The difference was Gabby Williams. Williams was the best player on the floor, and as a result, the Golden State Valkyries won the WNBA championship over the Atlanta Dream in a tightly-contested Game 7 of the WNBA Finals.

Williams scored 28 points in the second half, a WNBA Finals record for one half of play. Her dominance on both ends made the Finals MVP decision obvious by the buzzer. Williams finished with 30 points, 4 blocks, and 2 steals—including a clutch rejection of Jordin Canada late, and the three that put the Valkyries up for good, breaking a 57-57 tie with just over 2 minutes left.

"All we heard last year: We don't have no stars, we don't have no talent. Yeah right. We got good people. We got winners," Williams said after the game.

Well, Golden State does have a star in Williams. In fact, team owner Joe Lacob called her the best player in the world during the Valkyries sweep of the Las Vegas Aces.

Williams has certainly staked a claim for that title. Between powering France as a juggernaut in FIBA competition, to leading the Valkyries to a championship in just their second year of existence, it's hard to say Williams hasn't made her case.

Defense Decided WNBA Finals

It wasn't the prettiest series, but it did come down to the wire. Defense was always going to determine the winner given the two teams involved, and that proved true in the decisive contest.

Golden State held Atlanta to just 33% shooting and only 20% from beyond the arc in Game 7.

They also did a particularly good job on Angel Reese from Game 4 on. Reese had powered Atlanta to wins in Game 2 and 3, but she shot just 12-for-45 from the field the remainder of the series and averaged nearly 5 turnovers per game over the last four games of the WNBA Finals.

Valkyries Complete Great Story

It was appropriate that the Valkyries captured the WNBA Championship at home, given they led the league in home attendance with 18,000 strong every night at Chase Center.

Coach Natalie Nakase and GM Ohemaa Nyanin built a program on the floor worth cheering for, and one that went on to win it all in only year two.

And signing Williams to a max-deal in the offseason was a huge step in the process. Because the Valkyries franchise indeed has its superstar as she showed in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals.