It took Tiffany Hayes 14 seasons and five months of retirement to finally win a WNBA championship. When she stood in front of the Golden State Valkyries’ crowd in Ballhalla with her championship shirt and hat on, the veteran said, “This is just what happens when you invest in women’s sports.”
That is true on a league-wide level—and not just in the WNBA, but in every women’s sports league. This is the first time the WNBA Finals were a best-of-seven series and actually went to that big Game 7. Both the Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream packed the stands for every single game, and their games continuously set TV viewership records. None of that would be possible without players who stuck out the rough years of obscurity and people finally realizing that investing in women’s sports is very much worth it.
It is also very true from a team-building standpoint. Joe Lacob invested in the Valkyries right from the start. He provided modern facilities, an appropriate arena, and an infrastructure that allowed Ohemaa Nyanin and Natalie Nakase to make the most of their opportunity to build a team from the ground up. He turned the team into the most valuable WNBA franchise in the blink of an eye. Lacob was also reportedly involved in the efforts to have the Dream’s home games during the finals moved to a more appropriate arena than their usual 3,500-seat venue. Having an owner who truly cares about the team’s success and its players matters.
The rest of the WNBA has to keep up because the best players in the world have no reason to play for franchises that aren’t prepared for the moment. Investing the money players need and deserve to play their best is not optional anymore—at least not if you want to win.
The Valkyries are the blueprint for the perfect league expansion
The Valkyries did everything right when it came to expansion. Lacob was prepared for the WNBA’s rise and came ready with a practice facility and a big arena that other teams are still scrambling to provide.
Nakase established an identity right from the start, and she and Nyanin were able to identify the right players to play in that system. They perfected building around other teams’ castoffs. Kaila Charles didn’t even have a full WNBA contract last season. This year, she started finals games for the new champions. Veronica Burton was almost out of the league a few years ago and is now one of the faces of the franchise.
Other expansion teams may not be able to replicate the Valkyries’ lightning-quick on-court success—winning a championship in just your second season is crazy—but they can look at everything Lacob, Nyanin, and everyone else did behind the scenes and learn. So can many already existing teams trying to create a championship environment.
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