The Golden State Valkyries Are Here
Photo courtesy Golden State Valkyries
The Golden State Valkyries are a new WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) expansion team, which makes them the 13th team in the league. The Valkyries are the first Bay Area professional women’s basketball team. This article will cover an overview, their staff and roster, their preseason games, and first regular season game broadcast schedule.
The Valkyries were first announced as the San Francisco WNBA team all the way back in October, 2023, but are just now playing their first regular season game this Friday. Their name is from Norse mythology, and symbolizes strength, courage, and resilience. The incredibly designed logo has many different meanings, such as the logo making a V shape while also looking like the Golden Gate Bridge.
The head coach of the Valkyries is Natalie Nakase, who was formerly the assistant coach of the Las Vegas Aces. The Valkyries did not hold back on hiring a lot of good staff, which includes Ohemaa Nyanin as the General Manager, and Lorena Torres Ronda, who brought over 15 years of performance program experience with her, is the director of performance. The Valkyries roster has a few key players. One of them is Tiffany Hayes, a 12 year WNBA veteran who won the 2024 Sixth Women of The Year, and will bring scoring and leadership to the team. Carla Leite is also a very important woman on the Valkyries roster, is a 21 year old french point guard who decided to skip the EuroBasket 2025 to focus on her WNBA career with the Golden State Valkyries. The Valkyries starting five are, at the time of writing, Veronica Burton at point guard, shooting guard Tiffany Hayes, forward Kayla Thornton, Monique Billings at power forward, and center Temi Fagbenle.
The WNBA preseason was only two games this year, and the Golden State Valkyries ended with a 1-1 record, meaning they won one game and lost one game. The Valkyries first game against another team was on Tuesday, May 6 against the Los Angeles Sparks. In a thrilling narrow game, the Valkyries lost by only one point, 82-83. The Valkyries then played the Phoenix Mercury on the next Friday, May 11, and won by 5 points, 84-79, to secure the Valkyries first win ever. One standout in the Valkyries preseason was French guard Migna Toure, who came off of the bench and was able to score 19 points on Friday in the win against Phoenix, which included 4 three pointers. Despite the victory against the Mercury, the starting lineup struggled to shoot, shooting just 9 for 39 (around 23%), with key players Tiffany Hayes and Veronica Burton combining for only 2 for 19 shooting, and were also scoreless in the first half.
The Valkyries first regular season game is at Chase Center this Friday, May 16 against the Los Angeles Sparks. It will be broadcast nationally on ION as part of the State Farm WNBA Friday Night Spotlight, as well as ABC, Prime Video, CBS, CBS Sports Network, and NBA TV (what about WNBA TV?!?). The Valkyries have a good matchup here because they just barely lost to the LA Sparks in the preseason, and by winning against the Phoenix Mercury last Friday, the team developed good team chemistry, putting the Valkyries in a good spot coming into this Friday.
The Golden State Valkyries are a new WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) expansion team, making them the 13th team in the league. They are also the first professional women's basketball team in the Bay Area. This article provides an overview of the team, including their staff and roster, preseason games, and the broadcast schedule for their first regular season game.
The Valkyries were announced as the San Francisco WNBA team in October 2023 and will play their first regular season game this Friday, May 16, 2025. Their name, inspired by Norse mythology, symbolizes strength, courage, and resilience. The team's logo features the Bay Bridge, with the cables doubling as wings and the tower as a sword, representing the connection between San Francisco and Oakland. The thirteen lines from the sword symbolize the Valkyries as the 13th team in the league, and the wings split the space into five triangles to represent the ten players on the court.
Natalie Nakase serves as the head coach of the Valkyries, having previously been the assistant coach of the Las Vegas Aces. The team's general manager is Ohemaa Nyanin, who has a strong background in basketball operations. Lorena Torres Ronda, with over 15 years of performance program experience, is the director of performance.
Key players on the Valkyries roster include Tiffany Hayes, a 12-year WNBA veteran who won the 2024 Sixth Woman of the Year award, and Carla Leite, a 21-year-old French point guard who chose to focus on her WNBA career by skipping EuroBasket 2025. As of May 13, 2025, the projected starting lineup is:
Point Guard: Veronica Burton
Shooting Guard: Tiffany Hayes
Forward: Kayla Thornton
Power Forward: Monique Billings
Center: Temi Fagbenle
The Valkyries' preseason consisted of two games. In their debut on May 6, they narrowly lost to the Los Angeles Sparks 83–82. In their second game on May 11, they secured their first-ever win with an 84–79 victory over the Phoenix Mercury. Notably, French guard Migna Touré contributed 19 points off the bench, including four three-pointers.However, the starting lineup faced challenges, shooting just 9-for-39 (approximately 23%), with Hayes and Burton combining for only 2-for-19 and being scoreless in the first half.
The Valkyries' first regular season game is scheduled for Friday, May 16, 2025, at the Chase Center against the Los Angeles Sparks. The game will be broadcast nationally on ION as part of the State Farm WNBA Friday Night Spotlight. This matchup is significant as the Valkyries narrowly lost to the Sparks in the preseason, and their recent win against the Mercury has boosted team morale and chemistry.
