Golden State Valkyries make WNBA history in inaugural season

The Valkyries are the first WNBA expansion team ever to make the playoffs in their first season

Eddie Monares and Daniel Archuleta • Sep 11, 2025

A Golden State Valkyries home game at the Chase Center on Aug. 31, 2025. The Valkyries defeated the Indiana Fever 75-63. (Missvain, Wikimedia Commons)

In 2023, before the Bay Area’s WNBA team even had a name or color scheme, Golden State Warriors CEO Joe Lacob boldly claimed the WNBA team would win a championship within the first five years of the franchise.

Lacob, the principal owner of the Golden State Valkyries, is no stranger to these types of bold claims. When he bought the Warriors in 2010, he claimed and achieved that same goal of winning a championship in a five-year span.

While the prospect of winning a championship in the first five years seemed like a steep task, the Valkyries have had as good of a start as could be expected in their first season.

On Sept. 4, the team made WNBA history, becoming the first expansion team in league history to qualify for the playoffs in their inaugural season, clinching this feat after an 84-80 comeback win over the Dallas Wings.

“I feel like the atmosphere is amazing,” said Kelenna Azubuike, former Warriors guard and analyst for NBC Sports Bay Area. “It doesn’t surprise me about the Bay Area. There’s just great basketball fans in general here and they’ve been showing out in a big way, and the Valkyries are giving them something to cheer about. They play an exciting brand of basketball, they defend, they hustle, and it’s really cool to watch.”

This exciting brand of basketball comes from a roster built by General Manager Ohemaa Nyanin, the former assistant general manager of the WNBA defending champion New York Liberty, as well as head coach Natalie Nakase, a two-time WNBA champion as an assistant coach with the Las Vegas Aces.

Early arriving Valkyries fans await entry into the Chase Center before a home game against the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (Daniel Archuleta / Golden Gate Xpress)

The roster itself is composed of players from other teams in the league, as well as the Valkyries’ 2025 draft picks.

In the Valkyries’ first-ever draft, the team selected Juste Jocytė, a forward from Lithuania. However, Jocytė and the team mutually decided that she would not play this season, focusing on her EuroBasket season with Lithuania. She will rejoin the team for the 2026 season.

From the expansion draft, the team made several successful selections, including forwards Kayla Thornton and Monique Billings, and guards Veronica Burton, Kate Martin and Tiffany “Tip” Hayes.

Thornton would go on to be the first-ever all-star in Valkyries history, before sustaining a knee injury in a July practice, ruling her out for the remainder of the season.

Despite losing their all-star mid-season and getting zero minutes from Jocytė, the group of players who had never played together before banded together and will now be playing playoff WNBA basketball.

Monique Cavness, a junior forward on the San Francisco State University’s women’s basketball team, compared the Valkyries roster construction to her own team.

“Looking at our team right now for our upcoming season, there’s a bunch of different girls from different walks of life,” Cavness said. “They [The Valkyries] probably had to kind of really lock in and develop a bond first, just to kind of get to know each other, get to trust each other, and then on the court, understanding each person has a different set skill that they’re known for.”

The Valkyries’ season wasn’t just a success on the court. With 22 sellouts of the Chase Center, the Valkyries were able to set the average attendance record (18,604) as well as the all-time total attendance record (397,408) for a WNBA season.

But the true home-court advantage won’t be felt in the first round of the WNBA playoffs, as the Valkyries will play their lone home game at the SAP Center in San Jose. The Chase Center will host the 2025 Laver Cup, an international men’s team tennis tournament, which overlaps with the Valkyries’ first-round playoff series. The event was booked back in 2023, before the Valkyries’ franchise was created.

That announcement was met with instant criticism from those who have attended games at the Chase Center, including Dana Ganes, a season ticket holder from the Diamond Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. Ganes attended every regular season game at the Chase Center this season.

“Yeah, I’m a little disappointed,” Ganes said. “It seems like when the Warriors have had playoffs and Chase [Center] has been booked, they’ve been able to move the event. I understand the tennis tournament has been booked for a couple years and it’s prestigious, but I don’t think we’ll be able to make it to San Jose.”

Olivia Law (left) and Jen Lee (right) pose with peace signs outside of the Chase Center before a home game against the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (Daniel Archuleta / Golden Gate Xpress)

Marci Glass, a fellow season ticket holder, is looking forward to making the trip down to the SAP Center when the date and time are finalized. Throughout the regular season, Glass said she has loved what she’s seen from the home crowd.

“The energy is just unmatched,” Glass said. “It’s a different demographic that comes to these games. So there’s just people that are here because they love basketball and just cheering on women. I wish I would have had that when I was a kid.”

For Cavness, she takes inspiration from the success of the Valkyries’ inaugural season and the three other expansion teams on the horizon.

“It’s really inspiring because women’s sports deserves to be here,” Cavness said. “It deserves the attention that it’s getting now. For me being a student athlete, it gives me something to look forward to. It gives me some motivation, like ‘Oh yeah, I believe I can make it there. I believe I can do great things to get there as well.’”

While the Valkyries’ first playoff opponent is yet to be decided, the team will most likely finish as the sixth or seventh seed and will play either the No. 2 seed Las Vegas Aces or the No. 3 seed Atlanta Dream in the first round of the playoffs.

About the Contributors

Eddie Monares, Managing Editor

Eddie Monares (he/him) is the managing editor for Golden Gate Xpress. He is a fourth-year student majoring in journalism with a minor in education. He was born and raised in San Francisco, California, and currently works part-time. Before attending San Francisco State University, he was a reporter and editor for the award-winning student publication at Archbishop Riordan High School, The Crusader. During his free time, Eddie enjoys listening to music, spending time with his friends and family and watching sports. Eddie Monares (el, de él) es el editor general para el Golden Gate Xpress. Está en su cuarto año estudiando periodismo con una especialización en educación. Nació y se crió en San Francisco, California, y trabaja a tiempo parcial. Antes de llegar a SFSU fue reportero y editor para la premiada publicación de la secundaria Archbishop Riordan, The Crusader. En su tiempo libre, a Eddie le gusta escuchar música, pasar tiempo con su familia y amigos, y ver deportes.

Daniel Archuleta, Staff Reporter

Daniel Archuleta (he/him) is a staff reporter for Golden Gate Xpress. He is a fourth-year student majoring in journalism with a minor in recreation, parks and tourism. Daniel was born and raised in South San Francisco, California, and started his writing career for The Warrior Post, the student newspaper for South San Francisco High School. Before transferring to San Francisco State University, Daniel was a part of The Skyline View, the student newspaper of Skyline College, a community college in San Bruno. In that time, he served as a sports editor and two semesters as the editor-in-chief. Daniel Archuleta (el, de él) es un reportero para el Golden Gate Xpress. Está en su cuarto año estudiando periodismo con una especialización en turismo, parques y recreación. Daniel nació y creció en South San Francisco, California, y empezó su carrera como escritor en el periódico estudiantil de su secundaria llamado The Warrior Post. Antes de transferir a la Universidad Estatal de San Francisco, Daniel fue parte de The Skyline View, el periódico estudiantil de un colegio comunitario en San Bruno, Skyline College. En ese tiempo sirvió como editor de deportes y sirvió dos semestres como jefe de redacción.