Golden State Valkyries owner Joe Lacob has realized his long-held dream of bringing professional women's basketball to the Bay Area after multiple previous attempts with other leagues. Since joining the WNBA as an expansion team in 2025, the Valkyries have achieved unprecedented success, including a perfect home record and reaching the Finals in their second season. Their strategy focuses on defense-first teamwork rather than individual star power, led by head coach Natalie Nakase who emphasizes collective effort over personal accolades. This approach has not only won games but also built a strong community presence, making the Valkyries the first women’s sports franchise to reach a $1 billion valuation.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-12,
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Story summary
The Golden State Valkyries are heading to the WNBA Finals just two seasons after joining the league as an expansion team. Owner Joe Lacob had previously attempted to support a women’s professional sports team with the San Jose Lasers in the American Basketball League in 1996, which folded in 1998. In 2023, San Francisco was awarded an expansion WNBA franchise, and the Valkyries began play in 2025.
Since their inception, the Valkyries have sold out every home game at Chase Center, earning it the nickname "Ballhalla." In their first season alone, they averaged over 18,000 fans per game across all regular-season games, a WNBA record. The team also made the playoffs in their inaugural year and now stand on the brink of winning the championship in just their second season.
Written for “Golden State Valkyries WNBA Journey” on 2026-10-12,
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The Golden State Valkyries are headed to the WNBA Finals, but the franchise’s incredible story dates back to the 1990s.
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story → head → 1990s
Valkyries owner Joe Lacob had already attempted to back a professional women’s sports team before Golden State was added to the WNBA as an expansion franchise in 2025.
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State → attempt → 2025
The ABL folded two years later in 1998, but Lacob never gave up on owning a winning women’s basketball team.
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Lacob → fold → team
In 2014, Lacob publicly shared he was looking to bring a WNBA team to the Bay Area.
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he → share → Area
In 2023, San Francisco was awarded a WNBA expansion team that was set to begin play in 2025.
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that → award → 2025
Since its inception in 2025, the Valkyries have sold out every single regular-season home game.
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Valkyries → sell → game
That’s 44 consecutive sellouts at Chase Center, which was nicknamed Ballhalla for the Valkyries.
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which → ’ → Valkyries
In their first season, Golden State became the first team in WNBA history to average over 18,000 fans per game across a full season.
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State → become → season
The Valkyries also reached the playoffs in their inaugural season.
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Valkyries → reach → season
In their second year, the Valkyries swept the defending champions Las Vegas Aces in three games to reach the WNBA Finals.
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Valkyries → sweep → Finals
Unlike the Aces, the Valkyries built its team around a defense-first mindset.
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Valkyries → build → mindset
Las Vegas’ roster holds several All-Stars and MVP A’ja Wilson.
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roster → hold → Stars
The Valkyries chose not to focus on scoring superstars, but instead chose two-way players to help create a culture.
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Valkyries → choose → culture
The front office, the coaching staff and roster were all curated with a specific goal.
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office → curate → goal
Natalie Nakase spearheaded the vision for the Valkyries as the first head coach in franchise history.
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Nakase → spearhead → history
“How I create my team culture is choosing 12 players that have a very competitive mindset, who work extremely hard,” Nakase said at the start of her Valkyries tenure.
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Nakase → create → tenure
“The baseline is just being a great human being, you don’t always just think about yourself but you think about your teammates constantly.
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you → think → teammates
That’s pretty much going to be my motto is team over self with anything on or off the court.
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motto → go → court
Nakase joined the Valkyries with an impressive basketball resume.
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Nakase → join → resume
The former UCLA player spent three years as an assistant coach with the Aces, when Las Vegas won back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023.
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Vegas → spend → 2022
Prior to her three years with the Aces, Nakase spent 10 seasons in a player development role and as an assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers.
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Nakase → spend → Clippers
Nakase’s mindset has gotten the Valkyries to the biggest stage in women’s basketball.
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mindset → get → basketball
Winning has only been a piece of the puzzle for the Valkyries, an organization that has quickly established a true identity and community.
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that → establish → identity
The Valkyries are valued at $1 billion, making Golden State the first-ever billion dollar franchise in the history of women’s sports.
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State → value → sports
In his first Valkyries press conference, Lacob promised fans a WNBA championship in the first five years of the franchise.
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Lacob → promise → franchise
Golden State is four wins away from making good on that promise in just its second season.
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State → make → season
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