Jordin Canada Leads Dream Within One Win of WNBA Finals

Atlanta moved within one victory of the WNBA Finals after defeating New York 101-98 in overtime in Game 2 of their semifinal series on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. Jordin Canada scored 23 points and recorded eight assists to lead the Dream, who took a 2-0 series advantage despite a late-game timeout controversy involving the Liberty.

According to the game report published by Yahoo Sports, Breanna Stewart scored 35 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and distributed six assists for New York. Jonquel Jones added 21 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, but the Liberty could not capitalize on several opportunities to secure the victory.

Atlanta also received 23 points and seven rebounds from Angel Reese. The Dream had already swept Washington in the first round, putting them one win away from their first WNBA Finals appearance since 2013.

Canada's postseason production has exceeded her regular-season numbers. According to USA Today, she averaged 11.6 points on 43.1% shooting and 7.3 assists during the 2026 regular season, ranking third in the league in assists per game.

In Game 1 against New York, Canada recorded 25 points on 64% shooting, four assists, five steals and one block in Atlanta's 92-82 victory. She became the sixth player in WNBA postseason history to register at least 25 points and five steals in a game.

Her second performance featured 23 points, eight assists, five rebounds and one steal. USA Today also reported that Canada was shooting 48% from three-point range in the playoffs, compared with approximately 29% during the regular season.

Dream forward Naz Hillmon credited Canada's growing confidence and defensive improvement for her influence on Atlanta's postseason success.

"Jordin's really confident right now. Not to say that she isn't always, but I think she's seeing her work be put on display, and she's being rewarded for it. ... I feel like she's always impacting, even if she doesn't have a double-digit scoring outing.

Like, that she's responsible for X amount of points, and then I think her defense. She's always been known for her defense, but she's taking it up a notch, using (coach Karl Smesko's) technique methods and putting it all together." Hillmon said.

Canada entered the league as the fifth overall pick in the 2018 draft and won championships with Seattle in 2018 and 2020. She learned from Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd before spending two seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks and joining Atlanta. Injuries limited her to 20 games in 2024 and 28 in 2025.

Canada described her approach as reading defensive coverage, balancing scoring with playmaking and creating opportunities for teammates.

"I just try to read the game. I let the game come to me. Sometimes, there's games where it's called for me to be more aggressive and scoring first and looking for my teammates, and then there's times where I need to look for my teammates, and then, I'll turn it up a little bit.

I know that I am a great facilitator. I know one of my strengths is getting into the paint and creating for my teammates. So I just try to do that consistently throughout the game, and then just see how it plays out ...

I love passing the ball. That's just the player in me." Canada said.

Angel Reese highlighted Canada's speed, attacking mentality and emotional energy during the postseason.

"That (Oct. 4 semifinal) game (against the Liberty) was the first time I've ever seen her that excited. She said some words that I had never heard her say before ... She was lit.

She's unguardable. She's so fast and quick and at her size, to be so fearless and go inside a lot of the time, I wouldn't do that probably if I was that small, but she's just super confident." Reese said.

DeWanna Bonner, a veteran forward who won championships alongside Diana Taurasi in Phoenix, said Canada's leadership had become central to Atlanta's performance.

"We're just rolling her wave. She just brings all the energy. She's the head of the snake on defense and offense.

So when she gets going, it gets everyone else going. I'm just super proud of her, and I'm excited to see what she's gonna do the rest of the series. We know it's a long way, but we go as (Jordin Canada) go."

Bonner said.

Canada's championship experience began with Seattle, where she spent four seasons learning from established veterans. Ahead of Game 2, she emphasized preparation and consistency as essential parts of winning.

"The preparation was the most important. When you come out on the floor, you got to know what's going on, and so I think just watching that in the role that I was in as a rookie of just making sure I'm staying ready, I'm staying prepared and then when I come out here I know what's going on, I know what I'm doing, so I think it's just the credit to watching those players and how they are being consistent in that." Canada said.

Bonner recalled the advantage of entering a championship-level team as a rookie and observing experienced players.

"Any time you come into a franchise as a rookie and you have the ultimate GOATs on your team… any time you have that blueprint of what it takes to win the championship your first year, you're lucky. You see it. You see how things are supposed to be done, and you kind of just carry that with you in your back pocket each year and you just keep adding to it every year that you're in it." Bonner said.

Bonner also compared Canada's leadership to the example set by Bird during their respective careers.

"She's the head of our snake [on] offense and defense. I feel like she's learned that a lot from Sue and she just put it here." Bonner said.

New York's late-game defeat also generated controversy over a possible timeout. With 4.3 seconds remaining in overtime and the Liberty trailing by one, Stewart said she asked referee Kevin Fahy whether her team had a reset timeout available while Reese prepared to shoot free throws.

"He said, 'I'm going to check at the table,'" Stewart said.

Stewart described the exchange with the officials before New York attempted its final possession.

"So then he looked to [head official] Fatou [Cissoko-Stephens], and she said no. So then he told me no, like, we don't." Stewart said.

After the free throws, Leonie Fiebich inbounded the ball to Marine Johannes, who tipped it toward Stewart. Stewart gathered possession and attempted an off-balance 32-footer that fell short, sealing Atlanta's three-point victory.

Stewart said the availability of a timeout could have changed New York's final opportunity.

"Of course, who knows what would happen at the end of the game, but we would have had hopefully a better shot on goal." Stewart said.

Liberty coach Chris DeMarco said his staff had also been told that the team did not have a reset timeout remaining. Atlanta coach Karl Smesko, meanwhile, believed New York still had one available but noted that the Liberty continued without using it.

"same thing," DeMarco said.

The WNBA rulebook allows each team one reset timeout during the final two minutes of an overtime period. New York submitted an official inquiry to the league regarding the incident, according to Yahoo Sports.

An official pool report issued after the game presented a different account of the communication between Stewart and the referees. Cissoko-Stephens said the officials had not communicated with the team about the timeout situation.

"was no communication with the officials or the team." Cissoko-Stephens said.

The pool report also stated that Fahy had confirmed New York's remaining timeout with another official while Stewart stood nearby. It explained that the scorer's table and statistical staff track timeouts, while teams remain responsible for monitoring their own usage.

"Stewart was standing behind referee Fahy when he confirmed with his partner between Reese's penalty free throws that New York did indeed have a reset timeout remaining," the pool report stated.

DeMarco expressed frustration over the loss and the circumstances surrounding the final possession.

"It is what it is," DeMarco said.

The controversy did not erase the Liberty's earlier mistakes. New York committed 17 turnovers that Atlanta converted into 28 points, while several late possessions ended without a decisive scoring opportunity.

Fiebich said the team had opportunities to win before the timeout dispute arose.

"I think this sounds like a big drama, but I don't think that's the reason why we lost." Fiebich said.

Asked whether she had previously experienced similar confusion about a timeout, Fiebich responded briefly.

"No," Fiebich said.

She also acknowledged that New York's mistakes extended beyond the final sequence.

"I think we all f***** up at some stage throughout the game, especially late." Fiebich said.

According to Yahoo Sports, Sabrina Ionescu told reporters she had taken responsibility for the loss, while the team faced the prospect of elimination after falling behind 2-0. No team has overcome a 2-0 deficit in WNBA postseason history.

Game 3 was scheduled for Friday, October 9, at 7:30 p.m. ET at Barclays Center, where New York needed a victory to extend the series and Atlanta had an opportunity to clinch its place in the WNBA Finals.