The Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries both left the court before the WNBA national anthem on Saturday ahead of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center, in a brief and unusual pregame moment that lasted roughly two minutes. The reason for the absence was not immediately clear.
Both teams returned almost immediately after the singer finished the anthem, but the timing was enough to draw attention before the opening game of the Finals in San Francisco. It also connected the night to a longer WNBA history around anthem protests and the meaning of the pregame moment.
A reminder of the league's protest history
The league has been here before. On Aug. 2, 2020, Atlanta included messaging from the WNBA players' union in game notes about anthem protests, with the union saying the anthem does not represent freedom, justice and liberty for all Americans. The same statement said protests would continue in different forms during the 2020 WNBA season.
That background matters because the pregame decision on Saturday came with no immediate explanation, but it landed in a league that has already dealt openly with the anthem as a point of protest and expression. Even without a confirmed reason, the optics were hard to miss at the WNBA Finals.
The wider context around anthem moments
The event also followed a 2024 college basketball moment involving Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and LSU. During LSU's Elite Eight game against Iowa in Albany, New York, Clark and her Hawkeyes teammates stood together during the national anthem.
Kim Mulkey was asked about LSU's anthem routine around that period and said, "Honestly, I don't even know when the anthem was played," a line that underlined how quickly anthem questions can become part of the wider basketball conversation.
Saturday's scene was different, but it belonged to the same broader discussion. The Dream and Valkyries were off the floor only briefly, yet at Game 1 of the WNBA Finals even a short absence before the Star-Spangled Banner was always going to stand out.
