SAN FRANCISCO \u2013 Last season, the Valkyries were introduced to the WNBA in their 2025 inaugural season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No one had any idea what would ensue.<\/p>\n
History.<\/p>\n
Golden State became the first expansion team in WNBA history to qualify for the playoffs, finishing as the 8th seed with a 23\u201321 record. The Valkyries set the record for most wins by an expansion team and sold out all 22 home games, setting a new league-high for total and average attendance.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Natalie Nakase was named the 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year, leading a team built from the expansion draft and free-agent players to top-three rankings in defensive rating and opponent field goal percentage.<\/p>\n
But none of that matters to Nakase and her Valkyries as they enter their second WNBA season.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing can carry over from last year,\u201d Nakase said before Golden State\u2019s 2026 home opener<\/a> against the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday at Chase Center. \u201cLike no point can carry over, no win, no award, like my Coach of the Year, it goes out the door. Everything’s a clean slate.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you got to see the beauty of that, right? A clean slate means you can imprint in a different way. We lost our first game last year, so this game tonight means a lot to us. And it’s how we approach every single game \u2013 it’s a win-or-die mentality. And so that focus doesn’t change, and we feel like we have brought in a lot of our continuity from last year. So with that, the goal has to be bigger for us in terms of where we feel we could reach it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Valkyries 2025 season ended with a heartbreaking 75-74 loss to the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series last September.\u00a0<\/p>\n That taste of storied success and crushing playoff loss ought to fuel how the Valkyries approach the 2026 season, right? At least some momentum from Ballhalla can carry over?<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Nakase said, firmly. \u201cWhat\u2019s your momentum piece?\u201d<\/p>\n Because to Nakase, a two-time WNBA champion as an assistant coach with the Las Vegas Aces, a first-round playoff exit isn\u2019t a success story.<\/p>\n That mentality is a direct reflection of Golden State owner Joe Lacob\u2019s lofty goal for the Valkyries.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m telling you right now, we will win a WNBA championship in the first five years of this franchise,\u201d Lacob announced during the team\u2019s unveiling event in 2024.<\/p>\n The confident proclamation sparked some league-wide skepticism, but those who know Lacob weren\u2019t surprised. When he bought the Warriors in 2010, he made the exact same prediction.<\/p>\n Four years later, the Warriors then won their first NBA championship in four long decades.<\/p>\n