{"id":177367,"date":"2025-09-23T23:11:22","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T23:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/177367\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T23:11:22","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T23:11:22","slug":"valkyries-face-pivotal-offseason-with-big-decisions-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/177367\/","title":{"rendered":"Valkyries face pivotal offseason with big decisions ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"

OAKLAND \u2014 The Valkyries<\/a> finished a historic first season, making the playoffs and setting the league record for attendance in their inaugural year<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But while they will have some time to reminisce about how special their first year was, the Valkyries will eventually have to turn the page to the offseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou got to reflect, but we\u2019ve already started talking about what we can do better next year,\u201d Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said at Tuesday\u2019s exit interviews at Golden State\u2019s practice facility in Oakland. \u201cMy coaches are already working on what Day 1 will look like in training camp. So, obviously it\u2019s having a lot of conversations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Those conversations won\u2019t be short on urgency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Between roster decisions, league-wide uncertainty about a new CBA and the pressure of an ambitious five-year championship goal, the Valkyries are heading a pivotal offseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still in this season and trying to make sure that I don\u2019t blow over anything that we\u2019ve accomplished,\u201d general manager Ohemaa Nyanin said. \u201cBut then also not sit in the successes that we have, because we have goals ahead of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are three key offseason issues to address:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"GoldenGolden State Valkyries’ Veronica Burton (22) acknowledges fans as her teammates hug each other after their 75-74 loss to the Minnesota Lynx in Game 2 of the WNBA playoff game at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (Ray Chavez\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Do the Valkyries need a star?<\/p>\n

Golden State will have offseason decisions to make.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Veterans Tiffany Hayes, Monique Billings, Temi F\u00e1gb\u00e9nl\u00e9, Kayla Thornton and Kaila Charles will all be unrestricted free agents while most improved point guard Veronica Burton and sharpshooting forward Cecilia Zandalasini are restricted free agents. As long as they don\u2019t get selected in the expansion draft, Carla Leite and Kate Martin will be the only players on the roster that will be guaranteed to return next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was evident that the Valkyries\u2019 lack of a star player hurt them in their first-round playoff loss to the Minnesota Lynx. But Nyanin said the Valkyries won\u2019t necessarily be \u201cstar hunting,\u201d rather looking for a personality fit for the culture they already built.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want great humans,\u201d Nyanin said. \u201cThe fan base has completely absorbed each of the athletes so much that I don\u2019t want to mess with that. \u2026 What does that look like? Who does that look like? Still hasn\u2019t been determined.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nyanin was asked whether she is looking for a marquee player this offseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think about the face of the franchise,\u201d she said. \u201cI think what Valkyries basketball has meant is that on any given night, with any given roster, we can win basketball games. The humility and the drive to win wasn\u2019t held in any one person, which I think is a testament to the type of culture that coach Natalie and the rest of the staff built.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GoldenGolden State Valkyrie\u2019s Janelle Salaun (13) sits as teammate Tiffany Hayes (15) answers question from the media during a season ending press conference held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. The Valkyries won 23 games during their inaugural 2025 season, setting a WNBA record for most wins by an expansion team and also clinching a playoff spot. Last night the Valkyries lost to the Minnesota Lynx 75-74 during Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs ending their season. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Valkyries should also have a young core coming back with Leite, Martin and first-round draft pick Just\u0117 Jocyt\u0117, who is expected to begin her rookie season next year. The Valkyries could also bring back rookie forward Janelle Sala\u00fcn. She is a reserved free agent, meaning Golden State has the decision to sign her to a contract or release her into unrestricted free agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Valkyries will go into the offseason with the fourth-most cap space in the league next season. This year\u2019s batch of free agents features a number of star players and future Hall of Famers: A\u2019ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Napheesa Collier, Kelsey Mitchell, Alyssa Thomas, Alisha Gray, among others.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What about the CBA?<\/p>\n

The looming collective bargaining negotiations between the players\u2019 union<\/a> and the league could very well hold up the Valkyries offseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The league and the union have until Oct. 31 to negotiate a new deal, though multiple reports suggest that won\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

There will also be an expansion draft that will feature two teams, Portland and Toronto, selecting their respective rosters. The CBA will determine if the rules from last season\u2019s expansion draft will apply this season.<\/p>\n

Should the parameters stay the same, Golden State will get to protect six players from its current roster \u2013 including Jocyt\u0117.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"GoldenGolden State Valkyries fans head to the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., for Game 2 of the WNBA playoff game against the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (Ray Chavez\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, the CBA won\u2019t affect the way Nakase and her coaching staff goes about the offseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are things I can\u2019t control,\u201d Nakase said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clock is ticking<\/p>\n

Owner Joe Lacob was clear on his goal for the Valkyries: win a title within five years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lacob said making the playoffs this season means the Valkyries are ahead of schedule, but the five-year championship window still stands.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the front office, time is starting to tick to bring a championship trophy to Ballhalla.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Season should be wasted,\u201d Nyanin said. \u201cI think we wanted to achieve greatness \u2013 every time they walked into this practice facility, or on the road and in Ballhala at Chase Center. I think it only helped us create a collective rally cry to do something different.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"GoldenGolden State Valkyries’ Kayla Thornton (5) high fives Joe Lacob, owner of the Golden State Valkyries, during a game against Chicago Sky in the fourth quarter at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, June 27, 2025. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

The expectations have also risen for those on the business side. Lacob told this news organization<\/a> that he wanted to \u201cfill the lower bowl at Chase Center\u201d at the start of the season, but the Valkyries have clearly exceeded that target.<\/p>\n

Even more encouraging for the franchise, the Valkyries\u00a0have already had a 90% renewal rate with their season-ticket holders, according to Valkyries president Jess Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore the (season), we were set up in Chase Center, and I was in the Chase club, and the employees were there, and there\u2019s a video that just says, \u2018It\u2019s not OK to sell 10,000 tickets.\u2019 We need to be selling more,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThe Valkyries\u2019 name comes from the fact that it was out there because the fans voted on that. I think for us to continue to grow, we have to keep listening, right? We shouldn\u2019t be a small group of people in a room making decisions for the continual evolution of who the Valkyries are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally Published: September 23, 2025 at 3:20 PM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OAKLAND \u2014 The Valkyries finished a historic first season, making the playoffs and setting the league record for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":177368,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[10832,402,3805,2356,10833,1915,4804,10831,14059,2558,5415,36930,10834,10835,5413,10836,10837,5284,10838,10839,10840,10841,10842,5414,10843,99,434],"class_list":["post-177367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-alameda-county","tag-basketball","tag-bay-area","tag-california","tag-contra-costa-county","tag-east-bay","tag-golden-state-valkyries","tag-inside-sports","tag-lake-county","tag-latest-headlines","tag-marin-county","tag-mendocino-county","tag-monterey-county","tag-napa-county","tag-north-bay","tag-peninsula","tag-san-benito-county","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-county","tag-san-mateo-county","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-santa-cruz-county","tag-solano-county","tag-sonoma-county","tag-south-bay","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}