It’s an exciting time for WNBA fans in San Francisco. The Golden State Valkyries’ first game is slowly but surely approaching. Since it will be only the team’s first season, fans should not expect too much on-court success at first, but there is still plenty to look forward to as the Valkyries will lay the foundation for future success.
The Valkyries have plenty of work to do in the 2025 season, especially considering that they won’t be the newest franchise in the league for much longer. Two more teams—Toronto and Portland—will join the league in 2026, and Cleveland is expected to get its expansion team in 2028. So, the Valkyries do not have too much time to give themselves a head start over the other expansion franchises.
As a result, the 2025 season will be crucial and should hopefully provide the answers to some long-term questions.
3. Which of their young players should be a part of the Valkyries’ future?
The Valkyries secured several young players in the expansion draft and free agency. Veronica Burton, Carla Leite, Kate Martin, Iliana Rupert, and Janelle Salaün are all under the age of 25. Leite is the youngest of the group at twenty. On top of that, the Valkyries also have the fifth overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft and will get another young talent that way.
2025 will give them a chance to get a first look at their young players—or at least most of them. Leite, for example, might not be ready to come to the W just yet. While the Valkyries are still quite some time away from being a championship contender, they cannot waste too much time deciding which young players to focus on and which to let go.
The 2025 season should give them at least a first indication as to which young players they think should be a part of the team’s future.
2. What is the best way for the Valkyries to become a free-agency destination?
While the Valkyries landed some interesting players, their offseason was rather quiet. San Francisco is simply not a free-agency destination yet, and that is something the Valkyries will want to change quickly. The 2025 season will offer them a chance to let players know what they will be signing up for if they decide to come to the Bay Area.
So, the Valkyries will have to figure out how to best attract free agents. They could lean into their young talent, offering free agents an opportunity to play with the new generation of WNBA players. They could also attract free agents by promoting their coaching staff and modern facilities. Besides that, they could make it clear that any star who comes to Golden State will be given the green light to do their thing or create a culture players simply want to be a part of.
There are plenty of options. The Valkyries just need to figure out how they want to market their team to free agents in the future.
1. What is the Valkyries’ identity?
Without a true star, the Valkyries will have to build an identity from scratch. Head coach Natalie Nakase has said before that she is looking for competitive players who will play hard on both sides of the floor, and be selfless.
The Valkyries certainly found that in Tiffany Hayes, Kate Martin, and others. If the Valkyries can make that their identity, it would be great. All of the best basketball teams battle every second of every game and have players who put the good of the team before anything. But the Valkyries will not know if they can truly make that their identity until the team steps onto the court together.
Still, establishing an identity as early as possible is incredibly important because it will tell the rest of the league what playing for the Valkyries would look like.