The Valkyries’ Kayla Thornton, left, and Janelle Salaün (13) defend against the Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas in the second half of Golden State’s home opener at Chase Center on Sunday.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
Durrell Caughman and his wife LaGuadia Caughman, both of El Cerrito, raise their arms as they cheer during the Golden State Valkyries’ home opener against the Phoenix Mercury at Chase Center on Sunday.
Yalonda M. James/S.F. Chronicle
Kayla Thornton forces a turnover as she makes Jovana Nogic dribble out of bounds in the first half as the Golden State Valkyries played the Phoenix Mercury i at Chase Center on Sunday.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
Jocelyn Cronin and her daughter Kylee Serrano, both of Petaluma, stand in line to attend the home opener between the Golden State Valkyries and the Phoenix Mercury at Chase Center in San Francisco on Sunday, May 10, 2026.
Yalonda M. James/S.F. Chronicle
Mickee Thorstad, left, and Liz Cortez, both of Milpitas, arrive to attend the home opener between the Golden State Valkyries and the Phoenix Mercury at Chase Center in San Francisco on Sunday, May 10, 2026.
Yalonda M. James/S.F. Chronicle
Coach Natalie Nakase insists that it’s a clean slate this year. No residual high from making the playoffs as a first-year expansion team. No lasting glow from being named Coach of the Year.
“Nothing can carry over from last year,” Nakase said before the Golden State Valkyries home opener.
Well, something can. And something did.
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What the Valkyries created at Chase Center last season is real. It’s lasting. And it was unleashed again on Sunday night in the first home game of the season.
The throngs dressed in violet. The unbridled enthusiasm. The cross-section of the Bay Area. The deafening noise. The crackle of emotion whenever the team needs a lift.
Liz Mercer, of Hayward, takes a selfie with friends Lucas Brown, 7, and his mom, Jackie Brown, both of Newark, as they arrive for the home opener between the Golden State Valkyries and the Phoenix Mercury at Chase Center in San Francisco on Sunday, May 10, 2026.
Yalonda M. James/S.F. Chronicle
“It gives me goosebumps,” Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton said. “If I was on the other side I’d feel very intimidated.”
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On the other side on Sunday stood the Phoenix Mercury, a team that made it to the WNBA Finals last October, and who have a Big Three in Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Kahleah Copper. They don’t seem the type to get rattled but they could never overcome a first half 33-8 run by the Valkyries that gave Golden State an 18-point lead. Though the Mercury cut the deficit to single digits in the second half, they could never break through and the Valkyries won 95-79.
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“The players were just unfazed at the moment,” Nakase said. “That’s a growth from last year to this year.”
Ballhalla seamlessly picked up where it left off a year ago — that’s when we found out the home vibe is actually transferable because it relocated to SAP Center in San Jose for the one playoff game without a hitch. The experience was unsealed again on Sunday. Celebrities were on hand: Olympian Eileen Gu banged the drum, Pau Gasol was in the crowd, as was Tara VanDerveer.
Whenever the Mercury — who were on the back end of a back-to-back after ruining the Las Vegas Aces’ ring ceremony Saturday — drew close, the Valkyries put the throttle down. They did it in their trademark manner: with swarming, physical defense and an offense built on cutting and ball movement.
The Valkyries’ Kaila Charles blocks a shot by the Mercury’s Kahleah Copper in the second half at Chase Center on Sunday.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
The Valkyries’ defense helped their offense: they forced 17 Mercury turnovers that turned into 24 points, and some of that can be attributed to the intimidating atmosphere, one that kept getting louder in the late moments of the game.
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Following some of the team’s personnel decisions, such as to draft and then trade Flau’jae Johnson, a player with obvious star power, and with all the talk about needing players to fit their system, some have openly wondered if the Valkyries are intentionally trying to avoid stars. Would their moves come back to bite them?
On Sunday, the Valkyries looked like they were the ones doing the biting. And their lineup is full of blossoming WNBA stars such as Janelle Salaün, Laeticia Amihere and their key free agent acquisition Gabby Williams.
Salaün, who was not in the starting lineup, played 26 minutes, scored 21 points and was a plus-27 for the night. Also coming off the bench, Amihere was a plus-33. Starters Williams and Thornton each contributed 19 points. When the Mercury got close, it was Salaün and Amihere who held them off.
“To me, starting doesn’t matter,” said Nakase, who added that her players were willing to do as she asked based on matchups. “It’s how you finish.
Every minute matters and that’s the luxury of our team. The selflessness and the humility. … It’s unbelievable and it’s rare.”
Janelle Salaün (13) and Veronica Burton (22) celebrate Laeticia Amihere’s (3) basket and foul call in the second half as the Golden State Valkyries played the Phoenix Mercury in the home opener at Chase Center in San Francisco on Sunday, May 10, 2026.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
It’s been an emotional few days. The roster cutdowns leading up to the season were surprising. Fan favorite Kate Martin, who was cut and picked up by the Los Angeles Sparks, had to fight back tears when discussing leaving the Valkyries. Marta Suarez, the Valkyries’ second-round pick, was also cut last week but was at Chase on Sunday, having signed a development contract with Phoenix. She had turned down the same opportunity with the Valkyries.
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“It’s a very difficult business, and I think every team has a lot of ambitions,” Suarez said. “I’m very hungry to play. I didn’t really get a chance here to be myself.
“I’ve always made my decisions based on intuition. … It just felt like the opportunity to go to the Phoenix Mercury was a very cool idea.”
The Valkyries are off to a 2-0 start and look as though all their roster building is paying early dividends. As is the environment that was created last year, the critical carry-over factor from the first season.
That sold-out atmosphere puts pressure on the team to perform.
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“We better show up,” Nakase said.
On Sunday, the Valkyries showed up. And showed out.