Valkyries finish with guts, grit and a roaring crowd

On Wednesday night, in front of a transplanted home crowd in San Jose’s SAP Center, magically transformed into Ballhalla South, the Valkyries reached their capacity for the 2025 season.

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Golden State’s unforgettable season ended with a 75-74 loss to the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in the first round of the WNBA playoffs. When it was over, the Valkyries players gathered at mid-court for several minutes as another sold out crowd — who made the traffic-filled trek to San Jose — chanted “GSV!”, showing their appreciation for a team and an experience that will never be repeated.

You can only do the first time once.

“We were the first to do this,” said Natalie Nakase, the newly-minted WNBA Coach of the Year. “We’re the first expansion team to go this far. We basically just made history. It didn’t go our way … and of course, we are upset and frustrated … but I told them to celebrate tonight for everything you guys have accomplished.”

There is indeed much to celebrate. The Bay Area has been celebrating the Valkyries and their unexpected success all season in a way that few could have truly predicted. The embrace of the WNBA in the market has been almost overwhelming and Wednesday night’s arena-shaking support of the team was the final exclamation point.

“It’s so special,” point guard Veronica Burton said. “The way the fans ride for us, no matter what the outcome, from the very first preseason game, it’s been a dream come true for all of us. You just want to give it your all for them because of the love they have for us. It’s been incredible.”

Before the game, Nakase said her team needed to play a “perfect game” to beat the league’s best team all season.

“Damn near close,” Nakase said. “We got damn near close.”

But that was the reality of Golden State’s margin for error in a short series against a team they weren’t able to beat the entire season.

Golden State matched Minnesota’s physicality, played suffocating defense (holding Minnesota to its lowest first-half total in two years), buried perimeter shots and led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter before the gas tank began to run dry.

The experienced Lynx, led by Napheesa Collier’s 24 points, and 18 points by Kayla McBride, outscored Golden State 26-11 in the final quarter and took the lead for good on a Collier 3-pointer with 1:24 to go. A Courtney Williams jumper in the lane made it 75-72 and Cecilia Zandalasini scored off an inbounds pass to pull the Valkyries within 75-74 with 28 seconds to go. But Zandalasini’s last shot at the buzzer fell away, and the hopes of extending the season with it.

Golden State played the final game of its season without three of the players who began the season as cornerstone players — Kayla Thornton was on the bench in a knee brace after tearing her ACL immediately after the All-Star break, Tiffany Hayes hadn’t played since August 22 with a knee injury, and Temi Fagbenle was a late scratch with right knee soreness.

But the Valkyries did what they do — next player up.

Monique Billings finished with 15 points, Janelle Salaün and Zandalasini added 14 each and Burton — who got her Most Improved Player trophy from league commissioner Cathy Englebert before the game — ended her breakout season with 13 points, six rebounds, nine assists and four steals.

Salaün said thinking about the end of this season is “hard” in this moment to reflect on what this team accomplished together.

“I think in a few days I will be able to look back and I’ll be proud of this experience with amazing growth and amazing people,” Salaün said. “I’ll be super happy about it.”

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Burton said the bond on this inaugural team will be unbreakable.

“It was an up-and-down year, a lot of injuries, a lot of different lineups, different rotations, but each one of us poured into this team and stepped up in different ways,” Burton said. “I think it’s bigger than basketball right now, and just appreciating where we are.”

Just like that, the Valkyries’ first season is over. The noise will die down, the excitement will settle.

Next year won’t look exactly like this. The negotiations over the collective bargaining agreement will shake up the league next season, with nearly three-quarters of the league moving into free agency. With two new expansion teams entering the league in 2026 (Portland and Toronto), players will be exposed in the expansion draft.

Hayes, Thornton, Billings and Fagbenle are all unrestricted free agents. Golden State has become a very intriguing option for players across the league interested in what the Valkyries are building under Nakase.

On Wednesday night, however, this first team had its chance to finish the season on its own terms. And they did it with the grit, guts and identity they’ve shown all season.

“It’s just two hoops and a floor,” Nakase said.

But it’s been way more than that.