The Golden State Valkyries have been one of the great surprises of the 2025 season. Despite being an expansion team and having a roster filled with role players and rookies the Valkyries currently have a 7-7 record and sit firmly in the playoff picture. The team’s toughness and competitiveness have been especially impressive. Golden State battles every second of every game and never gives up.
That mentality led to impressive wins over Las Vegas, Seattle, and Indiana. It also led to close games against the Liberty (twice), Lynx, and Mercury. The Valkyries have proven that they can hang with even the best teams in the league. That is a major win for an expansion team in its first season.
However, underneath the thrill of exceeding expectations, the Valkyries are still quietly frustrated by those close games.
“We don’t really care about being close,” Kate Martin said after the Valkyries’ 81-78 loss to the New York Liberty. “We want to win, you know?”
The Valkyries have built a great culture
That comment further underlines how competitive and hungry the Valkyries are. They could be content with outperforming expectations and not being embarrassed by the top teams in the league. Instead, the Valkyries continue to raise the bar and challenge themselves. Seeing that attitude from a second-year player only solidifies the culture Natalie Nakase has built in the Bay Area.
Building a winning culture is the first step to finding major success as a franchise. The Valkyries’ owners have big plans for the team, hoping to win a title in the next five years. Nakase’s competitive culture will be the foundation for that and should help the Valkyries attract big-time free agents in the future.
Golden State loses another heartbreaker to New York
When the Golden State Valkyries faced the defending champions for the first time, they got demolished, suffering a 95-67 defeat. The team bounced back quickly and competed in an 82-77 loss two days later. They kept the improvement up, losing by fewer than ten points to the Lynx and Mercury in their next two games before beating the Aces, Sparks, and Storm.
The third time around, the Valkyries still couldn’t beat the Liberty. They lost by three points. With about thirty seconds left and the Valkyries down two, Tiffany Hayes tripped and was stripped by Sabrina Ionescu. The next time down the court, Kate Martin hit a massive, contested three to cut the Liberty’s lead to 78-77. With only 11 seconds left in the game, the Valkyries had to send Ionescu to the line. Kayla Thornton got a good look to tie the game but missed the three. Rebekah Gardner fouled Veronica Burton on the rebound, giving the Valkyries another chance. Martin was forced to take a tough three and missed it.
It was a disappointing loss for a team that had battled so hard to keep the score close and not let the Liberty get an easy victory.