Game 6 of the 2026 WNBA Finals between the Golden State Valkyries and Atlanta Dream will tip off at 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursday at State Farm Arena. The lunch time start for the first Game 6 in WNBA history -- the Finals were expanded to a best-of-seven last season -- has drawn plenty of confusion and criticism.
Before the Valkyries, up 3-2 in the series, attempt to win the first title in franchise history, and the Dream try to keep their season alive, here's everything you need to know about one of the most unique title-deciding games in recent sports history. Earlier this month, the Dream announced a multi-year deal to play all of their games at State Farm Arena, also the home of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, starting with the 2027 season, in an effort to meet the "unprecedented growth of the franchise, increasing ticket demand and overall excitement for the entire Dream fan experience." But for this season, the Dream's primary home was still Gateway Center Arena, which is where they've played since 2021. Gateway Center Arena holds just 3,500 people and is the smallest arena in the WNBA.
The Dream were able to move five regular-season games to State Farm Arena, which holds 17,000 people, as well as their first five postseason games, but it's important to establish that they are not yet the primary tenants in the arena, which is why there have been so many scheduling conflicts. Another key fact to establish is that, unlike many WNBA and NBA teams that play in the same city, the Dream and the Hawks -- the primary tenant of State Farm Arena -- have different owners. The Dream are owned by Larry and Robyn Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair and former Dream player Renee Montgomery.
The Hawks are owned by a group led by Tony Ressler. The franchises have collaborated, but the different ownership groups are another reason for the logistical challenges that have arisen during this playoff run. The Dream had no trouble moving their first round and semifinal games to State Farm Arena, but now that the NBA's regular season is underway, the building has much less flexibility.
Games 3 and 4 of the Finals, the first two the Dream hosted, had to be rescheduled to take place at State Farm Arena. Game 3 was moved from Oct. 22 to Oct. 21, while Game 4 was moved up to 1 p.m. ET in order to accommodate a doubleheader with the Hawks' matchup against the Houston Rockets, which was moved back to 8 p.m.
Moving Games 3 and 4 took some collaboration with the Hawks, the NBA and broadcast partners, but was ultimately not that complicated. Instead of having two days off in Atlanta between Games 2 and 3, they moved Game 3 up to an open date and had two days off between Games 3 and 4. And, because Game 4 was set for a Saturday, a Dream-Hawks doubleheader was more than doable.
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