Hawks Schedule Pushes WNBA Finals Into Morning Slot

The Atlanta Dream beat the Golden State Valkyries 80-69 at State Farm Arena on Thursday, Oct. 29, forcing Game 7 after the WNBA Finals’ Game 6 was moved from 8 p.m. ET to 12:30 p.m. ET to make room for an Atlanta Hawks game against Cleveland. Fans got a championship-deciding game in the middle of a weekday, while the NBA team kept its evening arena slot.

At the Oakland Athletic Club, owner Angela Tsay described the scramble caused by the 9:30 a.m. local start. “Opening at 9:30, with a restaurant and bar that has food and drinks and everything, is a complicated staffing situation. So it means that everyone's been here since 6:30/7,” she said. The bar had a line outside at 8:10 a.m. Some fans declined interviews because they had called in sick to work. The schedule didn't just rearrange a broadcast; it rearranged people’s mornings and workdays.

Who controlled the arena

The Hawks-Cavaliers game was scheduled for 8 p.m. ET at State Farm Arena, the same building where the Dream had played their home playoff games. The WNBA game had originally held that evening slot. The Athletic reported that the Hawks game prompted the move, leaving the Finals matchup to begin at 12:30 p.m. ET, or 9:30 a.m. PT.

Nancy Armour, writing in a USA Today opinion column, said the Dream had raised possible conflicts with its home Finals schedule as early as September and kept raising them. Armour wrote that WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert couldn't tell NBA teams what to do, while NBA commissioner Adam Silver could have made the case to Hawks owners Tony Ressler and Jami Gertz to move their game. The NBA owns 42% of the WNBA, which former NBA commissioner David Stern created and championed. The chain of ownership and decision-making was plain; the people expected to absorb the inconvenient start weren't the ones choosing the arena calendar.

Armour argued that moving the Cavaliers-Hawks game to Oct. 30 would have let the Dream and Valkyries play Game 6 in primetime. She wrote that the move wouldn't materially have changed either team’s schedule: the Oct. 29 game was the second of a back-to-back, both teams had Oct. 30 off, and each was set to play again on Oct. 31. Cleveland was headed to Milwaukee and Atlanta to New Orleans; neither faced a long flight. Armour called the WNBA game the equivalent of a “camp game” and described the scheduling as “a horrible look for the WNBA” and “a bad business decision for the NBA, too.”

Fans made their own gathering places

The early start drew criticism in live coverage, which said fans could miss work, school, or other commitments. Rikki’s Bar in downtown San Francisco, a women’s-sports bar named for the late Bay Area lesbian bar owner and activist Elizabeth “Rikki” Streicher, opened at 8:30 a.m. for the game. The Oakland Athletic Club hosted a Valkyries watch party, and Tsay said the bar expected to reach capacity.

Kim Singh drove from Hayward to Oakland after getting up at 6. “I was thrilled because I knew there was not gonna be that much traffic. Breakfast and Valkyries? I'm up for it any day,” she said. She added, “I'm just floored to be a part of this historical monument of experiencing a Bay Area women's basketball team.” Community watch parties, early openings, rally towels, and fans in lilac filled some of the space the schedule left behind.

The game, on the players’ terms

Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard combined for 45 points for Atlanta. Angel Reese recorded 15 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, and two made 3-pointers; Gabby Williams scored 26 for Golden State. Atlanta made 13 of 30 attempts from 3-point range, while Golden State made 7 of 27. Game 7 is set for Saturday, Oct. 31, at 8 p.m. ET in San Francisco.

Armour wrote that the Finals had drawn record ratings despite Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, and Breanna Stewart not being involved, and that all five games before Game 6 had sold out. She also cited booming merchandise sales, sponsors seeking involvement, and new practice facilities and arenas as potential revenue sources. The money and audience were there. Still, the Finals got the morning slot, and fans and venue staff did the scrambling.