The Value of Valleys and Valor for the Valkyries » Winsidr

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After a year of anticipation, the 2025 WNBA season officially kicked off with a 13th team. The Golden State Valkyries are here.

When Valkyries fans step inside the Chase Center for a game, it is no longer simply Chase Center—the name of the arena takes on a different personality.

Those in attendance are met with a message on the jumbotron that reads, “Welcome to Ballhalla.” Very Norse!

The court becomes a battlefield. The 12 players wearing the Valkyries uniforms are ready and prepared for battle. The atmosphere is electric. The excitement and intensity are palpable.

Full evening of basketball in 57 seconds ✨

Witness the magic of the @valkyries home opener all over again from start to finish@Chase || Home Opener pic.twitter.com/WbYdBABZ6h

— Chase Center (@ChaseCenter) May 20, 2025

It may, however, take a while for the team’s consistent level of play to match the energy in the building.

In their inaugural regular season game on May 16, what the team hoped would be a historic victory in front of the home crowd turned into a disappointing 84-67 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. However, on May 21, the Valkyries bounced back with a hard-fought 76-74 home victory over the Washington Mystics for the first regular season win in Valkyries history.

For both home games to start the regular season, Golden State received great crowd support—a sold-out crowd of 18,064 fans were in attendance in each game.

This followed the attendance of 17,428 people for the first Valkyries preseason game on May 6 at Chase Center, which overlapped with their NBA counterpart, the Golden State Warriors, playing a playoff game at the Target Center in Minneapolis at the same time, proving that the Bay Area loves basketball and was a perfect place for WNBA expansion.

hanging out with 18,064 of our closest friends again tonight.

Valks Fam is the best in the game. 🫶 pic.twitter.com/GkDggmvsB6

— Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) May 22, 2025

18,064 fans here for tonight’s inaugural Valkyries game. A sellout. That’s the highest attendance for any team in their debut game, including the inaugural season, per @ESPNStatsInfo

— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) May 17, 2025

the third highest-attended preseason game in WNBA history — Valks Fam, you showed ouuuuuut.

We’ll see you back at Ballhalla on May 16th ✨🪽 pic.twitter.com/wyC1gNIzlq

— Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) May 7, 2025

Golden State’s first week of regular season action came on the heels of an eventful few weeks with the WNBA draft, training camp, preseason, and final roster decisions that garnered a lot of attention filled with intrigue and surprise, considering how much the team has leaned into having international talent on the roster.

The Valkyries used their three draft picks to select Justė Jocytė, Shyanne Sellers and Kaitlyn Chen. Unfortunately for fans eager to see the new draft picks in immediate action for Golden State, those plans did not work out.

Jocytė, who was drafted fifth overall, will not play for the Valkyries until 2026 because of her focus on playing for the Lithuanian national team in EuroBasket competition. Sellers was waived before the team even officially took the court. Chen was the only one who participated in Golden State’s preseason games.

Natalie Nakase on this move: “she picked up everything we asked her to, did everything that we asked. It’s just that I have to choose the best 12 that are going to fit. Doesn’t mean it’s the most talented, it means it’s the best 12.” https://t.co/3Ch1TuGuDX

— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) May 3, 2025

Golden State played two preseason games, falling to the Sparks 83-82 at home on May 6 before taking down the Phoenix Mercury on the road 84-79 on May 11, for their first ever win.

In the first preseason game, Laeticia Amihere, seeking to showcase her potential as a reliable rotation player after spending two stagnant years with the Atlanta Dream to begin her career, led the Valkyries with 20 points. In the second game, Mamignan Touré led with 19 points on 4-of-9 shooting from three-point range.

When the Valkyries’ opening day roster was announced, Chen, Amihere and Touré were among the players cut. To the surprise of many, the team’s active roster for 2025 does not include any of the Valkyries’ inaugural draft picks, and both of their leading scorers in the preseason.

Between preseason and the start of the regular season, there have been a lot of rocky moments. While the sample size is small, the Valkyries have struggled in some notable categories at different times.

Three-point shooting

The Valkyries have struggled shooting from three-point range, particularly in the opening half of games. In three of the four games, most of their shot attempts were from behind the three-point line.

