. He pushes me. He leads. He says, look, we're going to take care of and we are going to get all the resources you want, and so that's what I'm saying, is someone who invests in women's sports, this is a result.

So it starts with Joe, his leadership, his care factor for us. He shows up. Joe shows up for every playoff game. Like with that type of support, he shows up, that means everything to me. So I appreciate you, Joe.

Q. You've been very open talking about your father and the grieving process. What do you think he would say to you right now?

NATALIE NAKASE: God damn, Kenzo. Hit me with the hard stuff, Kenzo.

He would give me the head nod of approval. My dad wouldn't say anything. The head nod just means he's proud of me. He's the reason why I'm built the way I am. I am crazy. I am obsessive. I am a workaholic. But it's more just pouring into people, believing in people, helping people, that's all come from my dad.

Again, these guys are coachable and they wanted it and they worked for it and they stayed disciplined. It's them, it's Kiah Stokes, it's Gabby William, it's V, it's them.

My dad just built me a certain way, I was able to pour into them. These guys are family and family is forever.

Q. What wine are you drinking and why wine?

KIAH STOKES: Okay. Shout out to La Crema. To be honest, it was just what was available in the locker room. Shameless plug. I just wanted to drink a little bit and that's there is better --

NATALIE NAKASE: Can we get alcohol for Gabby, anybody.

KIAH STOKES: I'm not much of a beer drinker unless it's a day at the lake.

GABBY WILLIAMS: We are going to the lake tomorrow.

KIAH STOKES: Say less.

Q. You have spoken so much about the fans but walking around the city, there's pops of Valkyries everywhere. You can't not see it. Curious, especially over the past two weeks, how often have you even it and what does it mean to be out in the wild and see that support?

GABBY WILLIAMS: That matters, it really does. Mr. Joe, again, that matters. It's like I'm driving to the game, I'm stressed, nervous, I see a Valkyries Waymo, I see a billboard, I see buildings lit up in purple and I see "Go Valks" everywhere, and all I'm thinking is I can't lose. I'm on the drive, like this is the moment. This is my time to give it my everything for this community, just driving to -- I live in Oakland. I live farther than the other girls and my drive is longer and I pass a lot of Valkyries sh-- and I'm like, this is the community I want to play for and I just want to thank Mr. Joe for that investment.

Q. You said Natalie told you that you've got to stay patient; she said she's not patient. I'm curious if you can expand as a competitor, someone who is winning this much, how important is it to be patient?

GABBY WILLIAMS: It's easy when you trust the people around you. It's harder when you don't. I don't doubt her because I know she has no ulterior motive. I know she wants to win and she wants the best for every single person, players, staff, everyone around her, fans. That's easy.

As hard as it is, she's never not once not had my back all year. Not hard at all.

Q. Are you able to think about, we can do this again and again?

NATALIE NAKASE: I just need to get drunk tonight, so let me get there. I ate this morning. I slept (players cheering).

Let's enjoy the moment.

Q. If you go back to five-year-old you, little hooper you, what would you tell that version sitting here now?

KIAH STOKES: Go ahead if you've got something. I would just tell my mini me, just embrace it. I took a leap leaving Vegas. So I took a chance. Obviously me and Natalie have history. I would have just told myself, trust your gut. Be where your feet are and lean into it.

I went to a team where I knew a few players but not that many. The coaching staff, I know Gabby from college. It's the perfect storm and it was something special and I would just tell myself, just trust your gut. You've got it. The sky is the limit and you can achieve anything.

GABBY WILLIAMS: I would tell Gabby how far love could go. I definitely lost that thinking about what's the next thing, what's the next thing, but sometimes the best thing is what's right in front of you, people who you love. That's what got me going tonight and what got me going all season.

I showed up new to the team, the team already had a culture and relationships established but I walked into a group full of love and that just changed the entire trajectory of my career. I think little Gabby would love that.

NATALIE NAKASE: You guys don't see behind the scenes. These guys are the best pros in the world and they don't get enough credit. It's the commitment and sacrifice. Give yourselves some credit.

KIAH STOKES: She's a little biased.

NATALIE NAKASE: I've never seen what you do with all your things --

GABBY WILLIAMS: Don't give away my secrets.

Q. Congratulations on the win and being MVP. So many French fans stayed up all night to watch this historic game and everyone is incredibly proud of you. Six months ago you chose an independent French media company to announce your arrival with the Valkyries. What message would you like to share with the young girls who will grow up looking up to you as a role model and following your journey?

GABBY WILLIAMS: I wouldn't be here without the French national team. They have helped me grow up. It's always been my dream to keep improving French basketball, young girls and boys. We've had great progression, being consistent with the Olympics and the World Cup. Just seeing what next steps we can take.

Q. When did truly intentionally embracing vulnerability become part of your journey?

NATALIE NAKASE: Deep.

KIAH STOKES: She said you.

GABBY WILLIAMS: Take a drink.

KIAH STOKES: Put the walls down. It's okay.

NATALIE NAKASE: When did we open up? When did we do these conversations? Probably when we were at the lowest point. Go ahead.

KIAH STOKES: I would say like when we had those long road trips, our first one.

GABBY WILLIAMS: Yeah.

KIAH STOKES: Very long road trip, one of our first ones, that's when it really started to come together as a team and did a lot of team bonding, so to speak. I feel like we were very intentional about hanging out with each other and just getting to know each other, especially on the road. You really have to -- you don't have Ballhalla behind you, so you have to focus on each other, like I would say our first two-week road trip is when we really like, you know.

NATALIE NAKASE: We did intentional dinners and just having certain games, we did games with like open, honest questions and things like that. Like we just like wanted to get to know each other on a different level, other than basketball. Basketball was the last thing we wanted to talk about.

I love to learn about people, so I can push their buttons and go crazy when I have to, and it's them. It's them giving me their time. They could hang out with their friends or other people but we all committed to each other on that road trip.

GABBY WILLIAMS: We made the joke, can't wait to go home, but it was sad it was over. That was the greenest flag, that was a fun trip. We would have nights, no one would want the night to end. It was like, that was -- I knew we had something special on that trip.

KIAH STOKES: Like happy we're going home because we miss home but also, dang that, was fun.

NATALIE NAKASE: When we're in the hotel, we get to spend time together. We go to the lounge or you know, the upper deck and we just hang out and I think that like that helps us a lot.

Q. The decision to put Gabby on Naz Hillmon was a shift from what you had been doing in the series. What went into that decision?

GABBY WILLIAMS: You're the one who switched the matchups.

NATALIE NAKASE: I tell you, y'all think I know what I'm doing. I switch things just to switch it up. You think there's some science behind it, it really isn't. It's just literally just to mix it up.

And before you answer, so I just also want to credit Atlanta Dream. Karl Smesko, he's a friend. When I met him, he gives really, really big hugs, and I think that says a lot about somebody when they give really, really big hugs, like he really cares and what I learned, knowing Karl in that short amount of time, he pours into his players. There's a reason why Karl is here. There's a reason why Atlanta Dream is here. I just wanted to make sure I say congratulations, like they were a hell of a team to battle against, okay.

GABBY WILLIAMS: That's what I learned. I've never been a part of a Finals series but asking people around who have, they all say it's a game of adjustments. Karl seems like an incredible coach, what he's done with that team. That seems like an incredible group. You can tell how much they pour into each other as well.

So when we made the adjustment, sometimes you see the work and sometimes you don't. That was the adjustment. But the most important thing was doing it wholeheartedly, no matter what the adjustment was. So that's what it was tonight.