With title aspirations in mind, Valkyries leaders lay out their vision for the future

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It’s been about 500 days since Joe Lacob and Ohemaa Nyanin teamed up to bring the WNBA to the Bay Area. The pair schemed. They built. And they brought their vision to life — 23 wins, a playoff berth, and a devoted fanbase to make a historic first year. 

Now, a week removed from the end of the Valkyries’ inaugural season, the two have yet to debrief. 

“I still haven’t had the opportunity to really assess what just happened,” Nyanin said during her exit interview on Tuesday. When asked about her goals for the offseason, she added: “I’m still in this season.”

Staying present and playing cards close to the vest was a hallmark of Golden State’s inaugural season, and a force behind its early success. Coach of the Year Natalie Nakase hammered a one-game-at-a-time mantra all summer. Nyanin’s sidestep response fits that mold. But make no mistake, as the architect of the team’s first ever roster, built from scratch, Nyanin understands exactly what’s on the horizon.

In the foreground, over 100 players — including 21 of this season’s 24 All-Stars — will head into unrestricted free agency this offseason. Looming in the background, a public mandate from Lacob to deliver a championship to San Francisco before 2030. In the league’s near-30 years, only one WNBA expansion team has earned a title in its first five years — Seattle did it in 2004 with its pair of now-Hall of Famers Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson. 

So, do the Valkyries want to acquire a franchise-defining star this offseason? If Lacob’s track record with the Warriors is any indication, the answer is yes. 

And Nyanin has pursued that kind of established, star-caliber name before. The Valkyries reportedly explored blockbuster moves in last year’s free agency cycle, but as marquee players settled into other destinations, she built Golden State’s roster through a mix of international talent, expansion draft selections, and mid-tier signings. 

Now, with one season in the books, one that vastly exceeded all external expectations, Nyanin sees validation in that formula. And she’s not rushing to abandon it — at least, publicly, not yet. 

“I don’t think about the face of the franchise,” she said. “Valkyries basketball has meant that on any given night, with any given roster, we can win basketball games.”

“The humility and the drive to win wasn’t held in any one person, which I think is a testament to the type of culture that coach Natalie and the rest of the staff built,” Nyanin continued. “Valkyries basketball isn’t just one human and that’s the type of philosophy we’re going with moving forward.” 

Even with Kayla Thornton’s half-season All-Star campaign and Veronica Burton’s journey to the WNBA Most Improved Player Award — she’s now off to play in Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 league — emerged as budding stars, the Valkyries’ depth and commitment to their on-court identity was undoubtedly the difference-maker in their surprise playoff run. In a season that Nakase admitted was “trial and error,” Golden State had 11 different players step up as a leading scorer in a game. For that level of adaptability, Nyanin gives her rookie head coach all the credit.

“All of the different iterations of the roster that I threw at her, she managed with grace,” Nyanin said. “Because she was her authentic self from day one, the athletes were able to trust in the process and be willing to listen to all the things that she had to say.”

Nakase, who typically dodges praise, pointed to the trust, unselfishness, and connectivity of her players.

“High character is the priority. And we didn’t miss,” Nakase reflected. “You’re trying to be the most connected team, and that’s usually when you see success.” 

Nyanin echoed that sentiment. She maintained that the appraisal of character will remain the driving focus, into 2026 and beyond. 

“We want great humans,” she said. “It’s really about making sure that we put the athletic ability of a person, who they are, and what they would mean to this community. The fan base has completely absorbed these athletes, so I don’t want to mess with that. And yes, we need to continue to win basketball games. So the balance of that, what does that look like? Who does that look like? Still hasn’t been determined.”

What has come into focus, though, is the Valkyries’ on-court identity. With a top-three defensive rating on one end and the most made three-pointers in the league on the other, the blueprint is clear: Nakase is building a relentless defensive culture that will connect to stretch the floor in their own halfcourt, too. 

A’ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, Gabby Williams, and Kelsey Mitchell are just a few among those to be unrestricted on the market. With those core concepts in place after year one, do they fit the kind of talent Nyanin and the Valkyries might target in free agency? Stars are always worth chasing. 

What about a proven defensive anchor or another elite three-point specialist — or better yet, a presence to round out their weaknesses?

That’s where the GM refuses to tip her hand. 

“Not necessarily going to get somebody who currently does what we did this past season, and plug them in,” Nyanin said. “But, really being thoughtful about the ecosystem that we’ve created, to see if they can be better.”

Nyanin spoke highly of the player development model implemented by Nakase and her staff. One that will soon be at work again, with the integration of the one expected 2026 addition known so far — the Valkyries’ 2025 fifth overall draft pick, Lithuanian guard Justė Jocytė. 

While Nyanin acknowledged that whether Jocytė makes an immediate impact in Nakase’s system “remains to be seen,” she simply hopes the 19-year-old EuroLeague talent can “evolve with the season,” like some of the other international talent who thrived with Golden State.

The team’s international core featured the French trio of Janelle Salaün, Carla Leite, and Iliana Rupert, plus Cecilia Zandalasini (Italy), and Temi Fagbenle (Great Britain). During the 2024 expansion draft, Nyanin made a clear statement of intent by selecting seven international players. Now, with new franchises entering the league — and Portland recently hiring Nyanin’s assistant Vanja Černivec for as its general manager — time will tell if this international-heavy approach is a one-off, or the beginning of a broader trend. 

Either way, Nyanin is pleased.

“The globalization of the sport is important,” she said. “The athletes that we got from the international arena were exactly what we needed in year one. But, I don’t think what we created internally can be replicated. I would be overjoyed to have more athletes from the international landscape come into the WNBA.” 

But of course, all of this — free agency buzz, roster speculation, even strategic courting of international players — hinges on the critical unknown: the WNBA and WNBPA’s next collective bargaining agreement. Until a new CBA is in place (the player’s union has opted out of the current CBA as its expiration is approaching on Oct. 31), movement around the league will remain paused. 

Even the framework for Portland and Toronto’s expansion drafts remains an uncertainty — Nakase alluded to awaiting the possibility of the rules diverging from the Valkyries’ expansion draft last year. Perhaps Golden State will receive some sort of exemption as a second-year team, or be granted an extra protected player in addition to last year’s six per team. 

So for now, the Valkyries can prepare, plan, position themselves — and maybe even get around to those post-season debriefs. But, the real action won’t begin until the CBA, and the model for the league’s future, is officially set.