{"id":178604,"date":"2025-09-24T13:17:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T13:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/178604\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T13:17:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T13:17:12","slug":"with-title-aspirations-in-mind-valkyries-leaders-lay-out-their-vision-for-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/178604\/","title":{"rendered":"With title aspirations in mind, Valkyries leaders lay out their vision for the future"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It\u2019s been about 500 days since Joe Lacob and Ohemaa Nyanin teamed up to bring the WNBA to the Bay Area. The pair schemed. They built. And they brought their vision to life \u2014 23 wins, a playoff berth, and a devoted fanbase to make a historic first year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, a week removed from the end of the Valkyries\u2019 inaugural season, the two have yet to debrief.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI still haven\u2019t had the opportunity to really assess what just happened,\u201d Nyanin said during her exit interview on Tuesday. When asked about her goals for the offseason, she added: \u201cI\u2019m still in this season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staying present and playing cards close to the vest was a hallmark of Golden State\u2019s inaugural season, and a force behind its early success. Coach of the Year Natalie Nakase hammered a one-game-at-a-time mantra all summer. Nyanin\u2019s sidestep response fits that mold. But make no mistake, as the architect of the team\u2019s first ever roster, built from scratch, Nyanin understands exactly what\u2019s on the horizon.<\/p>\n

In the foreground, over 100 players \u2014 including 21 of this season\u2019s 24 All-Stars \u2014 will head into unrestricted free agency this offseason. Looming in the background, a public mandate from Lacob to deliver a championship to San Francisco before 2030. In the league\u2019s near-30 years, only one WNBA expansion team has earned a title in its first five years \u2014 Seattle did it in 2004 with its pair of now-Hall of Famers Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, do the Valkyries want to acquire a franchise-defining star this offseason? If Lacob\u2019s track record with the Warriors is any indication, the answer is yes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And Nyanin has pursued that kind of established, star-caliber name before. The Valkyries reportedly explored blockbuster moves in last year\u2019s free agency cycle, but as marquee players settled into other destinations, she built Golden State\u2019s roster through a mix of international talent, expansion draft selections, and mid-tier signings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, with one season in the books, one that vastly exceeded all external expectations, Nyanin sees validation in that formula. And she\u2019s not rushing to abandon it \u2014 at least, publicly, not yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Valkyries GM Ohemaa Nyanin spoke on a panel before the start of her first season with the franchise. | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades\/The Standard<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think about the face of the franchise,\u201d she said. \u201cValkyries basketball has meant that on any given night, with any given roster, we can win basketball games.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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 Nyanin continued. \u201cValkyries basketball isn\u2019t just one human and that\u2019s the type of philosophy we\u2019re going with moving forward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even with Kayla Thornton\u2019s half-season All-Star campaign and Veronica Burton\u2019s journey to the WNBA Most Improved Player Award \u2014 she\u2019s now off to play in Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 league \u2014 emerged as budding stars, the Valkyries\u2019 depth and commitment to their on-court identity was undoubtedly the difference-maker in their surprise playoff run. In a season that Nakase admitted was \u201ctrial and error,\u201d Golden State had 11 different players step up as a leading scorer in a game. For that level of adaptability, Nyanin gives her rookie head coach all the credit.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of the different iterations of the roster that I threw at her, she managed with grace,\u201d Nyanin said. \u201cBecause she was her authentic self from day one, the athletes were able to trust in the process and be willing to listen to all the things that she had to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nakase, who typically dodges praise, pointed to the trust, unselfishness, and connectivity of her players.<\/p>\n

\u201cHigh character is the priority. And we didn\u2019t miss,\u201d Nakase reflected. \u201cYou\u2019re trying to be the most connected team, and that\u2019s usually when you see success.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nyanin echoed that sentiment. She maintained that the appraisal of character will remain the driving focus, into 2026 and beyond.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want great humans,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s really about making sure that we put the athletic ability of a person, who they are, and what they would mean to this community. The fan base has completely absorbed these athletes, so I don\u2019t want to mess with that. And yes, we need to continue to win basketball games. So the balance of that, what does that look like? Who does that look like? Still hasn\u2019t been determined.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Point guard Veronica Burton will play with Unrivaled this offseason after her best WNBA season yet. | Source: Thomas Sawano\/The Standard<\/p>\n

What has come into focus, though, is the Valkyries\u2019 on-court identity. With a top-three defensive rating on one end and the most made three-pointers in the league on the other, the blueprint is clear: Nakase is building a relentless defensive culture that will connect to stretch the floor in their own halfcourt, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A\u2019ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, Gabby Williams, and Kelsey Mitchell are just a few among those to be unrestricted on the market. With those core concepts in place after year one, do they fit the kind of talent Nyanin and the Valkyries might target in free agency? Stars are always worth chasing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What about a proven defensive anchor or another elite three-point specialist \u2014 or better yet, a presence to round out their weaknesses?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where the GM refuses to tip her hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNot necessarily going to get somebody who currently does what we did this past season, and plug them in,\u201d Nyanin said. \u201cBut, really being thoughtful about the ecosystem that we\u2019ve created, to see if they can be better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nyanin spoke highly of the player development model implemented by Nakase and her staff. One that will soon be at work again, with the integration of the one expected 2026 addition known so far \u2014 the Valkyries\u2019 2025 fifth overall draft pick, Lithuanian guard Just\u0117 Jocyt\u0117.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Nyanin acknowledged that whether Jocyt\u0117 makes an immediate impact in Nakase\u2019s system \u201cremains to be seen,\u201d she simply hopes the 19-year-old EuroLeague talent can \u201cevolve with the season,\u201d like some of the other international talent who thrived with Golden State.<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s international core featured the French trio of Janelle Sala\u00fcn, Carla Leite, and Iliana Rupert, plus Cecilia Zandalasini (Italy), and Temi Fagbenle (Great Britain). During the 2024 expansion draft, Nyanin made a clear statement of intent by selecting seven international players. Now, with new franchises entering the league \u2014 and Portland recently hiring Nyanin\u2019s assistant Vanja \u010cernivec for as its general manager \u2014 time will tell if this international-heavy approach is a one-off, or the beginning of a broader trend.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Either way, Nyanin is pleased.<\/p>\n

\"\"Janelle Sala\u00fcn earned a spot on the WNBA\u2019s 2025 All-Rookie team. | Source: Ezra Shaw\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cThe globalization of the sport is important,\u201d she said. \u201cThe athletes that we got from the international arena were exactly what we needed in year one. But, I don\u2019t think what we created internally can be replicated. I would be overjoyed to have more athletes from the international landscape come into the WNBA.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But of course, all of this \u2014 free agency buzz, roster speculation, even strategic courting of international players \u2014 hinges on the critical unknown: the WNBA and WNBPA\u2019s next collective bargaining agreement. Until a new CBA is in place (the player\u2019s union has opted out of the current CBA as its expiration is approaching on Oct. 31), movement around the league will remain paused.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even the framework for Portland and Toronto\u2019s expansion drafts remains an uncertainty \u2014 Nakase alluded to awaiting the possibility of the rules diverging from the Valkyries\u2019 expansion draft last year. Perhaps Golden State will receive some sort of exemption as a second-year team, or be granted an extra protected player in addition to last year\u2019s six per team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So for now, the Valkyries can prepare, plan, position themselves \u2014 and maybe even get around to those post-season debriefs. But, the real action won\u2019t begin until the CBA, and the model for the league\u2019s future, is officially set.<\/p>\n

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