No matter how the 2025 season ends, the Golden State Valkyries have enjoyed a tremendous inaugural season. The team has not merely defied the expectations others place on them — the Valkyries have demolished, destroyed, and decimated those expectations. The team is currently ranked fourth in the Western Conference and sixth overall and has a legitimate shot at making the playoffs and doing a lot of damage.
It's easy to look at this year's successes and decide the Valkyries should be the model for the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire, as well as for future expansion teams in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. And in some ways, yes: hopefully those teams will invest in their athletes and coaching staff the way Joe Lacob has. In fact, that's something a few teams currently in the WNBA should be doing more of, too.
But: the Valkyries shouldn't be anyone's total blueprint because it's not going to ever be possible to completely replicate what they've managed to do in one season — and new teams coming in the WNBA shouldn't event want to. One thing the Valkyries got right was deciding to invest in team and fan culture from the very beginning, a dual effort that has paid off.
Golden State has sold out every home game this season in part because visiting Ballhalla is, frankly, a lot of fun. It's clear the players on the team all actually really enjoy playing basketball together, and it's abundantly obvious Coach Nakase and her staff respect one another and the game of basketball. Whenever possible, the Valkyries have forged their own path without looking to what has or hasn't worked for expansion teams in the past, and that's exactly what the Tempo, the Fire, and the rest of the newcomers should do, too.
The future of the WNBA is big and it's bright: by 2030 there will be at least 18 teams in the league ("at least" because... you never know), a pretty spectacular fact and a reality the league, its players and coaches, its fans all deserve.
As the WNBA continues to grow and evolve, it will be imperative for teams to focus on their individual cultures over simply replicating something that worked for someone else. It's worth noting that other teams in the league who are struggling this season or experiencing unpredictable disruptions — the Fever, Sky, and Wings all spring to mind — are still bringing in massive crowds, game after game, because fans actually enjoy the team whether they're winning, losing, or crashing out.
If anything, maybe that's the true takeaway from Golden State's incredible first season: investing in team culture, team pride, and in what makes a team different from another is a crucial building block for any WNBA franchise that wants to survive and thrive. The Tempo, Fire, and other expansion teams shouldn't look to repeat anything Golden State has pulled off