Much like the series itself, the race for 2026 WNBA Finals MVP is evenly split among Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries participants.
There’s a Dream involved, but it’s hard to sleep on this MVP race in the 2026 WNBA Finals.
Photo: Donnoir Vinculado, Ballislife.com
Heroines on both sides have risen in the opening pair between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries, which is split at a game apiece as the series shifts southeast.
Golden State grit ruled the weekend with a 68-64 win in Game 1 while historic statistical outputs in the sequel proved to be a nightmare for the hosts, who could only watch as Atlanta emerged with a 79-65 victory and a tie on the series leaderboard.
With this much-needed break in the action, who has earned the inside edge for MVP? We rank the possibilities after Game 2 …
1. Angel Reese, Atlanta
Modern basketball discourse being what it is, Angel Reese is probably never going to fully eradicate her doubters. She has at least somewhat culled the herd during this postseason and they’ll perhaps be an endangered species if the Dream pulls this off.
Reese has defined the middle initial of MVP for better and worse: Golden State was able to muster its Game 1 comeback when it kept her off the board in the second half while her historic Game 2 breakout led to a one-sided final margin.
Game 2 saw Reese keep a cleaner box score, particularly in the second half: after picking up three fouls in the first 20, she kept the column mostly blank in the latter 20 save for a brief two-charge lapse in the fourth quarter with the game mostly decided.
ANGEL REESE MADE HISTORY IN GAME 2 She led the @AtlantaDream to their FIRST-EVER Finals win with a monster performance, dropping 30 PTS, 16 REB, 3 AST & 2 BLKS on 10-16 shooting! #WNBASeason30 | #2026WNBAFinals https://t.co/YueB9Z7M1j
— WNBA (@WNBA) October 20, 2026
Reese’s 30-point, 16-rebound box score from Monday’s mayhem has been achieved five times in the playoffs and just twice in the Finals (Jonquel Jones previously pulled it off with the 2019 Connecticut Sun). With the series guaranteed to go at least five, she has a realistic shot at tying Sylvia Fowles‘ record for most double-doubles in a WNBA Finals series (5).
The term “missing piece” has frequently been used to define Reese’s brief Georgian career thus far. Her undeniably impactful work in the Finals has the Dream three fragments away from completing the most rewarding puzzle of all.
2. Gabby Williams, Golden State
Some of the stats aren’t pretty, especially after things got more desperate in Game 2. There’s no doubt, however, that the Valkyries don’t go back to Atlanta with a tie without two certain stretches from Gabby Williams.
A 16-point breakout for the purple franchise face in the second quarter of Game 1 created the most lasting bit of offensive cohesion that the Valkyries have posted in the Finals thus far. Down by eight entering that period, Golden State shot just under 69% in that 10-minute stretch thanks to the Williams breakout punctuated by a trio of triples.
Gabby Williams (16p, 2a, 3 3s) WENT OFF in the 2Q She becomes just the sixth player in WNBA Finals history to score 15+ PTS in a quarter! Golden State and Atlanta battling in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals LIVE NOW on NBC & Peacock. https://t.co/IQrTBTGuVs
— NBA (@NBA) October 17, 2026
The Valks have gone over 33% shooting in just two other periods in these Finals, including the relatively hopeless fourth quarter of Game 2. Williams also provided sensational singles that helped seal the Valkyries’ opening win. She was a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line in that fateful fourth, an output that included the pair that gave the hosts a permanent lead.
No, the numbers aren’t going to be raised to the rafters if the Valkyries pull this off (Williams is shooting under 30% from the field, including 4-of-17 from three) but a combination of MVP being a bit of a popularity contest and Williams coming through in big situations somewhat solidifies her spot in this early look.
3. Jordin Canada, Atlanta
If the WNBA postseason MVP operated in similar fashion to its icy counterpart (where the NHL awards the Conn Smythe Trophy to the top performer throughout the entire tournament), it would be, ironically enough, hard to deny a player with the surname of Canada her due.
Canada’s postseason breakout has continued in the Finals: she has had a literal hand in over half of Atlanta’s baskets while she’s on the floor (51.5%, over 18 percentage points ahead of reserve runner-up Kaitlyn Chen). It was perhaps buried by Reese’s ridiculousness but Canada had a double-double of her own in Game 2 with 13 points and 10 assists, getting her scoring done at the foul line on a 3-of-14 outing from the field.
JORDIN CANADA BANKS IN THE BUZZER-BEATING TRIPLE TO END THE THIRD QUARTER #WNBA https://t.co/zxUTDdbaKc
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 20, 2026
Jordin Canada continues to be unafraid in the dirty work department, her dozen rebounds through two games rank second only to Reese on the Dream championship ledgers. Like Williams, her shooting has left something to be desired but any form of offensive facilitation, where Canada has flourished, is going to stand out in a defensive-minded series like this.
