The latest issue with the WNBA Finals was location for Game 6 in Atlanta. The action on the court has been elite, but the narrative surrounding the league isn’t getting any better.
The Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries still didn’t know where Game 6 of the WNBA Finals was going to be played as of Monday morning. The series is tied at 2-2, so essentially it is now a best-of-three series for the championship.
Atlanta Hawks Push Game Back To Evening To Accomodate WNBA Finals Game 6
After a weekend of nonstop frantic discussions and negotiation, Game 6 of the WNBA Finals will be played Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET at 17,000-seat State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
The Atlanta Hawks-Cleveland Cavaliers game that night will move to 8:00 p.m. ET to accommodate the doubleheader, just as the Hawks did for Game 4. This gracious move on the part of the NBA allows a potential Game 7 to remain scheduled for Halloween at Chase Center in San Francisco.
“I commend the ladies for being ready to play anytime and any place,” ESPN WNBA analyst Chiney Ogwumike said after the venue was cemented, leading to a Saturday matinee at State Farm Arena.
With the game being moved from primetime to the afternoon, there is the possibility of decreased ratings. As far as playing the game at 9:30am Pacific Time, Ogwumike says she would have been fine with the Dream playing at their ususal 3,500-person arena.
“I am not opposed to the Gateway Center and they actually have played there all year long… and I do undertand the business and having those thousands of fans be a part of momentum shifting. I would have prefered prime time but I do understand. It’s a difficult choice but the choice would have been easier if the conversations happened earlier,” the analyst added.
WNBA reporter Ramona Shelbourne also mentioned on ESPN’s NBA Today that there could be a possible conflict with the post-game celebration if a team closes out the series in Game 6. She suggests there might not be time to accomodate an extended championship postgame celebration becasue the arena willhave to turn over the court for the Hawks to play and to allow those fans to enter.
“It’s the option they chose and none of the options were good,”she added.
Fans React To Report About WNBA Still Not Securing Game 6 WNBA Finals Venue
Even after it was announced that State Farm Arena was secured, fans who have been critical of the WNBA and how it’s been run all season used this scheduling conflict to bash on the league some more.
“Oh geez WNBA women not thinking of anyone but themselves? Never,” one sarcastic fan commented.
“the @WNBA is run by certifiable morons,” one user cruelly posted on X.
“The ineptitude of the league is on full display. How was scheduling not looked at even prior to the playoffs starting? You wait until 48 hours to create this drama. Inexcusable mismanagement,” one netizen expressed.
“It’s the WNBA, who’s surprised about the worst run league on earth not knowing where they’re going to play a FINALS GAME?” one critic tweeted.
“This is why people make fun of the WNBA. How do you not have a backup plan at all?” one flustered hoops fan commented.
NBA Fans Don’t Like Hawks Game Getting Pushed Back
Plenty of fans agreed with the ESPN analyst that the Dream should just play at their regular 3,500-seat arena rather than expect the NBA schedule to be interrupted. People who bought tickets were not expecting a night game and that inconvenience to the NBA fans only fuels their animosity towards the WNBA.
“They already have their OWN arena…they can play there. Why should anyone cancel and adjust for a team that has their own place already?” one netizen asked.
“This is absolutely wild,” another fan complained.
More fans hopped into the comments to voice their frustrations with the WNBA hierarchy.
“More eyes on the league than ever before and yet they continually embarrass themselves over and over at every opportunity. There’s a chance the league could be hugely successful, but not with the incompetence they’ve shown.”
“I’m wondering why the WNBA finals are happening right now as the #The NBA is just getting their season started. Seems like a huge oversight by the league,” another social media user mused.
Did WNBA Dodge A Bullet?
Game 6 potentially could be the WNBA Finals-clinching game and it luckily won’t have to be played at the 3,500-seat Gateway Center Arena in the Atlanta suburb of College Par. The 17,500-seat State Farm Arena is a much bigger venue.
The league moved Game 3 to Wednesday, Oct. 21, to avoid a scheduling conflict with a concert, and moved Game 4 to an earlier start time Saturday to accommodate a Hawks game later that evening.
Finding a solution for Game 6 was becoming a huge roadbloack, but as the NBA has done throughout the W’s 30-year history, it had the league’s back and made accomodations for the women to shine. Moving the game to another date required coordination among the WNBA, NBA, teams and broadcast partners, as well as adjustments to a potential Game 7 scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 31, in San Francisco.
WNBA Players Continue To Get Overshadowed By Off-The-Court Drama
The WNBA has been the target of disgruntled fans, troublemakers and sour Caitlin Clark fans. In her absence, certain storylines have disappeared and the drama has remained on the court for the most part, with Reese’s Game 2 classic and Game 4 stinker driving the narrative.
Last week, a contingent of fans and media were in a fake uproar because the WNBA doesn’t mandate players to stand or stay for the national anthem prior to the game.
Despite the WNBA loosening the rules on that issue back in 2017, and giving the option of going into the locker room instead of standing for the anthem to each individual team, people can’t help but start trouble where there is none.
During the season there was a long drawn-out battle about transgender players participating in women’s sports, which former NBA player Enes Kanter tried to drag into the WNBA finals before getting escorted out the State Farm Arena prior to Game 3. Somehow, Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham got into the middle of a philosophical battle about what qualifies as a woman, which morphed into a public debate about the need for biological women to be protected from playing against transgenders. The WNBA doesn’t have such a problem, but it seemed like the end of the world at the time.
The scheduling conflict briefly opened up a new lane of criticism and hijacked the real narrative of a closely-contested WNA Finals that appears to be going seven games for the first time in league history. The WNBA expanded its Finals from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven series starting with the 2025 season
Prior to 2025, every WNBA Finals was a best-of-three or best-of-five series, meaning a seven-game series was not possible. Game 7 is scheduled for Oct. 31, 2026.
