WNBA Team Could Be Barred From Their Own Building During The Playoffs

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The WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries are in the middle of an incredible first season in the league. At 18-18 overall, they’re just a few wins away from securing a trip to the playoffs.

But if they do make it to the playoffs, there’s a very good chance that they might not even be able to play any of the games at the Chase Center in their home of San Francisco.

According to Front Office Sports, the Chase Center has previously been booked to host the ATP Tour’s Laver Cup between September 18-21. That could potentially pose a problem for the Valkyries as three separate playoff dates fall under those four days.

But the Laver Cup isn’t the only tournament that could wind up kicking the Valkyries out of their own building. Front Office Sports also noted that the Golden State Warriors, who are also tenants of the Chase Center and share an ownership group, have preseason games scheduled for October 3, 5 and 17 – which would coincide with Games 2, 3 and 7 of the WNBA Finals, if the Valkyries were to reach them.

A non-issue?

The Valkyries likely don’t have to worry about being booted from their building in September at the very least. As it stands, they’re the No. 7 seed in the WNBA standings and would only be at risk for being kicked out if they had homecourt advantage in either the first or second rounds of the playoffs.

So unless the Valkyries can rise by three whole spots between now and mid-September, it’s not likely to be an issue. At 18-18 they’re currently four games back of the Phoenix Mercury, who hold the fourth and final first-round homecourt advantage. There are only eight games remaining in the season to boot.

Front Office Sports also noted that the WNBA schedule announcement made it clear that times and dates are “subject to change,” opening the door for the WNBA to make allowances if the Valkyries find themselves without a building for any of their games.

Per the report, the WNBA and the Valkyries have not yet commented on the situation.

Apr 14, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Shyanne Sellers poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected with the number seventeen overall pick to the Golden State Valkyries in the 2025 WNBA Draft © Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

A solid first season

While they may not be dominating everyone like the Minnesota Lynx, it’s hard to call this expansion team anything other than successful right now. For a team that had to be assembled from scratch over the past 12 months, being a .500 team and a playoff contender with only a handful of games to go is very impressive.

They’re only one game back of the Indiana Fever, a team with three All-Star players, with Kayla Thornton being the only All-Star talent of their own.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 24, 2025, where it first appeared in the WNBA section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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