The Golden State Valkyries were supposed to take time. Instead, the second-year expansion franchise has moved so quickly that the conversation around head coach Natalie Nakase has already shifted from fielding a competitive team to creating something that could last for years.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
According to WNBA analyst Sabreena Merchant, the foundation for greatness has already been laid. On the No Offseasons podcast on August 15, she spoke about how Golden State could become the next great dynasty.
“Obviously, they have to win within five years. So, the dynasty’s got to get started pretty soon, according to Joe Lacob’s timeline.”
She’s referring to team owner Joe Lacob’s words from October 4, 2023, when it was announced that there was a team coming to the Bay Area. He had promised that the team would deliver a championship within five years of his tenure as owner, something he accomplished with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors when Stephen Curry and Co. lifted the NBA Championship in 2015, five years after he bought the team for $450 million.
“The Valkyries have everything that you would want if you are an opposing player looking in free agency, angling for a trade, like this is a place where you would want to play. They’ve got the facility. They’ve got an excellent home crowd, excellent home arena, all of the bells and whistles of being a first-class organization, ownership who clearly wants to win.”
The Golden State Valkyries play their home games at the Chase Center, an arena they share with the Warriors. Chase Center can accommodate a massive crowd of 18,064 people for basketball games. 2025 saw the Valkyries unveil their state-of-the-art training center in Oakland, with a fully accessable 31,800 square training space and a total of 17 hoops to help the players train for a championship run. They even unveiled their brand-new, dedicated locker room at the Chase Center, boasting a 6,800-square-foot customised space.
The Valkyries have wasted no time in getting to winning. During their first season, they logged a 23-21 record and made the playoffs as the #8 seed, becoming the first expansion team to do so in their inaugural season. This season, they’ve continued their winning ways, holding the second-best record in the league at 24-9, and that immediate success is why Merchant believes that they’ve skipped the usual growing pains of an expansion team.
“They’ve got a coach who, admittedly, she’s only been a head coach once in the playoffs, but I am rock solid confident in Natalie Nakase being a championship-level head coach based on what she’s been able to do during her time in Golden State,” she said.
“I think they’ve already been a free agent draw in year two. Bringing in Gabby Williams was a pretty big coup for a team that was only the eighth seed last year and only had one season in the WNBA. And I think we’re going to continue to see that with Golden State that they’re going to be able to bring in more and more talent.”
Williams was acquired by the Valkyries in April 2026 and has become the team’s most prolific scorer. She is averaging 14.6 points with 1.6 steals per game, leading the team in both. She stands 28th on the list of the top scorers this season, but is backed by veteran support. Tiffany Hayes, a 14-year WNBA veteran and the 2024 Sixth Woman of the Year, provides ample support with valuable points off the bench. Veronica Burton, a seasoned player with four years in the WNBA, is the third-highest point-scorer on the Valkyries roster, averaging 12.3 points.
With a strong roster and a record of 24-9 this season, Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase is definitely looking for a postseason charge for the championship.
Natalie Nakase Embraces Five-Year Championship Pressure as Valkyries Build for the Long Haul
Sabreena Merchant’s belief in Natalie Nakase as a championship-level head coach is not without reason. The longtime Los Angeles Clippers and Las Vegas Aces assistant was hired for her first head coaching job as the leader of the Valkyries in October 2024 and got right into winning. In fact, given Golden State’s historic success, she even won the Coach of the Year award in her first season.
Heading into the Valkyries’ second season, Nakase was confident that they were on the right track, and she and the front office decided to bring back most of the roster from year 1 to help win now. The idea was easy to understand: they already knew Nakase’s system and were bought in, and were only going to get better within it. Nakase believed before the season that the five-year championship goal was a guiding light for her and the team.
“It’s a great goal; it’s a great expectation,” Nakase said in May 2026. “Even last year, I wanted to win, so that’s why we built that roster with the thoughtfulness of being the most selfless team, the most connected team. Now we’re adding for this year, and we really want to be one of the smartest teams in the league, and so that’s how I felt like we could definitely take a step forward from last year. Every year we’re trying to go for a championship.”
Only time will tell if the Valkyries can fulfill Lacob’s lofty expectations, but if Nakase is to be believed, they’re already striving to build a perennial winner in the Bay.