The Golden State Valkyries‘ historic debut season reached new heights on Thursday when they clinched a playoff spot with an 84-80 win over the Dallas Wings. The Valkyries are the first expansion team in WNBA history to make the playoffs in their inaugural season. 

When the Wings jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the opening minutes, it looked like it might not be the Valkyries’ night. But as they’ve done all season long, the Valkyries found a way to overcome adversity. They battled back in the second half and went ahead for good on a Carla Leite bucket with 2:26 remaining. When the final buzzer sounded, streamers fell from the rafters and the team celebrated at midcourt. 

The Valkyries, the first expansion team to join the league since the Atlanta Dream in 2008, faced plenty of questions after their expansion draft back in December, in which they favored hard-working veterans over younger players with potential. As it turned out, the front office led by Ohemaa Nyanin and coaching staff led by Natalie Nakase knew exactly what they were doing. 

A tough schedule over the first few weeks led to a 2-5 start, but since then the Valkyries have been one of the league’s best teams despite a parade of injuries. Veronica Burton is the only player on the roster who has played in every game thus far, and 19 different players have appeared in a game. Most notably, leading scorer Kayla Thornton went down with a season-ending knee injury shortly after becoming the first All-Star in franchise history. 

WNBA expansion teams’ inaugural seasons

As expected, the Valkyries’ offense has been a major issue at times this season. They don’t have a healthy player averaging more than 11.9 points per game this season, and they have the worst offensive rating (102.3, ninth in the league) of any team currently in playoff position. 

The Valkyries have managed to exceed expectations thanks to an elite defense. They lead the league in field goal defense, and are holding opponents to just 40.4% from the field, which would be the be lowest opponent field goal percentage since the 2020 Seattle Storm (40.1%). Overall, the Valkyries rank third in defensive rating (99.7). 

How the Valkyries created an unmatched WNBA home-court advantage and why expectations are high in ‘Ballhalla’

Jack Maloney

How the Valkyries created an unmatched WNBA home-court advantage and why expectations are high in 'Ballhalla'

Off the court, the Valkyries have also excelled. In March, the they became the first team in WNBA history to sell 10,000 season tickets. All 20 of their home games have been sold out, and their average attendance of 18,064 not only leads the league, but is also on pace to be an all-time record. At home in Ballhalla, the team’s nickname for the Chase Center, the Valkyries are 13-7 with a plus-8.8 net rating. 

The Valkyries have set a high bar for the wave of expansion teams set to follow them. The Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo will join next season, followed by yet unnamed franchises in Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030), which will bring the league to 18 teams.