NFL
By: Jeffrey Newholm
In a rather silly scene in the disappointing Atlas Shrugged Part III, the film depicts evil bureaucrats smoking fat cigars while scheming to wrong heroic businesspersons. One can only imagine what cards WNBA leadership had to play as our beloved athletes tried to save the 2026 season this spring! Thankfully, no cigars proved necessary. Union leadership won an incomplete yet healthy gain for women’s athletes via a new CBA. While the route to the WNBA Finals, which start on Saturday, proved rocky, two excellent sides still stand. On one coast (and with home-court advantage) stands Gabby Williams and her Valkyries. Across America, it is Angel Reese and Atlanta also dreaming of a first crown.
A veteran seeks redemption from an awful ending eight years ago. A new professional shrugs off a rebuilding franchise to build her future. Which woman will be the last to leave the court?
Reese’s Rescue
The Atlanta Dream, named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s remarkable speech, haven’t given fans much to imagine. The franchise still has no championship and had little big-name power (with a nod to the exceptionally underrated Angel McCoughtry).
After winning a national championship with LSU, a different Angel sought to span her wingspan in the WNBA. Reese brought instant personal brand recognition to a struggling Sky franchise. Fans accustomed to ample legroom in Chicago quickly had to learn the Windy City Shuffle to navigate crowded concourses.
Reese dazzled spectators with double-double records, but wins did not follow. After a second, less interesting year with the Sky, Chicago traded Reese to Atlanta. Free from the inane blathering of overly loud Wintrust Arena game days, Reese flourished. She earned WNBA Defensive Player of the Year honors and led Atlanta to the #4 playoff seed.
After easily dispatching Washington in the first round, Atlanta faced a remarkably talented eighth seed, New York. A thrilling overtime victory in game two effectively determined the series. Atlanta realized their hopes by closing out the series in New York on Friday. Yet, the Dream cannot wake up in Elysium just yet. They must travel to San Francisco to face an elite team that reached the Finals with remarkable speed.
Williams’ Will
While many players become (well-deserved!) millionaires before taking their talents to any campus, UConn’s Gabby Williams had to fight longer to achieve her professional security. She played an underappreciated yet still vital role in Connecticut’s 2016 championship. Unfortunately for Williams, she became a footnote in history when Mississippi State’s Morgan William scored the winning shot in the 2017 semifinals.
Worse, when the undefeated Huskies made an unthinkable last-minute comeback to tie Notre Dame in the 2018 Final Four, Williams was almost the ultimate heroine. Alas, not quite, as the Irish defended her last shot perfectly. Several minutes later, Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale scored the winning basket in overtime.
As if that heartbreak were not enough, who else would Williams play after a journey through Chicago, France’s close-miss national team, and Seattle but Ogunbowale’s own Dallas Wings in the current playoffs? Yes, and what a great opportunity for redemption! Ogunbowale seemed to devastate another fanbase by scoring a record 45 points in the first round against Golden State. However, after the series returned to California for the decisive game three, it was Williams who had the last and greatest laugh.
With her Valkyries holding a one-point lead in the closing seconds, Williams re-established her inbounds footing to save a possession. Her two free throws gave Golden State just enough margin to ground Dallas. The defending champion Las Vegas Aces proved a more formidable challenge in the semifinals. Or maybe not, at least on the scoreboard, as State recorded an impressive sweep to reach their first Finals.
Today’s Finals Promise
Longtime Lakers coach Phil Jackson once observed that success is a process, not a destination. Yeah, yeah, fans have surely heard that one before. Except Jackson, in his The Last Season, specifically mentioned (gasp!) trophy ceremonies as not being part of the success process. Even then, an athlete is being commended for a feat they already completed.
Reese and Williams have had plenty of experience standing on confetti-filled podiums in their college careers. They also hooped through many long, frustrating years of failure in the major league before reaching the ultimate station in women’s basketball: the WNBA Finals. Put out those cigars and do not switch to silly old football next weekend. Because in life, not every movie turns into a trilogy. For Atlanta’s Dream and Golden State’s beautiful new dawn, only these Finals offer the promise of women’s hoops glory.
