After the final game of the 2025 WNBA season, the end of a raucous, inspiring debut run for the Golden State Valkyries, the team came together at midcourt following their playoff loss to Minneosta as the crowd roared their appreciation.
What everyone understood at that moment – the players, coaches, the fans, heck, probably even the ushers – was that with a tumultuous offseason coming, this group, the one that laid the foundation for a franchise, had no guarantees that it would be together again.
Nine months later, the team that will take the floor on Friday against Seattle looks a lot like the one that walked off the floor after being eliminated in the playoffs in San Jose.
In poker terms, the Valkyries like the hand they were dealt. And they are hoping the cards they drew from the deck this season make it even better.
Back under WNBA coach of the Year Natalie Nakase are 2025 Most Improved Player Veronica Burton, All-Star Kayla Thornton, veteran guard Tiffany Hayes, international breakouts Janelle Salaun, Iliana Rupert and Cecilia Zandalasini, and key role players Kate Martin and Kaila Charles.
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While Monique Billings and Temi Fabenle have moved on, getting lucrative contracts thanks to the breakout seasons they posted last season in the Bay, the moves that Golden State has made to build on last season’s success look, on paper, like really good ones.
Gabby Williams, “one of the best two-way players in the world”, according to Nakase, signed after four years in Seattle. And the post rotation was deepened with the addition of center Kiah Stokes, who won three WNBA titles in five seasons in Las Vegas with the Aces.
The Valkyries enter the 2026 season in a position that most expansion teams rarely experience in their second seasons, a track record of success. Golden State resisted the urge to overhaul the roster or the team’s identity. The continuity that Golden State prioritized, along with intentional, high-level roster upgrades, position this team to build in a season where many teams are “rebuilding” after free-agency madness.
“We were successful last year, when you have success, you don’t really want to go away from that,” Nakase said. “Free agency was amazing for us, bringing in Gabby and Kiah, adding them to our core.”
For Williams, her Bay Area family ties and the opportunity to play with French national team teammates Salaun and Rupert, played parts in her decision to choose Golden State. The opportunity to grow was another.
“Also, where do I go to raise my ceiling?” Williams said. “Being a part of a group like this will play into that. I like to create for others when I play, and being surrounded by shooters, it will make that very easy for me.”
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The 2025-26 EuroLeague Women Defensive Player of the Year who led the WNBA in steals last season (99) will be disruptive, while her versatility will add to Golden State’s offensive options.
“She cares deeply about winning and that was the priority of what she said in our meeting,” Nakase said. “In terms of fit, when you are selfless, that fits well with us because we don’t have a couple of superstars who just take over. We love ball movement. We love that anyone could go off on any day because I think that’s really hard to guard. So yeah, I see (Gabby) as a perfect fit.”
Stokes, who played in 40 games for Vegas last saeson off the bench for the Aces, had a close relationship with Nakase when she coached under Becky Hammon in Vegas. That faith in Nakase drew her to the Valkyries. The Valkyries, meanwhile, were drawn to Stokes’ ability as an elite rebounder and the opportunity to elevate the role of a role-player, the way they did with so many players on the team last season.
“I know I can elevate this team to another level,” Stokes said. “I bring championship experience, I’ve played with a lot of players on this roster, I’ve played for Natalie…She knows what she wants and obviously it works.”
Williams and Stokes, both with their defensive ability and their ability to stablize the interior, have an opportunity to return the favor for the Valkries, who have set a high bar with their first-season playoff run.
Having Thornton, the team’s leading scorer in 2025, back on the floor after an ACL injury that ended her season shortly after her first All-Star game back in July is also huge.
“I’m back!” Thornton proclaimed on the first day of training camp.
Thornton played 15 minutes in the Valkyries’ preseason game against Seattle. Whether Thornton eases back into significant paying time, or goes all-out from the get-go is still to be determined. Her impact when healthy is not in question.
“You can feel her energy and you can feel her physicality,” Nakase said. “I love her fire and her sense of urgency, because that’s how we play. But health is always going to be a priority.”
Nakase said the tenets of this team’s identity remain the same – defense, effort and communication. Making the playoffs was a huge first step last season, but being competitive with the league’s top teams – such as New York and Vegas (the Valkyries went 2-6 against these two elite teams last season), will be the next step in this franchise’s growth. Growth will need to come on the offensive end, where Golden State ranked 10th out of 13 teams in scoring last season. And this looks like a team that will roll deep into its bench.
Burton’s breakout season, and the chance to play again next to Hayes and the arrival of rookie guard Juste Jocyte – the team’s top draft pick in 2025 – bring intriguing possibilities.
The chance to be competitive, with so many teams across the league having undergone roster transformations, is ripe. And a bit ironic considering how much roster churn the Valkyries experienced last season.
The Valkyries are betting on cohesion and their strategic roster improvements. And they are looking for a big payoff.
“We are here to win,” Nakase said. “Championships are the standard.”
