Draymond Green Defends Valkyries Owner After Unfortunate Playoff News

With an 84-80 win over the Dallas Wings on Thursday night, the Golden State Valkyries extended their winning streak to five games and officially clinched their spot in the postseason. The Valkyries have become the first expansion team in WNBA history to make the playoffs in their inaugural season, setting a new benchmark as the league enters a new expansion era.

In Thursday’s win, the Valkyries were led by Janelle Salaun with 19 points and six rebounds on 6-10 shooting from the field and 3-4 from beyond the arc, while Veronia Burton and Carla Leite each chipped in 15 points and five assists.

Of course, the Valkyries clinching a playoff berth is a huge deal for the franchise and this passionate fanbase, but they received some unfortunate news about their first postseason series.

Unfortunately for the Valkyries, their first-ever home playoff game will not be at their home arena. Due to scheduling conflicts, the Valkyries will not make their home playoff debut at Chase Center, instead having to play at SAP Center in San Jose.

“With the playoff berth secured, the Valkyries announced that their First Round home game, presented by Kaiser Permanente, will be played at SAP Center in San Jose due to pre-existing scheduling conflicts with Chase Center,” the team announced.

Of course, fans are upset that their first playoff game will not be at home, and instead, they will have to travel an hour South from San Francisco to San Jose to see their team play in a monumental game.

Many fans have pointed fingers at the Valkyries and Warriors owner Joe Lacob, with one saying, “It’s a little insulting to think that Lacob would spend $50 million for a WNBA team and intentionally snub the Valkyrie from a playoff host game. He knows more than anyone on threads how much a home playoff game means from a fan, team and a revenue standpoint.”

Warriors star Draymond Green responded to that fan who called out Joe Lacob, and advocated for the storied owner that he likely did all he could to change this.

“Joe probably did everything he could to cancel that event at Chase. And is probably losing it on anyone who had something to do with that scheduling,” Green responded on Threads.

Of course, it is very unfortunate that the Valkyries have to play their first-ever “home” playoff game in another arena, but the team and fanbase will simply have to power through.