USC's Juju Watkins envisions the Atlanta Dream winning their first-ever WNBA title this season. With an unbeaten postseason run, Watkins has her eyes on the Dream. 

Winning 101-98 in overtime on Wednesday night against the Liberty in Game 2 meant the Dream need just one win to reach the Finals. Watkins trusted them to go all the way. 

“I like the Dream right now. They got a good thing going on so I’m really excited to see how everything plays out,” Watkins said.

After the 92-82 win in Game 1, the Dream made it 2-0 in the series on Wednesday night with a thrilling overtime win at State Farm Arena.

The Valkyries hold a similar lead against defending champions the Aces and are being tipped as favorites to win the WNBA title.

However, Watkins sees what others miss: a 30-14 juggernaut treated as underdogs.

“They’re like the underdog. I like it,” she added, as shown on WBB Mayer's X post. 

On Friday, the Dream head to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for Game 3, aiming to sweep the series. 

Atlanta Dream coach Karl Smesko opened up on the close win.

Smesko praises overtime heroics

With 33.8 seconds to go, the Liberty held a 98-97 advantage over the Dream. However, they still managed to turn things around and left head coach Karl Smesko proud. 

“Amazing game,” Atlanta coach Karl Smesko said, per Miami Herald's report. “Glad that we were able to regroup in overtime and just find a way to win. Remarkable performance by a lot of our players. Really proud of them.” 

2026 WNBA DPOY Angel Reese led in scoring with 23 points, along with Jordin Canada. On top of that, Rhyne Howard added 18 points, and Naz Hillmon played a crucial role, scoring 12.

The Liberty’s Brianna Stewart's 35 points and 11 rebounds weren't enough; she'll need a similar effort in Game 3.

Written by

Avishek Sarkar