The Golden State Valkyries are in the WNBA Finals in just their second season. They beat the defending champion Las Vegas Aces 87-77 in overtime Friday to finish a 3-0 semifinal sweep, as reported by CBS Sports. The Los Angeles Times called them the quickest expansion team ever to reach the Finals.
Gabby Williams led the way in the series at 20.3 points per game, with Kayla Thornton at 14 and Tiffany Hayes at 11.7. The offense wasn’t always pretty (39.8% shooting in the series), but the defense carried them like it has all year. CBS points to a 99.1 defensive rating that ranks among the best in league history.
The IAHHM Take
This run is wild when you zoom out. The franchise was introduced on Oct. 5, 2023, as the WNBA’s first expansion team in more than a decade. Owner Joe Lacob said at the time, “We will win a WNBA championship in the first five years of this franchise.” People laughed. Nobody’s laughing now.
Year one, they won 21 games, an expansion record, and became the first expansion team to make the playoffs in its debut season. Year two, they went 32-10, grabbed the No. 2 seed, and just took out A’ja Wilson and the champs. Head coach Natalie Nakase built an identity fast: defend, share it, keep coming.
The Bay Area already knows what a dynasty looks like after watching the Warriors (and the Dubs are still at it, as we covered with Steve Kerr’s rookie). Now the Valkyries get Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream, a franchise chasing its first title too, with the Finals starting Oct. 17.
Two hungry teams, no title between them. Who you got: the new kids from the Bay or the A? Sound off.
Source: CBS Sports | Los Angeles Times
