SAN FRANCISCO — Before the start of the season, the expectations for the Golden State Valkyries were low.
Preseason odds had the expansion team projected win total at 8.5 as the Valkyries roster fielded a roster with veteran role players and mostly unknown European talents.
But after beating the Seattle Storm 76-70 on Saturday to improve to 5-5, the Valkyries are ahead of schedule. As of Sunday, the Golden State is fifth in the Western Conference and eighth in the league standings.
The Valkyries have already eclipsed the win total of the 2008 Atlanta Dream – the WNBA’s last expansion team – which won just four games in its inaugural season.
Golden State’s strong start hasn’t gone unnoticed among league observers.
Golden State Valkyries Head Coach Natalie Nakase talks to her team from the sidelines in the second half against the Seattle Storm at the Chase Center in San Francisco, CA on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Don Feria for Bay Area News Group)
“I think the group has a connectivity that I think is pretty impressive and that goes from the coaching staff to the players to the front office,” Ben Pickman, a national women’s basketball writer for The Athletic, told the Bay Area News Group. “There’s just kind of a joy that they have in being around each other and playing with each other for a roster that is entirely composed of new players.
“It’s been an impressive start so far.”
Zena Keita, an analyst for the Valkyries’ pre- and post-game shows on CBS KPIX, believes the Valkyries have already proven to be a team that could make the postseason.
“I already think they’re a playoff team,” Keita said. “The fact that they’re doing this well, this early and they’re communicating the way that they are … I think they’re in a really good spot.”
Here’s what experts have said about the Valkyries through their first 10 games:
A team of international hoopers
The backbone of Golden State’s roster starts with its international players.
The Valkyries picked up young European talents in Carla Leite and fellow French rookie Janelle Salaün. They also added veteran international players like Cecilia Zandalasini, Temi Fágbénlé, Stephanie Talbot and Julie Vanloo.
Golden State still has a number of players stashed overseas.
French center Iliana Rupert and Spanish forward María Conde have yet to report to the Valkyries after being selected in the expansion draft. First-round pick Justė Jocytė is expected to join the team next season.
“I thought it was really smart,” Pickman said of the Valkyries’ roster-building strategy. “I think you started to see some very positive early returns, and especially for a team that is looking to get good or find who is going to be on the next great Valkyries team. I think going that route provided them an opportunity to do that and they did it not just through the draft.”
LaChina Robinson, a longtime women’s basketball color analyst for ESPN, was part of the Atlanta Dream’s broadcast crew in the team’s inaugural season in 2008. She echoed Pickman’s sentiment and said she saw a similar approach from the Dream in their first season, which kicked off a run of six consecutive playoff appearances and three trips to the WNBA Finals.
“There was a big international roster for the ‘08 Dream the same way there is for the Valkyries,” Robinson told the Bay Area News Group. “The difference maker after that four-win season was that they got the No. 1 pick and they drafted Angel McCoughtry. From there, everything took off.”
Carla Leite of the Valkyries drives in the first half against Erica Wheeler of the Seattle Storm at the Chase Center in San Francisco, CA on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Don Feria for Bay Area News Group)
Defense sparks strong start
It’s no secret the Valkyries have hung their hat on stopping their opponents.
Golden State is second in rebounds per game (37.0), second in steals (8.8), fourth in opponents’ field goal percentage (41.8%) and fifth in defensive rating (98.3).
Robinson said she has been surprised at how quickly the Valkyries have figured out that end of the floor.
“Defense is often the last part of a team’s identity that comes together because it takes so much trust,” Robinson said. “You can see the fruits of that in a young WNBA season against teams that have been assembled much longer than the Valkyries have.”
Even in games where their offense has sputtered, the Valkyries have found ways to stay competitive and even win games they shouldn’t.
“I think there’s always going to be a way for the Valkyries to keep themselves in the game, especially if they don’t get started early offensively,” Keita said. “They’re always going to be in the game because they’re just going to make things harder for the other team and tire them out.”
Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton struggles for the ball in the second half against the Seattle Storm at the Chase Center in San Francisco, CA on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Don Feria for Bay Area News Group)
Bay Area buzz
Through five home games, the Valkyries have sold out Chase Center five times.
Golden State leads the league in attendance and is the only team in the league to sell out all of its home games.
“What they’ve done in terms of leading the league in attendance already in the first year is mind-blowing,” Robinson said. “But it makes sense because I’ve understood how much people love and value the WNBA. It’s not until you see that full, loud, screaming arena that you really say, ‘OK, the Bay has some real women’s basketball fans,’ and they are invested in the success of this Valkyries team.”
The Golden State Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr waves at fans during the fourth quarter of a WNBA game between the Golden State Valkyries and the Los Angeles Sparks at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, May 16, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
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Still room for improvement
While the 5-5 start was unexpected, the Valkyries’ weaknesses have been clear.
Though the Valkyries have an above-average halfcourt defense, they allow the most points in transition in the league (14.5). The Valkyries’ lack of a go-to scorer has lost them games against top teams such as the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx.
With four key rotation players playing in the EuroBasket tournament this week, the Valkyries’ depth will be depleted for a stretch of games that includes matchups against the New York Liberty and Indiana Fever.
“There are certainly rosters that have more talented players than them and who are going to have more All-Stars than Golden State,” Pickman said. “For them, it’s going to be about who’s going to be a part of the first great Golden State Valkyries team.”
Minnesota Lynx’s Napheesa Collier (24) dribbles against Golden State Valkyries’ Monique Billings (25) in the fourth quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, June 1, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)