The Golden State Valkyries were struggling Thursday night. With 4:10 remaining in their regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Sparks, the Valkyries trailed 70-59, and Golden State faced the very real prospect of losing its grip on the No. 2 seed in the WNBA playoffs.
The Sparks had been leading for most of the game, and Los Angeles had all the momentum as it prepared to say goodbye to franchise and league legend Nneka Ogwumike, playing her final game before retirement.
But as the Valkyries have done so many times in 2026, Golden State called upon its defense to launch a late rally.
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The Valkyries ended Thursday’s game on a 17-5 run, taking the lead in the final minute on a Gabby Williams three-pointer and holding on for a 76-75 road win.
As a result, Golden State ended the season 32-12 and clinched the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, which begin Sunday at Chase Center against Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings.
Thursday marked the 23rd time this season in which the Valkyries have held an opponent to 75 points or fewer. Golden State, a second-year franchise, ended the season with the league’s No. 1 scoring defense, allowing just 75.1 points per game. The Washington Mystics had the next-best mark, allowing 82.7 points per game.
Not only did the Golden State Valkyries lead the WNBA in defensive rating (99.1), they, relative to league average (~9.6 points stingier), just put together the greatest defensive season in league history.
Cannot stress to you how ridiculous that it.
— Nekias (Nuh-KAI-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) September 25, 2026
The Valkyries’ defensive dominance — bolstered by Williams’ offseason arrival in free agency — is even starker when compared to the league average.
Per 100 possessions, the average WNBA defense in 2026 allowed 109.1 points. The Valkyries’ defensive rating sat at 100.6 after the 44-game regular-season slate. That is an 8.5-point gap relative to a WNBA defense that is roughly average in terms of its efficiency. It is 3.9 points better than the Atlanta Dream, which finished the season second in defensive rating.
The Valkyries have been putting the clamps on everybody, all season. During its six-game winning streak between Aug. 24 and Sept. 19, Golden State held each opponent to 69 points or fewer. Two opponents failed to surpass 60 points during the run.
Bringing that level of defensive intensity to the playoffs should see the Valkyries win more than just their first playoff series in franchise history. It could see Golden State host a WNBA Finals game next month.
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