Dream Hope to Rediscover Their Joy in Must-Win Game 6 Against Valkyries

The Atlanta Dream are one loss from elimination in the WNBA Finals, and they say the way back is to play like themselves again. Down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, Atlanta faces the Golden State Valkyries in a must-win Game 6 on Thursday at State Farm Arena.

DeWanna Bonner, a two-time WNBA champion, was candid about the team's recent struggles when speaking on Wednesday. "I feel like the last couple games, we just haven't been ourselves, and we know that," she said. "You haven't seen us smile. You haven't seen us enjoying [each other], and that's how we play." She added that losing the joy of the game leads players to compete against themselves as much as the opponent.

The Dream had controlled much of the series early on. They arrived in the Finals on a 10-game winning streak and, after narrowly losing Game 1 despite leading for nearly 30 minutes, won Games 2 and 3 by a combined 40 points.

Games 4 and 5 turned into more of a grind, which has suited the Valkyries. Golden State's win on Monday left the team needing just one more victory to clinch the title. Atlanta sees plenty to fix, especially on offense: the Dream scored 62 and 55 points in the past two games and committed 35 turnovers over that stretch.

The team said Wednesday's film session and meetings were productive. They included what Angel Reese described as "uncomfortable conversations" about what each player and the group as a whole could do better. Reese said "everybody's in a great mind space right now."

Guard Rhyne Howard pointed to how the Valkyries responded after Game 3. "We had them against the wall [after Game 3] and they showed up and they punched," she said. "So I think it's just our turn to come out and do the same thing."

Atlanta would need to win two straight games to claim the first championship in franchise history. The Dream believe they can do it because they already won back-to-back games in this series, Game 2 in San Francisco and Game 3 in Atlanta. Facing elimination for the first time this postseason, they are trying to force a winner-take-all Game 7 on Halloween in San Francisco.

Bonner said the team's belief has not wavered. "Our confidence is still high," she said. "There's no reason to lose confidence. We're down one game in this. We get [Game 6] and it's a series all over again." Reese echoed that: "We have no doubt."

Reese was held to single digits in both of the past two losses and has been eager to get back on the floor since Monday. "After the game, I wanted to play a game right away," she said. Of Game 6, she added: "You're going to have to peel me off the court. I want to be so damn tired. I want to just be able to give everything."