Golden State Valkyries' Rapid Rise to WNBA Finals Rooted in Decades-Long Vision
The expansion team's quick success is a testament to owner Joe Lacob's enduring commitment to women's basketball and a meticulously crafted team culture.
The Golden State Valkyries are heading to the WNBA Finals in just their second season, a remarkable achievement for an expansion team. However, the franchise's journey to this point began decades earlier, fueled by owner Joe Lacob's long-held ambition to support professional women's sports.
Lacob's initial foray into women's basketball ownership was with the San Jose Lasers of the American Basketball League (ABL) in 1996. The ABL folded two years later, but Lacob remained committed to the idea of bringing a successful women's basketball team to the Bay Area. He publicly expressed this desire in 2014, and in 2023, San Francisco was awarded a WNBA expansion franchise, set to begin play in 2025.
Enter the Golden State Valkyries. Since their inception, the team has achieved unprecedented fan engagement, selling out every regular-season home game at Chase Center, which has been nicknamed 'Ballhalla' for the team. In their inaugural season, the Valkyries became the first team in WNBA history to average over 18,000 fans per game for a full season and made the playoffs. This past season, they reached the WNBA Finals after sweeping the defending champions, the Las Vegas Aces, in three games.
The Valkyries' on-court success is attributed to a deliberate organizational strategy focused on a defense-first mindset and acquiring versatile, two-way players, rather than solely relying on scoring superstars. This approach contrasts with the strategy of their Finals opponent, the Aces, who boast several All-Stars and an MVP in A'ja Wilson.
Head Coach Natalie Nakase has been instrumental in cultivating the team's culture. Nakase, who previously served as an assistant coach for the Aces during their back-to-back championship runs in 2022 and 2023, and spent 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers in player development roles, emphasized a team-over-self ethos.
“How I create my team culture is choosing 12 players that have a very competitive mindset, who work extremely hard,” Nakase stated at the beginning of her tenure. “The baseline is just being a great human being, you don’t always just think about yourself but you think about your teammates constantly. That’s pretty much going to be my motto is team over self with anything on or off the court.”
Beyond their on-court performance, the Valkyries have quickly established themselves as a franchise of significant value and community impact. The team is valued at $1 billion, making it the first billion-dollar franchise in women's sports history. Lacob's initial promise to deliver a WNBA championship within the first five years of the franchise's existence is now within reach in their second season.