Golden State Valkyries aren’t just laying a path — they’re blazing one

The Golden State Valkyries have turned the expectations of an expansion franchise on its head so far this season, and have laid the path for the WNBA expansion teams — Portland and Toronto next season, Cleveland in 2028, Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030 — to follow.

The first new WNBA franchise in 17 years has been a huge success so far, by every single measure.

The Valkyries lead the WNBA in attendance, having sold out the Chase Center (also known as “Ballhalla”) to the tune of more than 18,000 fans in every one of their nine home games so far.

Sportico announced last month that the team is already worth $500 million, the highest-valued team in women’s professional sports, and are set to bring in a total of $70 million by the end of their inaugural season.

The team’s merchandise, with its distinctive violet and black color scheme, has been sold in all 50 states and as many as 70 countries, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

And on the floor, Golden State is holding firmly on to playoff position at 10-9, currently good for sixth place. While they have struggled on the road — Tuesday morning’s decisive win at Indiana aside — they have been competitive in nearly every game they’ve played. Five of their nine losses have been by single-digits. They have beaten Indiana twice, Seattle twice, and Las Vegas — teams with some of the biggest stars in the league.

Head coach Natalie Nakase’s style has been a perfect marriage for the roster that general manager Ohemaa Nyanin has assembled — a team of hard-driving, defense-embracing “killers,” the descriptor Nakase has used throughout the season. Golden State leads the league in defensive rebounds (27.8), opponent points in the paint (28.1), and ranks No. 2 in scoring defense (77.3 rating).

Can the next WNBA expansion franchises replicate what Golden State has done on both the business and the basketball sides? Or are the Valkryies a one-off smashing success story?

Ownership advantage

In Joe Lacob, the Valkyries have a huge ownership advantage. Lacob owns the most valuable franchise in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors, who are worth more than $8 billion and live in the No. 2 position in valuable American sports franchises, behind the Dallas Cowboys. And the Warriors spent years eyeing and planning for their WNBA opportunity. The timing of their addition to the league, the Valkyries, turned out to be perfect given the concurrent explosion of cultural interest in the sport, thanks to athletes like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Sabrina Ionescu and A’ja Wilson. Lacob is willing to spend money to make money on his WNBA franchise, and so far it’s worked to near perfection.

“Absolutely, it’s a positive,” said Indiana Fever senior advisor Lin Dunn about Golden State’s ownership. “Look at the expansion teams in the past that didn’t have an [NBA] big brother, and how they struggled, and the challenges they had with resources, with infrastructure, with quality facilities, you know. Golden State and Warriors have done it like it’s supposed to be done, because they can.”

One expansion team, Portland, is owned by RAJ Sports, an investment firm led by siblings Alex Bhathal and Lisa Bhathal Merage, who also own the Portland Thorns of the NWSL. The Toronto Tempo is primarily owned by Kilmer Sports Ventures. Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia will all join the league behind the NBA franchise owners in those markets.

Roster-building

The Valkyries found plenty of veteran talent in the expansion draft — All-Star Kayla Thornton, Tiffany Hayes, Monique Billings, Veronica Burton and Temi Fágbénlé — and then filled out their roster with international names not widely known by casual women’s basketball followers. When free agents passed on Golden State as a destination, they signed Janelle Salaün, Kyara Linskens and Chloe Bibby, along with Cecilia Zandalasini and Iliana Rupert. And then in the April draft, they used their first pick — No. 5 overall — on Justė Jocytė from Lithuania.

They have also filled empty spaces opened up by players who left for the Eurobasket Tournament with strong rookies like Laeticia Amihere and Kaitlyn Chen, who have contributed meaningful and productive minutes and kept their roster spots as a result. This is a place where being the first and only team out of the expansion gate this season may be to their long-term benefit.

“I do think Golden State has an advantage being first and establishing themselves,” said former Washington Mystics head coach Mike Thibault, the WNBA’s all-time wins leader. “The best thing they have going for them now is that visiting team players are coming into a great sold-out arena and like that atmosphere.”

Dunn said Golden State selected the most talented group of expansion draftees she has seen in her time in the league.

“Some of these players have been starters on different teams and had experiences on championship teams,” Dunn said. “So I look at their team and it’s a very talented, experienced team.”

Dunn anticipates that the talent pool for expansion teams will thin as more teams enter the league over the next five years. There will simply be smaller pools of top-level talent to choose from.

As another league source put it, “imagine getting the second, third, fourth, fifth and six expansion drafts in a five-year period and what the talent is going to look like.”

And this source is predicts that expansion teams will continue to reach out to international talent, particularly as free agents will remain skeptical about signing with expansion teams in the early-going. Building a team through only the expansion draft will not work.

“The interesting thing is the international players are coming and they’re staying,” Dunn said. “They’re showing up, you know, saying they’re not disappearing any as much. And so I think Portland and Toronto will definitely have to look internationally. They would be wise to do that.”

Fan interest

Golden State came into a market primed to support a WNBA team. The Bay Area has seen both Stanford and the University of California reach the Final Four in the past 12 years, with the Cardinal winning three national titles, including one as recently as 2021. They have watched top collegiate talent come through Maples and Haas Pavilions, including players like Nneka Ogwumike, Alanna Smith and Lexie Hull, who established themselves in the pro ranks.

Additionally, the deeply-rooted LGBTQ community in the region was primed to support a league that embraces it back.

Season ticket deposits topped 22,000 for the team before it had a single player on the roster. The Valkyries became the first team in league history to sell 10,000 season tickets.

“That community wanted a team, and that makes a huge difference,” Dunn said. “And when the opportunity came up, the community stepped up. They are all in.”

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Portland’s WNBA team recently announced they have more than 10,000 season ticket deposits. Toronto

has declined to report its deposit numbers. But the WNBA is banking on fan-interest in these cities; they wouldn’t have selected them otherwise. Cleveland and Detroit have already had WNBA teams come through the city. And Philadelphia has a long history in women’s basketball, and is the hometown of one of the game’s towering figures in Dawn Staley.

Competitiveness

This is a 10-9 team. They have lost almost as often as they have won. And against the league’s top teams — Minnesota, New York, Phoenix and Atlanta — they are 0-7. Yet they are no one’s easy game.
In these circumstances, that is an unmistakeable accomplishment and one that will likely be harder to replicate for the next teams in line. Nakase’s ability to immediately establish a team identity, and then find the players that fit the way she wanted to play, has allowed Golden State to quickly be impactful and competitive in nearly all of their games to-date. That is a function of fit, and fit isn’t always easy to find.

There are some teams currently playing in the league this season who would definitely love to find their fit. “They play hard, they play a really fun style and they are very dangerous,” said Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello.

Dunn is impressed with the Valkyries’ players commitment on the defensive end. “What do they all have in common? Well, they can all defend, and they all play hard,” Dunn said. “If you were to ask me to describe [Nakase] and her value systems, it’s that you will play hard and you will defend, and the other thing is you will get better. I’ve seen a lot of growth already.”

The violet

It’s doubtful that any other team is going to bring the violet vibe. When has there been a more memorable color choice for a franchise?

The Valkyries’ violet and black color scheme — but particularly, that violet — has set the Valkyries apart in the best way. It has made them both fashionable and iconic. It is everywhere in the Bay Area, and even the opposing players are into it.

“I like the purple,” New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart said after the team’s played in San Francisco on June 25. “Honestly, I’m waiting for purple jerseys at this point.”

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