Are the expansion Valkyries too good too soon? Let the overreaction begin

San Francisco Chronicle​

25-05-2025

Oh no! Are the Golden State Valkyries winning too much?
OK, that's probably an overreaction to the infant Valkyries' two-game win streak. But overreaction is what we do in sports, or haven't you heard that the San Francisco Giants will never win at hitter-unfriendly Oracle Park, that the Warriors ' Jimmy Butler trade was a bust because he didn't take them to the Western Conference finals and that the 49ers should have signed Sam Darnold rather than overpay Brock Purdy? Overreaction is the sports world's lifeblood and the Valkyries are now a part of bigtime sports.
There's actually a small kernel of truth in the overreaction to the Valkyries' surprising 2-1 start. Expansion teams are supposed to be lousy. The WNBA's last expansion team, the Atlanta Dream who entered the league in 2008, started 0-17 on their way to a 4-30 record. The Valkyries got halfway there just a week into their first season.
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In the minds of many observers, expansion teams should be lousy. The best way to build a team is with high draft picks. The WNBA didn't do the Valkyries any favors in how it set up the draft this year, giving the expansion team the No. 5 pick, while Dallas — with the first pick — landed Paige Bueckers, who is expected to be the face of the franchise for years to come.
Future drafts will be key. A top draft choice will be coveted. Next spring, the top prospects are expected to be UCLA's Lauren Betts and UConn's Azzi Fudd. The biggest prize could be USC's Juju Watkins, though that could only happen if two things occur: league rules change that would allow her to become draft eligible and if she then decides to come out of school just a year after tearing her ACL.
Winning too much in their first season would likely take the Valkyries out of the equation for any of those potentially franchise-changing rookies. The early assumption has been that the Valkyries would lose a lot and vie with the likes of the Connecticut Sun for the top 2026 draft choice.
'I don't think you should ever assume in sports,' coach Natalie Nakase said before the season began. 'Someone's going to lose, someone's going to win. That's the beauty of sports. So go ahead and doubt us.'
Nakase clearly wants to win every time her team steps on the floor. She isn't going into games thinking about the tantalizing prospect of Watkins potentially becoming draft eligible. Under current WNBA rules, Watkins isn't eligible until 2027. In addition, because her ACL injury came during the NCAA Tournament, meaning that Watkins will miss almost the entirety of next season rehabbing, many believe she would return to USC for the 2026-27 season even if draft rules change under the forthcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Nakase wants to build a winning culture now, not at some vague point in the future. And, because of the historic turning point the WNBA will find itself in next offseason, Nakase's instincts are correct.
Because of the new CBA, currently being negotiated and set to begin next season, almost every WNBA player will become a free agent in the offseason. That means the Valkyries will have the opportunity to land a franchise-defining player even without the top pick in the draft.
The Valkyries will have the financial resources, team facilities and game-day environment to attract a big name. If they also have built what looks to be a winning culture with a coach who can get the best out of her players, that will make the Valkyries an even more attractive landing spot for established stars.
All of this overreaction to the infant Valkyries' first successful baby steps may become a moot point in the coming week. The Valkyries fly east to play two games in New York, taking on the defending-champion and undefeated New York Liberty at Barclays Center. Then the Valkyries return to Chase Center to play the team the Liberty defeated in the last fall's finals, the Minnesota Lynx, who are also off to an undefeated start to the season.
After starting the season with three games against soft opponents (the Sparks and the Mystics were among the league's worst last season), the Valkyries' schedule is about to get a lot harder.
But the excitement over what the Valkyries have accomplished in these early days is real. Coming together with less than a month of practice, just starting to get to know each other on and off the court, the Valkyries came from behind for their first ever win beating the Mystics at home, then dominated a Sparks team that had beaten them in the season opener, for their first road win. In that game in Los Angeles, the Valkyries found a French connection with Janelle Salaün and Carla Leite, who combined for 37 points.
The Valkyries excitement is real. And that is not an overreaction.