Illustration of a basketball player in an Atlanta jersey holding a ball with the city skyline in the background. — Angel Reese illustration, as the Dream chase their first WNBA championship.

Atlanta has waited 13 years to get back to the WNBA Finals. Angel Reese needed one season with the Dream to help end that wait.

Now the team is chasing something it has never won: a championship.

The Dream open the best-of-seven Finals against the Golden State Valkyries on Saturday, Oct. 17, in San Francisco. Atlanta arrives unbeaten in the playoffs, having swept Washington in the first round and New York in the semifinals. Golden State presents a tougher problem: the Valkyries won all three regular-season meetings between the teams.

For Reese, the championship run follows an abrupt change of direction. Chicago traded the two-time All-Star to Atlanta this spring after two difficult seasons and public criticism of the Sky’s approach to rebuilding.

In an account published Friday by The Wall Street Journal, Reese described the uncomfortable work that followed. Dream coach Karl Smesko pushed her to change her shooting mechanics and expand her range, at one point stopping a training-camp drill until she made consecutive 3-pointers.

The adjustment has produced more than a fresh start. Reese earned her third All-Star selection and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

Her postseason contributions have extended to the free-throw line. The Journal reported that Reese made all 12 of her attempts across the final two semifinal games against New York, helping Atlanta close out a pair of tight contests.

Reese is also part of a wider defensive threat. Jordin Canada, Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray have each averaged at least two steals per game during the playoffs. Reese has added 2.2 blocks per game. Golden State counters with a defense anchored by Gabby Williams and the confidence of its regular-season success against Atlanta.

When to watch

Saturday’s opener tips off at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC and Peacock.

The Finals schedule brings the series to State Farm Arena for Game 3 on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 8 p.m., and Game 4 on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 1 p.m. Game 3 airs on USA Network and Peacock; Game 4 airs on NBC and Peacock.

Atlanta enters the series without a playoff loss. To finish the job, it must beat the one opponent it has yet to solve this season.