It is too early to tell how well the Golden State Valkyries will perform in their debut season in the WNBA. The league's 13th expansion franchise may struggle in its first campaign, but the organization is receiving compliments nonetheless. Veteran forward Monique Billings even called the Valkyries "one of the best organizations" she has played for in her WNBA career.
"It's a blessing. From the top down, they're really just taking care of everything," Billings said, via Matt Lively of CBS News Bay Area. "Making sure we feel like pros. One of the best organizations I've been in and it's only been a couple weeks technically. But all I have to do is worry about being a basketball player, everything else that I need is here. They provide that for us. So I'm really grateful for that."
Billings' praise is a great look for the new franchise. Sometimes, expansion teams take a while to settle in in various elements of the process. Winning almost always requires patience, but expansion franchises also are not always on top of keeping their players content and happy.
Golden State is seemingly not struggling in that area by any means. Billings is pleased with how things have gone so far.
"I would say this is the best program I've been with just because, like I said, the resources," Billings added. "They want to make sure that we have everything we need to be successful basketball players. That's the main thing. I'm not having to worry about food after practice or recovery or just resources. Everything is here. All I need to do is be the best version of me. So that makes my job easy."
It would be different if it was a rookie making these claims. However, Billings has spent time with three different WNBA teams in her career (Atlanta Dream, Dallas Wings and Phoenix Mercury). She understands what a good organization looks like, and apparently Golden State meets her standards.
Fans are excited to watch the Valkyries make their debut in the WNBA. The Valkyries will play two preseason games against the Los Angeles Sparks and Phoenix Mercury on May 6 and May 11. Golden State's first regular season game in franchise history is scheduled for May 16 against the Sparks. The Valkyries will open their season at home, which will certainly excite women's basketball fans in the Bay Area.