10/26/2026 01:43:00
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10/26 13:42 CDT Game 6 of WNBA Finals set for State Farm Arena at 12:30 p.m. ET
Thursday
Game 6 of WNBA Finals set for State Farm Arena at 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday
By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer
Game 6 of the WNBA Finals between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries
will be played at State Farm Arena on Thursday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. ET, the
league announced a few hours before Game 5 was set to take place on Monday
night.
The WNBA worked hard with the NBA to move the game to State Farm Arena --- home
of the Atlanta Hawks --- where Games 3 and 4 of the championship series were
played.
The Hawks have a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers that night that couldn't
be moved to another date or place. The only way they could make it work was to
play the early afternoon game. The Hawks game against the Cavaliers was moved
back an hour.
"The sellout crowds and extraordinary atmosphere at State Farm Arena for Games
3 and 4 were a tremendous success, and we're excited to give thousands more
fans the opportunity to experience Game 6 with a championship on the line,"
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. "We thank the NBA, Dream, Valkyries,
Hawks, State Farm Arena and USA Network for the collaboration and flexibility
that made this move possible. We look forward to delivering another
unforgettable Finals experience in Atlanta."
Game 5 will start at 8 p.m. ET in San Francisco.
By playing Game 6 in State Farm Arena, the Dream can have more than 17,000 fans
as opposed to their normal home of Gateway Center Arena, which seats about
3,500. Games 3 and 4 were sold out.
It was the third time in the series that the WNBA made accommodations for the
Dream to be able to play at the bigger arena. Game 3 was moved up a day to last
Wednesday and Saturday's contest started at 1 p.m. ET so the Hawks could still
host their home opener that night against Houston.
That game was moved back 30 minutes to allow more time for the arena staff to
change the building over for the Hawks contest. Now there potentially could be
a champion crowned that day so there will be more time between games.
The NBA and WNBA explored options to keep the game in primetime. Both the Hawks
and Cavaliers play Wednesday night, so they couldn't play their game in the
earlier time slot Thursday.
Playing the game with the afternoon start time isn't ideal for anybody. It will
be tough to sell out the arena and ratings will most likely be lower with the
early start. The game will tip at 9:30 a.m. local time in San Francisco.
While the league didn't know until last Saturday that there would definitely be
a Game 6 played in Atlanta, a contingency plan could have been put in place a
long time ago by Engelbert and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. The eight playoff
teams were known in early September, before the women's FIBA World Cup break.
Part of the issue is that unlike the Valkyries, who are controlled by Golden
State Warriors owner Joe Lacob, the Dream and Hawks are owned by different
groups. Also with NBC and USA Sports broadcasting the games this year, WNBA
Finals games are on different nights.
In the past, games wouldn't be played on a Monday night --- like Game 5 will be
--- because of the NFL contract that ESPN has. They also wouldn't be played on
a Saturday, the day that Games 3 and 7 would be played, because of ESPN's
college football contracts.
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