Elle Duncan hosted the 2026 WNBA Finals trophy presentation for the first time over the weekend.
The former ESPN host, who now works for Netflix and other platforms, hosted the trophy presentation for the Golden State Valkyries on Saturday night, following their Game 7 win over the Atlanta Dream.
Duncan, hosting the presentation for USA Sports, congratulated WNBA Finals MVP Gabby Williams and her teammates.
“Gabby, your nickname is Spooky G, and what you did tonight was downright scary. Gabby, if you didn’t know, scored more points than anybody in a half in W postseason history,” Duncan said.
She added: “Gabby, you kind of started this run by quoting Too Short and ‘What’s My Favorite Word?’ and I was just wondering, because the new favorite word could be ‘chip,’ as in championship. But I’ll let you do that to Ballhalla.”
Awful Announcing had major praise for Duncan’s performance
Awful Announcing was a major fan of Duncan’s performance.
“The longer the presentation went on, the deeper Duncan’s knowledge base proved to be. Yes, it’s a broadcaster’s job to be informed, but only the best broadcasters understand that the most important part of the job is communicating that information in a way that generates viewer investment,” they wrote.
“It would have been easy to ask generic, uncurious questions about what it feels like to be a champion, but Duncan cared enough to ask specific questions and turn a trophy presentation into a storytelling platform. She made it feel conversational without compromising an ounce of professionalism.”
While there was some swearing on the stage, Duncan defended it, taking to X.
Duncan defends WNBA Finals trophy presentation behavior
Duncan said that if her daughters were OK with it, so should everyone else.
“For the folks still focused on the swearing @ the WNBA trophy presentation. My 5 and 8 yr old watched too and all they focused on was the storytelling. They peppered me all day w/ questions about the players which led to a chat about perseverance and hard work. That was my goal going in- to pique further curiosity into these women’s journey- and atleast in my home…it did,” she wrote.
The WNBA appeared to be fans, too.
Robyn Millstein, who works for the Phoenix Mercury, shared: “Elle Duncan just put on an absolute masterclass in the WNBA Finals postgame ceremony. The poise. The presence. The command of the stage.”