4. Allisha Gray, Atlanta
Allisha Gray‘s return isn’t akin to Willis Reed‘s famous walk onto the Madison Square Garden floor prior to the 1970 NBA Finals’ decider. It’s nonetheless a dreamy situation for the Georgians. They conducted themselves well when Gray missed the latter two games of their swept semifinal set against the New York Liberty due to a finger injury but it’s clear that she has added a new dynamic level as they attempt to close in on a championship triumph.
ALLISHA GRAY KEEPS COOKIN’ She leads all scorers with 19 PTS at the end of the 3rd #WNBAFinals https://t.co/HfKkdekkiJ
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 17, 2026
Gray, stop us if you’ve heard this before, has struggled to maintain her usual shooting rates but she hasn’t let that stop her from making an impact, even with a relatively bulky excuse on her hand. Her net rating places second-best among starters in this series (behind only teammate Naz Hillmon) and she’s the third-leading scorer at 37 points through the debut couple.
Gray isn’t letting the injury affect her aggressiveness: she has tried 16 free throws in the first two games (second-most in the series behind only Reese), sinking all but one. That helped Atlanta take 35 attempts at the foul line in Game 2, tied with the Las Vegas Aces’ output in last year’s finale for the most in a WNBA Finals game since the Dream franchise was the victim of 46 from the Minnesota Lynx in 2011.
5. Kaila Charles, Golden State
We’d be remiss to not give the depth stars their due: on the peachy side, the experience of DeWanna Bonner speaks for itself while Isobel Borlase has readily thrown her hat into the 2027 Sixth Woman of the Year ring during these playoffs.
Golden State, however, hasn’t been afraid to go with all-sub situations, even with reigning top reserve Janelle Salaun taking a relative backseat: Charles, Chen, and Tiffany Hayes are among the top ten scorers in this series while Charles, Hayes, and Laeticia Amihere pulled in a combined 21 rebounds in relief in Game 1.
Kaila Charles is doing it ALL in the first half https://t.co/QV2JWOfau6
— NBC Sports Bay Area & CA (@NBCSAuthentic) October 20, 2026
Kaila Charles‘ energy has been particularly palpable: Golden State was a plus-13 during her 30 minutes in Game 1, second-best on the team behind Williams. While she fell three points short of a double-double, Charles did become just the sixth reserve in WNBA Finals history (and the first, ironically enough, since Bonner did so for Phoenix last year) to pull in at least 10 rebounds.
6. Kiah Stokes, Golden State
It’ll be hard for Stokes to rise above the favored finesse that MVP voters yearn for when voting for Finals MVP. But if Golden State is to recapture its Game 1 grit in the Peach State, it’ll have to further rely on the interior antics of Stokes, who perhaps carries the widest repertoire of WNBA Finals work among the remaining contenders.
Kiah Stokes with the big-time block on Angel Reese! Stokes turned Game 1 into a block party, recording 4 rejections https://t.co/5CL27rUzE9
— ESPN (@espn) October 17, 2026
All things considered, Stokes has done a respectable job on Reese in the early going. Her work, as well as the efforts of those on the Valkyrie bench, helped secure the second half shutout and Stokes has also put up eight blocks in the first couple. That’s the third-best tally in consecutive games in WNBA Finals history, putting Stokes in the same sentence as Lisa Leslie (2001) and Brittney Griner (2014).
While she faces an uphill battle to gain further official recognition, Stokes’ paint prowess will be heavily relied upon for the rest of this series.
Also Considered
—DeWanna Bonner, Atlanta: With her two rings from 2009 and 2014 yearning for more company, Bonner has done her part to the tune of four steals and the fifth-best offensive rating in this series.
—Isobel Borlase, Atlanta: Invest in Borlase now, as the Atlanta reserve (who reached double-figures in the non-Gray portions of the semifinals) has the only triple-digit offensive rating in the series so far (103.6 in just under 30 total minutes).
—Veronica Burton, Golden State: While no stranger to an excessive whistle in these Finals, Burton is one of four to put up at least three blocks in the series to date and her defensive rating is second among purple starters behind Cecilia Zandalasini.
—Kaitlyn Chen, Golden State: Chen is one of the few backcourt participants to find her shooting stroke in this series so far, going 5-of-9 in relief.
—Tiffany Hayes, Golden State: Watching Hayes, Golden State’s leading scorer in Game 2, dive all over the floor and stage stalwart defense at the end of the opener perhaps served as a congratulatory culmination of her WNBA career to date.
—Naz Hillmon, Atlanta: Through two games, Hillmon’s net rating of 19.7 leads all Finals starters and her total plus/minus of 21 is second to only Gray.
—Rhyne Howard, Atlanta: The eternally aggressive Howard (series-best seven steals through two) has spent this series in foul trouble but it feels like a good bit of her 17 points to date have come at impactful points of the game.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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