Whichever team lifts the trophy, a former Gamecock will be a WNBA champion this year. The Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries meet in the Finals, and four of Dawn Staley’s former players are on the two rosters. The best-of-seven series opens Oct. 17 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Gamecocks on Both Sidelines
Atlanta has three South Carolina alumnae in Allisha Gray, Te-Hina Paopao and Madina Okot. Laeticia Amihere is Golden State’s lone Gamecock, so she will face her former teammates.
The path to this point was favorable for Staley. Only New York among the four semifinalists lacked a South Carolina connection, which meant she had a 75% chance of at least one alumna reaching the Finals. The Las Vegas Aces carried two of her former players, five-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson and Ta’Niya Latson.
A Pipeline Few Programs Can Match
Staley had as many as 13 former players on WNBA rosters across six teams this season. Twenty-three South Carolina players have reached the league in program history, 19 of them during Staley’s tenure. The Gamecocks have had nine players drafted over the last five years, more than any other college program.
Until this season, Wilson and Alaina Coates were the only former Gamecocks with a WNBA championship. They won together with the Aces in 2023, six years after teaming up on South Carolina’s 2017 national title, the first of Staley’s three. Wilson has added two more rings with Las Vegas, in 2024 and 2025.
The Four Gamecocks in the Finals
Madina Okot, Atlanta: The center was the No. 13 pick in this year’s draft after a single season under Staley. As a rookie she averaged 5.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game and made two starts.
Te-Hina Paopao, Atlanta: The guard is in her second season with the Dream after going No. 18 overall in 2025. She began at Oregon before transferring to South Carolina, where she played from 2023 to 2025 and won a title in 2024. This season she averaged 3.7 points and 1.4 assists in 11.6 minutes.
Allisha Gray, Atlanta: Gray has played 10 WNBA seasons, the longest run of any Gamecock in the league this year. She spent three seasons at North Carolina before joining South Carolina and winning the 2017 national championship. Dallas drafted her fourth overall, and she has been with Atlanta since 2023. One of the league’s top guards, she posted a career-high 19 points per game this season along with 2.6 assists. A finger injury kept her out of all three semifinal games, and she is day-to-day for Game 1.
Laeticia Amihere, Golden State: Amihere played four years for Staley and won a title in 2022. Atlanta selected her eighth overall in 2023, and she has spent the last two seasons with the Valkyries. This year she averaged 3.9 points and three rebounds in 11.7 minutes.
WNBA Finals Schedule
– Game 1: Atlanta at Golden State, Oct. 17, 3:30 p.m. ET
– Game 2: Atlanta at Golden State, Oct. 19, 8 p.m. ET
– Game 3: Golden State at Atlanta, Oct. 21, 8 p.m. ET
– Game 4: Golden State at Atlanta, Oct. 24, 1 p.m. ET
– Game 5 (if necessary): Atlanta at Golden State, Oct. 26, 8 p.m. ET
– Game 6 (if necessary): Golden State at Atlanta, Oct. 29, 8 p.m. ET
– Game 7 (if necessary): Atlanta at Golden State, Oct. 31, 8 p.m. ET
Bottom Line
Staley’s program keeps producing professionals, and this series shows how deep that pipeline runs. With three Gamecocks on one side and one on the other, South Carolina is represented in the championship round no matter the outcome. The Gray injury is the main storyline heading into Game 1. If she is limited, Paopao and Okot may see a larger role for Atlanta, and Amihere could be a factor for the Valkyries in a series where the loser will still have a former Gamecock on the winning roster’s opposite bench.
