Valkyries, in their second season, have taken WNBA by storm and are dreaming big

The Bay Area once again has a championship contender. Chase Center is sold out every home game. Basketball is the talk of the town. Only this time it has nothing to do with Steph Curry. Instead, headlines are being dominated by the WNBA’s first expansion team since 2008, the Golden State Valkyries, who finished the WNBA season in second place with a 72.7% winning percentage and have a real shot at nabbing the championship trophy in just their second year in the league. They open the postseason against the Dallas Wings on Sunday.It has been a whirlwind for a team that has taken over the league in a city that clearly loves women’s basketball and has long been spoiled by the franchise’s brother team, the Warriors, who won four championships in eight years from 2015-2022 before failing to get past the second round of the playoffs the last four years.  Now it’s the women’s turn. The Valkyries have taken everyone by surprise, led by coach Natalie Nakase whose strategy relies on strangling defenses and balanced offensive production, eschewing the long-established notion that a singular star needs to dominate. Scoring is spread between starters Gabby Williams and Veronica Burton, as well as reserve Janelle Salaun, who has the record for most points scored by player off the bench in a season with 509 points.The Valkyries have the WNBA’s all-time highest scoring bench in a season, averaging 35.9 points a game.

They have the league’s best defensive rating (99.3). What’s crazy is how quickly the Valkyries have taken over. They’re the league’s first expansion team since the Atlanta Dream in 2008.In their first season last year, they finished in eighth place, locking up the league’s final playoff seed. Nakase won Coach of the Year.

The Valkyries’ arrival has coincided with exponential growth in the WNBA.The league and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement in March, which i...