OAKLAND, Calif. ― The Golden State Valkyries put together one of the best teams in the WNBA in just two seasons, developing a blueprint for future expansion franchises.
In the blink of an eye, the 2025 expansion team is making their first WNBA Finals appearance, facing off against the Atlanta Dream, beginning Saturday, Oct. 13 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock).
The Valkyries rise is hardly luck. Golden State was methodically formed from its staff to its players, all the way down to the region in which it competes. The Valkyries organization is a showcase for how good culture and a healthy environment can translate to winning.
Valkyries owner Joe Lacob wanted to replicate the success he'd had with the champion Golden State Warriors in the previous decade,
applying it to the WNBA. It's starts at the top. Lacob hired general manager Ohemaa Nyanin to head the charge.
Nyanin prioritized players with special qualities. Talent, of course, is a requirement. But the Valkyries brass was more intrigued with who the players were off the court, not just what they could do on it.
"For our athletes more specifically, something that I've talked about in the past is being a product of your experiences," Nyanin said. "To sum it up, I would say relentless pursuit of excellence. Not allowing for 'no' to be the end of your story. Trying to find ways to problem solve and pivot.
"If I'm having a conversation with an athlete, we already know they can play the sport. So it's what else can you bring to this organization."
Building a winner
Lacob entrusted Nyanin to lead with their strategy for winning championships. It's how they landed head coach Natalie Nakase, who was an assistant with three-time WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces before joining Golden State.
Nakase and Nyanin handpicked the 2025 roster in the expansion draft, seeking every player for a specific reason. The result was becoming the first expansion franchise to make the WNBA postseason in its first season. They finished with a 23–21 record, good enough for the No. 8 seed in the playoffs.
The Bay Area fully got behind the Valkyries as every game at Chase Center — aka Ballhalla — has been a sell-out dating back to last season. Golden State lost in the first round of the 2025 WNBA playoffs in a 2-0 sweep to the Minnesota Lynx, but a definitive culture was born.
"We were disappointed last year, we were mad that we didn't win a playoff game. Last year, we wanted to win it too," Nakase told USA TODAY. "Anytime you take a head coaching position and you get to choose the players intentionally, then you go for it. We never go for just making playoffs. We never go for just winning one game in the playoffs. Like, our goal last year was to win it.
"At the end of the day, we're a team that wants to see success in someone else and that's the secret sauce with our competitiveness."
The Valkyries have raised the level of attention with everything they have been able to accomplish since their inception. In their second season, they finished No. 1 in league in defense and bench production. They finished with a 32–12 record, a nine-game improvement from the previous season and good for a No. 2 seed in the WNBA playoffs.
Golden State became the first professional women's sports team to generate $100 million in annual revenue and have a valuation of nearly $1 billion. From sold out games to community impact, the Valkyries continue to be wave to follow. They have become a staple in the Bay Area and have one of the most raucous fan bases in the W.
The Valkyries crowds create an atmosphere like no other and the energy around Chase Center is infectious. They call it Ballhalla, a play on Valhalla, a 13th century colossal hall where warriors would battle to their wits end. And their stifling defense has become known as Valcatraz, a play on Alcatraz, the former maximum security federal prison that sits on an island about 1.25 miles offshore from San Francisco.
"The way that we care for one another and the way that we connect with the community, all of it kind of goes hand in hand," Valkyries guard Veronica Burton said. "Giving back our time, our energy, and our love, because we're not where we are without our fans, without Ballhalla, without the investment from the community.
"To see young little girls, young little boys at our games watching, cheering us on, like, that's what this is all about."
The missing piece is a local
The Valkyries took over the Bay Area and they caught the attention of Baydestrians, even around the league. That's one of the ways they lured Gabby Williams, who grew up in Reno, Nevada, but played AAU ball in the Bay Area and often stayed with her cousins in Alameda.
Williams, who is averaging 22.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists a game int he playoffs, signed a multi-year contract with Golden State during the offseason, following her time with the Seattle Storm. Now she hanging out at the same cousin's house, enjoying tacos and reminiscing about their childhood.
"We were just talking about, 'Look where we are, in the Finals,' and to me, it made me really emotional, and then they're getting really emotional, just talking about the love," Williams said. "It's thanks to them that I have this kind of love for Oakland, especially, and for the Bay Area."
The same culture she grew up on is now being presented on the biggest stage. Williams is embracing her Bay Area roots. And vice versa, the Bay is embracing her back. Her cousin let her know of the impact she's having just by being herself.
"That made me really emotional," Williams said. "It's crazy. (Rapper) E-40 flew to Vegas to come watch our game, you know, like that's such a big deal to me. And I just want to give back so much this community, because I would not be half of who I am without the Bay Area, without my cousins teaching me about the culture since I was a kid. You can't even dream of doing something this big for a community that you care so much about.
"I really hope we can just bring something back to the Bay because I've seen it firsthand ... losing the Raiders, and how that kind of impacted the community, losing the A's, you know? Now we have the Valkyries, now everyone's wearing lavender."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Golden State Valkyries reach WNBA Finals with expansion blueprint
