Valkyries will add to Bay Area's epic Game 7 history, filled with glory and heartbreak

One compelling reason the words “Game 7” stir the sports fan’s soul: It seldom happens.

Only six times in Bay Area history has a local franchise played in Game 7 with the championship at stake. And only three times has that captivating, tension-filled, winner-take-all event taken place here: Giants-Yankees in the 1962 World Series, A’s-Mets in the 1973 World Series and Warriors-Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals.

Now we have a fourth entry.

Saturday’s Game 7 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center, featuring the Golden State Valkyries and Atlanta Dream, counts as a milestone on multiple levels. It also will mark the first time a WNBA postseason series has reached Game 7 – the league adopted a best-of-seven Finals format last year, when Las Vegas swept Phoenix.

The previous year, in 2024, New York and Minnesota went the distance in their best-of-five Finals (the Liberty won 67-62 in Game 5). Any decisive game brings sporting theater, but Game 7s carry extra cachet – as the culmination of a long series, with sustained drama and wild momentum swings.

That’s exactly how this Valkyries-Dream duel has unfolded. Atlanta seemed in control after taking a 2-1 lead … and then Golden State stormed back to move ahead 3-2 … and then the Dream averted elimination with Thursday’s emphatic victory.

So now the series moves onto the grandest stage of all.

Bay Area Game 7 history

Saturday’s showdown between the Valkyries and Atlanta Dream will be the 32nd time a Bay Area franchise has played in Game 7 of a postseason series – and only the seventh time it’s happened with a championship at stake. Here’s a rundown of the previous instances:

2025: Warriors win first round vs. Rockets, 103-89
2023: Warriors win first round vs. Kings, 120-100
2019: Sharks win West semifinals vs. Avalanche, 3-2
2019: Sharks win first round vs. Golden Knights, 5-4 (OT)
2018: Warriors win West finals vs. Rockets, 101-92
2016: Warriors lose NBA Finals vs. Cavaliers, 93-89
2016: Warriors win West finals vs. Thunder, 96-88
2016: Sharks win West semifinals vs. Predators, 5-0
2014: Giants win World Series vs. Royals, 3-2
2014: Warriors lose first round vs. Clippers, 126-121
2014: Sharks lose first round vs. Kings, 5-1
2013: Sharks lose West semifinals vs. Kings, 2-1
2012: Giants win NLCS vs. Cardinals, 9-0
2011: Sharks win West semifinals vs. Red Wings, 3-2
2008: Sharks win first round vs. Flames, 5-3
2002: Giants lose World Series vs. Angels, 4-1
2002: Sharks lose West semifinals vs. Avalanche, 1-0
2000: Sharks win first round vs. Blues, 3-1
1995: Sharks win first round vs. Flames, 5-4
1994: Sharks lose West semifinals vs. Maple Leafs, 4-2
1994: Sharks win first round vs. Red Wings, 3-2
1987: Giants lose NLCS vs. Cardinals, 6-0
1977: Warriors lose West semifinals vs. Lakers, 97-84
1976: Warriors lose West finals vs. Suns, 94-86
1975: Warriors win West finals vs. Bulls, 83-79
1973: A’s win World Series vs. Mets, 5-2
1972: A’s win World Series vs. Reds, 3-2
1969: Oakland Oaks (ABA) win West semifinals vs. Denver Rockets, 115-102
1969:
 
Oakland Seals (NHL) lose first round vs. L.A. Kings, 5-3
1964: Warriors win West finals vs. St. Louis Hawks, 105-95
1962: Giants lose World Series vs. Yankees, 1-0

Consider the indelible memories Game 7s have produced for Bay Area fans, some dripping with joy and others soaked in frustration. Willie McCovey’s lineout to end the ’62 Series, with the tying run on third base and winning run on second. Madison Bumgarner’s epic, five-inning save to beat Kansas City in the 2014 World Series. LeBron James’ chase-down block in the ’16 NBA Finals.

Bumgarner closed out one of three championship-series Game 7s involving a Bay Area team but played on the road. The other two: A’s-Reds in the 1972 World Series (Oakland won 3-2) and Giants-Angels in the 2002 World Series (Anaheim won 4-1).

Widen the scope beyond the title series, and other Game 7s also yielded memorable feats. Stephen Curry dropped 50 points on the Kings in a first-round series in 2023 (two years later, Buddy Hield scored 33 to push the Warriors past Houston in the first round). The Sharks earned a one-goal Game 7 win in the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, then did the same in the West semifinals. Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro rejoiced in the rain just before the final out of the 2012 National League Championship Series.

