Head coach Natalie Nakase and the Valkyries, celebrating a play in their season-ending playoff loss to the Minnesota Lynx in September, aim to run it back in the franchise’s second season.
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Valkyries guard Kaitlyn Chen, shadowed by Seattle Storm guard Taina Mair during their preseason game at Chase Center on April 25, averaged 10 minutes per game in 24 appearances last season.
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Valkyries guard Veronica Burton scored while being fouled and was celebrated by center Iliana Rupert during a game in August against the Washington Mystics at Chase Center.
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Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton and guard Veronica Burton celebrate a 76-74 win over Washington Mystics at Chase Center on May 21.
Scott Strazzante/S.F. Chronicle
The Golden State Valkyries shocked the basketball world on draft night when they traded away No. 8 pick Flau’jae Johnson to the Seattle Storm for their second-round pick Marta Suarez and a future second-rounder.
That decision grew all the more confusing when the Valkyries waived Suarez on Saturday and, two weeks after draft night, general manager Ohemaa Nyanin justified the swap as a means of preserving $300,000 salary cap flexibility.
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The draft night trade isn’t so surprising in the context of what this Valkyries team is about, especially looking forward to the franchise’s second season.
Johnson is a flashy player with superstar potential. It’s evident that the Valkyries are building a contender around head coach Natalie Nakase’s system, not one driven by individual star power. If Year 1 was about establishing that structure, Year 2 will be about leaning harder into it.
“We definitely built a foundation, a culture of who we want to be on the court and we can carry that with us,” Veronica Burton said.
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Can Nakase’s system be a star in itself? In 2025, it appeared so. The Valkyries became the first expansion team to crack the playoffs in their inaugural season, but without key players Kayla Thornton and Tiffany Hayes they were swept in the first round.
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The Valkyries’ offseason wasn’t about finding or drafting that one MVP-caliber player to build around or find a bucket-getter that’s essential to most playoff-caliber teams, but bringing back the core to run it back, their way, in 2026.
“For us, we didn’t win it. That was a disappointment for myself as a coach,” Nakase told reporters on Tuesday. “Once we get that feeling of being a playoff team, our expectation is to win it.
“Exit meetings and offseason conversations, now we’re hungry because we got a taste of it in the playoffs and we knew — it’s always nice to dream and wish if we were all healthy, what would it look like. That’s another reason why we wanted to bring back our core, because we were in a good spot last year. Now I would say our whole locker room is hungry. I would say even more.”
The system is all about connectivity and chemistry. Those are buzzwords you’d hear around Golden State’s facilities that essentially mean the team functions on defensive versatility and ball movement to seek the best possible shot on offense.
To do that right takes familiarity and high IQ, a brand of basketball familiar to anyone who has watched the Warriors for the past decade.
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The Valkyries’ strength heading into 2026 is that they appear better poised to play to the system, and defense can be their biggest floor raiser. Not just because the core of Thornton, Burton, Hayes and Janelle Salaün are back, but because they’ve added one of the best two-way players in Gabby Williams to the fold.
Valkyries forward Janelle Salaün and center Iliana Rupert celebrate a shot by Salaün against the Las Vegas Aces at Chase Center on Aug. 6.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
The team’s 102.1 defensive rating was good for fourth best in the WNBA, per Basketball-Reference.com. That could improve with Williams and Thornton anchoring the defense for a full season. Burton is already a proven disruptor, while Williams and Thornton can guard multiple positions at a high level.
Williams’ 100.0 defensive rating in 2025 with Seattle was one of the league’s best. The Valkyries may not have an MVP hopeful on the roster, but signing Williams in free agency makes Golden State’s best trait that much greater.
“Mr. Joe (Lacob) called me, and my conversation with him versus any other team owner was completely different,” Williams said at Media Day on Tuesday. “That’s what got me over the edge to sign. He was speaking about his goals and objectives, how badly he wants to win, how he’s going to do it, that I would be stupid to go anywhere else because I haven’t seen anyone doing it better than us. … I want to be a part of something like that. I want to be on a team that you always see in the playoffs, in the finals, and I truly believe that this can be that team.”
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Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin listens to forward Gabby Williams at the French player’s introductory news conference at Chase Center on April 25.
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The system, for now, sacrifices a key to most any championship team: the high-volume scorer. The New York Liberty have Sabrina Ionescu (18.2 ppg in 2025), Breanna Stewart (18.3 ppg) and now Satou Sabally (16.3 ppg). The Las Vegas Aces have MVP A’ja Wilson (23.4 ppg) and Jackie Young (16.5 ppg). The Dallas Wings have Paige Bueckers (19.2 ppg) and the Minnesota Lynx have Napheese Collier (22.9 ppg).
In contrast, the Valkyries’ highest average scorer in 2025 was Burton at 11.9 points per game. Williams would be next up with 11.6 ppg in Seattle.
Golden State makes up for the lack of a high-volume scorer with a series of shooters taking relatively high-volume 3s in a spaced floor. The Valkyries led the league in three-point attempts with 29.9 per game last season. Thornton averaged 6.5 treys per game last year, though she shot 28.2% before her All-Star nod and ensuing season-ending injury. Cecilia Zandalasini and Salaün averaged 4.8 three-pointers per game, making them at 40.7% and 36.6%, respectively.
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Guard Justė Jocytė, last season’s first-round pick, celebrates the Valkyries’ drumbeat during pregame ceremonies at Chase Center on Aug. 17.
Courtesy of Golden State Valkyries
It remains to be seen what 2025 first-round pick Justė Jocytė will add to the dynamic. The 20-year-old Lithuanian pro will make her WNBA debut this season after playing in Spain last year.
The Valkyries opted out of a first-round pick in 2026 and opted into continuity. They earned a playoff run in their first season. Operating under Lacob’s mandate to pursue titles, it’s understandable they’d run it back.