The 2026 WNBA season gets underway tonight, and for the Golden State Valkyries, that means their second season in the league. It’s a big year for the Valks, who made history during their expansion season a year ago, when they experienced unprecedented levels of success while posting a winning record and making the WNBA Playoffs, all while leading the league in attendance and valuation.
So now they’re going to attempt to build on that, and it begins at 7:00 p.m. PT tonight, when they take on the Seattle
Storm.
Ahead of the first game of the season, the Valkyries finalized their roster. Heres what it looks like:
Centers:
Iliana Rupert
Kiah Stokes
Forwards:
Laeticia Amihere
Kaila Charles
Janelle Salaün
Kayla Thornton
Gabby Williams
Cecilia Zandalasini
Guards:
Veronica Burton
Kaitlyn Chen
Tiffany Hayes
Justė Jocytė
Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda
Miela Sowah
A few notes on those players: Jocytė is not currently with the team, as she is fulfilling overseas commitments, while Rupert recently announced her pregnancy, and will not play this year. Mwenentanda was signed earlier today on a replacement contract following Rupert’s news.
The headline-grabbing news for the Valkyries, however, is who isn’t on the roster. Golden State made a very popular move on draft night, grabbing the charismatic (and, critically, talented) Flau’jae Johnson from LSU. But before fans had finished celebrating the move, the Valks announced that they had traded the pick to the Storm in exchange for second-rounder Marta Suárez and a future second-round pick. That was unpopular as is, but became more popular when the Valkyries waived Suárez over the weekend. Suárez has since signed a developmental contract with the Phoenix Mercury. General manager Ohemaa Nyanin admitted that the initial trade was in large part due to cap flexibility, as first-round picks are owed a higher salary.
Golden State also waived Kate Martin, who was a huge fan favorite last season.
While those moves were not popular with the fanbase, they’re also not out of the ordinary in the WNBA, where first-round picks are regularly waived before the season begins. It’s not shocking or a sign of incompetence, as many fans would have you believe … though we can all agree that this team would be more fun with Johnson on it.
Still, it’s a talented roster for Natalie Nakase and her staff, and the quest to improve begins tonight. It should be an exciting season.