May 6 vs. Sparks (preseason): 1-of-14 from three-point range in the first half; 6-of-28 from three-point range in the game
May 11 vs. Mercury (preseason): 3-of-20 from three-point range in the first half; 13-of-43 from three-point range in the game
May 16 vs. Sparks: 4-of-16 from three-point range in the first half; 9-of-35 from three-point range in the game
May 21 vs. Mystics: 2-of-20 from three-point range in the first half; 7-of-37 from three-point range in the game

Offensive rebounds allowed

In two of their first four games, the Valkyries allowed the opposing team to reach double-digit offensive rebounds, giving opponents a plethora of second chance opportunities.

May 6 vs. Sparks (preseason): 10 offensive rebounds allowed
May 11 vs. Mercury (preseason): 13 offensive rebounds allowed
May 16 vs. Sparks: Three offensive rebounds allowed
May 21 vs. Mystics: Seven offensive rebounds allowed

Turnovers

Golden State committed at least 15 total turnovers in two of the four games played so far.

May 6 vs. Sparks (preseason): 16 total turnovers
May 11 vs. Mercury (preseason): Eight total turnovers
May 16 vs. Sparks: 22 total turnovers
May 21 vs. Mystics: 13 total turnovers

In Golden State’s two regular season games, the team was not able to stop Kelsey Plum and Brittney Sykes from scoring 37 points and 30 points respectively.

And, while the Valkyries have struggled to prevent some of the best scorers in the league from putting up big-time scoring performances, they also have a depth-related concern with the lack of bigs on the roster. Behind Temi Fagbenle, the only other center on the Valkyries is Kyara Linskens. It will be tricky at times for the frontcourt to hold up on both ends of the floor in the interior.

Valkyries Can Still Exceed Expectations

While there have been difficult patches early on in the year, there have also been impressive moments that leave fans optimistic about what the team is capable of.

Julie Vanloo has shown flashes of spectacular passes and long-range shots, which made her a standout rookie last year with the Mystics. Carla Leite has provided tenacious energy on both sides of the ball. Veronica Burton and Kayla Thornton have displayed the defensive prowess that made them impactful players on championship-contending teams last year. Thornton, who was a member of the New York Liberty’s championship run last year, knows how difficult the road is to reach the ultimate peak of winning.

Burton had a stellar performance in the win over the Mystics, tallying 22 points (14 in the fourth quarter), nine rebounds, five assists and two steals. The Valkyries needed to step up after Tiffany Hayes left the game in the first half with a nose injury, and Burton was pivotal in getting the team across the finish line with the victory.

Observing What Lies Ahead

But, for the most part, the Valkyries do look like a new expansion team that is trying to put the puzzle pieces together—even though it is still very early in the season—and players have different roles than they did last year. After coming off the bench for the Las Vegas Aces last year where she saw her playing time diminish after the Olympic break, how much more production can Kate Martin provide in her second year? Hayes is a proven bucket-getter who is the reigning Sixth Player of the Year, but who can be that secondary scorer on the team to help Hayes carry the offense? Can Linskens serve as a reliable backup big for Fagbenle?

The road ahead does not get any easier for the Valkyries as they continue on in their inaugural season. Tonight at 7 p.m. PT, they play against the Sparks at Crypto.com Arena. Hayes will miss the game due to her injury.

After tonight, the next nine games on their schedule: at Liberty, at Liberty, vs. Minnesota Lynx, at Mercury, vs. Aces, at Sparks, vs. Seattle Storm, at Dallas Wings, vs. Fever. A lot of these upcoming games are against teams that made the postseason last year and are expected to be at the top of the standings this year. How will they fare against the likes of Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier and Alyssa Thomas?

It is a long season, but the Valkyries will continue to play their hearts out for the fans in Ballhalla, and the fans throughout the Bay Area. In the postgame press conference after losing their season opener, Vanloo highlighted how much the team wants the home crowd to be loud and engaged with them, especially when they make big runs in games.

“I think that’s why people come here,” Vanloo said. “This is the Bay Area. This is Chase Center. Magic happens here, and we got to just keep on trying to do that.”

I love it here. Just wanted to say that 💜 oh and that crowd was crazy!!!

— TIFFANY HAYES (@tiphayes3) May 19, 2025

Golden State’s inaugural season is not expected to be perfect, and there will be messy moments. But sometimes, within the messiness, you can find something valuable that is worth cherishing. The Valkyries will get to a point where the tough times make them stronger and make the journey even more rewarding—and they know their fans will be behind them through it all.

Stats as of May 23. Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of WNBA.com.

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