Considering that it is just their second season of existence, the Golden State Valkyries are remarkably close to their first WNBA championship. They are currently up 1-0 on the Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals. Eliminating the Aces and then defeating either the New York Liberty or Atlanta Dream in the finals is a tall task. But it’s not impossible.
If the Valkyries won a title this season or at least got to the finals and made it a close contest, it would set a new precedent for what it takes to build a championship contender.
Gabby Williams is playing like a star, but she is not a top player of all time, like A’ja Wilson or Breanna Stewart. Moreover, the Valkyries aren’t built around a big three. They are deep, defensive-minded, and run an egalitarian offense. One day, it’s Williams, Veronica Burton, and Cecilia Zandalasini who win the Valkyries a game. The next day, third-round pick Kaitlyn Chen closes a semifinal game against the defending champions over Burton, and an undrafted rookie who played four minutes in the regular season gets on the court to defend A’ja Wilson.
That’s not how championship contenders are usually constructed—it’s definitely not how the Aces, Liberty, and Dream are constructed this season. Star power is everything for those teams, and the Aces and Dream have a concerning lack of depth. But that could change. Depending on how far the Valkyries go, other teams—especially expansion franchises—will look at them and wonder if they can replicate their formula by leaning into quality role players and depth over stifling star power.
Previous championship teams have been built around superstars
Every championship in this decade has been won by a team that was led by a superstar, one of the best players to ever play in the WNBA, with a strong host of co-stars—sometimes at the cost of quality depth.
The 2020 Seattle Storm had Breanna Stewart, as well as Jewell Loyd and Sue Bird, and quality role players in Alysha Clark, Jordin Canada, Sami Whitcomb, and Natasha Howard. The Chicago Sky won the 2021 title by surrounding Candace Parker with Kahleah Copper, Allie Quigley, and Courtney Vandersloot.
The Aces then won titles in 2022, 2023, and 2025, led by A’ja Wilson, who is on track to win her fifth MVP. She was surrounded by Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray for all of them, as well as Kelsey Plum for the first two titles and Jewell Loyd for the most recent one. The only team to win a title since Wilson and the Aces rose to prominence is New York, led by Stewart and her co-stars Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu.
That has been the formula for a championship-contending team. The Valkyries did not follow that formula—partly because they couldn’t, and partly because they trust the players they have been able to bring in.
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