The 2025 season has already been a massive success for the Valkyries. The WNBA’s newest franchise regularly sells out home games, already has an All-Star, and is competing for a playoff spot. With a 9-9 record, the Valkyries hold the sixth spot in the regular-season standings, ahead of even the Indiana Fever and Las Vegas Aces.
It seems that the Valkyries are set to make a playoff appearance in their inaugural season. Adding Iliana Rupert later this month will boost the team even further. Just making the playoffs would be a major success for the Valkyries. Winning a game would be the cherry on top. However, one persistent issue could slow the Valkyries down in the playoff race. Golden State struggles to win on the road.
The Valkyries have only won two road games all season long
The Valkyries are excellent at home. Chase Center is always filled with fans and explosive energy. That gives the Valkyries one of the best home-court advantages in the WNBA.
So far, the Valkyries have only lost three home games, falling to the Los Angeles Sparks in their season opener, and to the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty in June. Golden State has also gotten commanding wins over the Aces, Fever, and Storm at home.
On the road, Natalie Nakase’s squad hasn’t been quite as successful. After a 90-81 loss to the Atlanta Dream, the Valkyries have a 2-6 record on the road. The only team they beat away from Chase Center is the Sparks. They even fell to the struggling Dallas Wings.
The Valkyries’ struggles on the road could hurt them when it matters the most
While the Valkyries have held a playoff spot for most of the regular season, a trip to the postseason is far from guaranteed at this point in the season. The Fever and Aces will do anything in their power to turn things around and climb in the standings. The young Mystics are also hungry to make the playoffs, and the Sparks should aim for a playoff spot as well after trading their lottery pick for Kelsey Plum.
So, the Valkyries will have to win as many games as possible to secure a playoff spot. Consistently losing on the road is not the way to do that.
Struggling away from home will also hurt the Valkyries if they make the playoffs. While eight teams make the playoffs, only the top four seeds get home-court advantage in the first round. In previous years, the higher seed would host Games 1 and 2 in the first round. That has been changed, giving the higher seed home-court advantage in Games 1 and 3 instead. Nevertheless, the lower seed, which the Valkyries will likely be, will have to win on the road to have any hope of moving past the first round.
Landing a top-four seed would be a steep uphill climb for the Valkyries. All teams ahead of them in the standings have already won at least 12 games.