In all, Bay Area teams have played in Game 7 at any stage in the postseason just 31 times in the nearly seven decades since the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958. The Sharks have played in the most (12), followed by the Warriors (10) – including six in the Curry Era – Giants (five), A’s (two) and the ABA’s Oakland Oaks and NHL’s Oakland Seals (one each).

Ten years ago, before the Warriors faced Oklahoma City in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, the Chronicle explored this history. Golden State’s journey showed how seldom Game 7s occur – the Warriors played in three of them in the mid-1970s, then not again until the 2014 first round against the Los Angeles Clippers (a five-point loss in Mark Jackson’s last game as head coach).

As they learned – and the Valkyries will find out Saturday – one play can propel a team to triumph or launch a lifetime of painful, “What if?” reflection.

“Every possession is more intense, from tipoff to the last possession of the game,” former Warriors forward Andre Iguodala said in an interview for the 2016 story. “Everything is kind of magnified. You can tell there are nerves, because no one wants to be at fault. So everyone is trying to make the correct play, the correct pass, the right reads. Every little thing counts.”

Iguodala played in one Game 7 with Philadelphia, an 85-75 loss to Boston in the 2012 Eastern Conference semifinals. He scored 18 points, but he also recalled botched defensive rotations that left Ray Allen and Paul Pierce open for jumpers.

That’s the thing about Game 7s: The memories linger longer and more vividly.

Former Giants first baseman J.T. Snow recalled the raucous atmosphere at Anaheim Stadium for Game 7 of the 2002 World Series. Those were the days of the Rally Monkey mascot and fans banging Thunderstix, but Snow savored the setting even if the Giants lost.

“It was probably more electric than any game I’ve ever played in my whole life,” he said in 2016. “You could sense it everywhere, from the clubhouse to the field during batting practice. The whole season compresses down to those three hours and 27 outs. I loved it. I wish we had won, but it was fun.”

The Rick Barry-led Warriors lost two of those three Game 7s in the ’70s, falling to Phoenix in the 1976 West finals and the Lakers in the ’77 conference semifinals. Before that, Golden State bounced back from an 11-point halftime deficit to beat Chicago in Game 7 of the 1975 West finals (yes, the Bulls were in the West back then).

The Warriors subsequently swept Washington to win the NBA title.

More than 40 years later, Barry remembered the tension – and agonizing first half – of that Game 7 against the Bulls.

“I remember stinking up the gym and sitting on the freaking bench, praying for my teammates to do well,” he said in 2016. “They did, and held the Bulls scoreless for seven minutes. Thankfully, I came back in and made some shots. …

“I also remember losing to Phoenix the next year, which was heartbreaking. We should have won that Game 7 and didn’t. So I have great memories and awful memories.”

The Valkyries might find a positive omen in the way Barry and his ’75 team conquered the Bulls of Chet Walker, Bob Love and Jerry Sloan. Namely, the crowd in Oakland gave the Warriors a much-needed boost.

Thanks in part to their loud crowd, the Valkyries are 6-1 at Chase this postseason – after posting a league-best, 17-5 home record in the regular season.

“The fans had a big part of us coming back against Chicago in ’75, when I was playing poorly,” Barry said. “The fans did a great job of bringing the adrenaline and energy. That’s a fantastic advantage.”

The Giants did not enjoy a similar advantage in the decisive game of the 2014 World Series. They played Game 7 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, where a boisterous crowd of 40,535 roared for their Royals.

As it turned out, the game matched the stakes: a taut affair rippling with tension from the start. Reliever Jeremy Affeldt learned quickly, because he replaced starter Tim Hudson in the second inning, with the game tied 2-2 and two Kansas City runners on base.

Affeldt slithered out of the jam, then pitched two more scoreless innings (with a notable defensive assist from Joe Panik and Brandon Crawford) before handing the ball to Bumgarner. The atmosphere invigorated Affeldt.

“Pitchers are probably going to have more adrenaline and velocity and focus,” he said in 2016. “You have intense focus. You don’t feel tired, you don’t feel pain, you don’t feel anything. You just feel competitive.”

Affeldt competed, Bumgarner competed some more and eventually third baseman Pablo Sandoval clutched the final out. That sparked a wild Giants celebration, no doubt magnified by the dramatic way they won the championship.

Across the field, the Royals sagged. That’s how Game 7s work – exultation on one side, heartbreak on the other. The Valkyries and Dream are about to experience this first-hand.

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This article originally published at Valkyries will add to Bay Area’s epic Game 7 history, filled with glory and heartbreak.