The Golden State Valkyries can reach the WNBA Finals in their second season with a win Friday night, when they visit the Las Vegas Aces for Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series at Michelob ULTRA Arena. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. PT (9:30 p.m. ET) on NBCSN and Peacock.
Golden State, the No. 2 seed at 32-12, leads the series 2-0 after winning both games at Chase Center. Las Vegas, the No. 3 seed at 31-13 and the defending champion, returns home needing three straight wins to extend its season.
The Aces take the floor one day after A’ja Wilson was named the 2026 Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player. It is the fifth MVP award of her career, extending her own league record, and she is the first player to win it in three consecutive seasons. Wilson received 65 of 74 first-place votes after leading the league in scoring at 26.2 points per game. Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson Wins Record Fifth Kia WNBA Most Valuable Player Award +3
Wilson had 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting and seven rebounds in Game 2, an 83-81 Golden State win on Wednesday. Las Vegas trailed 66-55 entering the fourth quarter and tied the game on a Chelsea Gray 3-pointer with 2:10 left. Veronica Burton answered with a deep 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining and added two free throws in the closing seconds. Gray finished with 19 points and six assists, and Jackie Young added 14 points and eight assists.
“If we lose we go home, and we stay home,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said after Game 2.
Defense and depth have carried Golden State through two games. The Valkyries held Las Vegas to 60 points in Game 1, the Aces’ lowest total of the season, and to 11 points in the first quarter of Game 2. Golden State has outrebounded Las Vegas 82-50 in the series, and its bench outscored the Aces’ reserves 34-14 on Wednesday. Tiffany Hayes, the 2024 Sixth Player of the Year with Las Vegas, led that group with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting in 16 minutes.
Gabby Williams is averaging 24.0 points in the postseason, third in the league, and has scored 20 or more in four of five playoff games. She had 25 points and 11 rebounds in Game 1 and 20 points in Game 2. Kayla Thornton added 16 points on Wednesday and went 7-of-7 at the free throw line, where Golden State shot 25-of-27 (92.6%). Kiah Stokes, who won three championships with the Aces, has 21 rebounds in the series without scoring a point and has been the primary defender on Wilson.
The road is the remaining test for Golden State. The Aces swept the three-game regular season series, and the Valkyries are 0-4 all-time in Las Vegas. Golden State is 4-0 at home this postseason, and its only road game was a 108-100 overtime loss at Dallas in the first round.
The series also matches Hammon against her former assistant. Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase spent three seasons on Hammon’s staff in Las Vegas, winning championships in 2022 and 2023.
Aces guard Jewell Loyd missed Game 2 with a left leg injury.
Game 4, if necessary, is Sunday in Las Vegas.
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