Going into the year, it was a question which direction the Golden State Valkyries would take in their inaugural season. There’s so much fun and hope and good vibes in times like this, but they are, irrevocably, an expansion team. Usually, that means a lot of losses. Usually, that means a roster not quite to the level of the rest of the league while the team starts filling out its foundation. It was going to be rough.
But how? Not how rough, but rough in what way? How clear was the vision from top to bottom? Ownership, management, coaching, players — is everyone on the same page? Is head coach Natalie Nakase ready to take charge? Can these players, all from around the league, coalesce in a way that resembles team basketball?
What about after next year? The hope is that every year after the first is better. Not to say a team's record will steadily improve on an upward trajectory forever, but you kind of want a debut season to be your low point. What direction are you planning to go? How do you plan to walk that path?
Valkyries look to veterans in first WNBA preseason game
Boom 💥 golden state Valkyries starting 5 vs the Los Angeles sparks ⚡️
— Golden State Valkyries Report (@valkyriesreport) May 7, 2025
Via: Valkyries ig pic.twitter.com/LChJQugJNV
That starting lineup is veteran after veteran after veteran. Kayla Thornton is in her 10th year. Veronica Burton is in her fourth year. Temi Fagbenle is in her fifth year. Monique Billings is in her eighth year. Tip Hayes is in her 13th year. When Veronica Burton is your least experienced player on the court, that's an experienced WNBA lineup.
This isn’t to say that these players dominated time of play, though. No one in the starting lineup played more than 20 minutes, and Kate Martin, Carla Leite, Julie Vanloo and Laeticia Amihere all had 15-plus minutes themselves. It was a very balanced approach from Nakase.
However, the message seemed to be clear. If you want to start, you’re going to have to win that spot from the more experienced person ahead of you. The Valkyries may not play a ton of meaningful basketball this year, but having these kinds of drives to develop might keep things pushing forward throughout the season. There could be some surprises.
And that’s also to say everything changes next year, when the CBA will be overhauled. TV rights money starts flowing in. We might see more player movement this offseason than in any offseason ever in the history of offseasons, and that includes all the offseasons on other planets that we don’t even know about yet!
Anyway, it’ll be interesting to watch the Valkyries starters going forward. Who will show out? (Go Carla)