During one of the Valkyries’ first practices back from the FIBA break, Golden State guard Tiffany Hayes made clear how much had changed in a year.
The Valkyries weren’t the new kids anymore.
After losing in the first round to Minnesota last season as an expansion team, Golden State has catapulted into second place in the WNBA and established itself among the league’s top teams.
“Teams don’t look at us like a new team anymore,” Hayes said. “The next step is going to be harder… We’re a real contender, so it’s making sure we know that going into (the playoffs).”
Golden State will enter its second postseason with considerably more experience than it had for last year’s lopsided first-round matchup with Minnesota, then the best team in the league.
Six Valkyries players have reached at least the WNBA semifinals during their careers. Three of them, Kayla Thornton, Kiah Stokes and Cecilia Zandalasini, have won WNBA championships.
“For that run, it took everybody,” Thornton said of New York’s 2024 title, where she was a key player off the bench. “Making sure you know the opportunity when you’re called and you show out because (playoffs are) very tight. You have to execute.”
That kind of depth became especially important for Golden State last postseason, when some of its most important veterans were unavailable.
Thornton missed the entire second half of the season with a knee injury. Hayes did not play after Aug. 22 because of a knee injury and starting center Temi Fagbenle missed the second game of the Lynx series. By the time the Valkyries played their final game of the season, they were without three starters.
“Playoffs are tough,” Laeticia Amihere said. “I haven’t had a deep playoff run (in the WNBA), but I know that it takes everybody. That’s been our mentality all season so we can carry it over into the playoffs.”
Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women’s Sports Daily
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women’s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women’s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!
Head coach Natalie Nakase has thought frequently about the way that season ended, particularly how depleted the Valkyries were when they reached the postseason. That experience has informed how deliberately she has approached this season and prepared her team for another run.
“She was super intentional last year, and I think even more so this year,” Burton told The IX Sports. “She has a good plan in mind and she’s sticking to it. Every single game she approaches with the utmost respect. I think it says a lot about her as a coach, and then what she expects of us. I think every single game I know what to expect going in, and I know what she wants of me, and I know what she expects of me, and so it’s really game by game focus, and I think it really helps me feel prepared going in.”
This time, Golden State has Thornton available along with Stokes, who won a championship with Las Vegas in 2023, and Gabby Williams, who has previously reached the WNBA semifinals. Hayes has played in two WNBA Finals and Kaila Charles has made a pair of trips to the semifinals, while Zandalasini won a title with the Lynx in 2017 and went to the Finals again in 2024 where she lost to Thornton’s Liberty.
Even the players who entered last postseason without much playoff experience are no longer going through it for the first time. Burton and Janelle Salaün now know what a WNBA playoff series looks and feels like, giving Golden State a roster far more accustomed to postseason basketball than the one that arrived in Minnesota a year ago.
With four games remaining in the regular season, the Valkyries could draw Washington, New York or Dallas in the first round. Beyond that, a path to the WNBA Finals could eventually run through Las Vegas or Minnesota, two teams that have given Golden State trouble over the past two seasons.
For now, the Valkyries are trying not to look that far ahead.
“It’s always been one game at a time, regardless of the opponent,” Valkyries assistant coach Landon Tatum said. “It’s about us making sure we are doing what we have to do… Making sure it’s one game at a time and not skipping opponents to the next is going to be huge for us.”
Rep The IX Sports at your next game!
Shop the logo collection or special “Women’s Sports are Front Page News” collection now on Shopify.
That approach matters beyond the matchups. Golden State learned last season how quickly injuries can change a postseason, and staying healthy through a playoff run has become part of the preparation itself.
This time, the Valkyries are healthier, at least for now. They are deeper in veteran leadership and no longer have to learn what postseason basketball demands while they are playing it.
They also know that reaching the playoffs is only the beginning.
“We might find ourselves matched up with an East Coast team,” Charles said. “So it’s important we start thinking about recovery now. If your body’s not strong, you’re not going to be able to make a deep run.”
