The Golden State Valkyries are headed to the WNBA Finals, but the franchise’s incredible story dates back to the 1990s.

Valkyries owner Joe Lacob had already attempted to back a professional women’s sports team before Golden State was added to the WNBA as an expansion franchise in 2025. Before the Valkyries and before the Warriors, Lacob’s first professional sports team was the San Jose Lasers of the American Basketball League in 1996.

The ABL folded two years later in 1998, but Lacob never gave up on owning a winning women’s basketball team.

In 2014, Lacob publicly shared he was looking to bring a WNBA team to the Bay Area. In 2023, San Francisco was awarded a WNBA expansion team that was set to begin play in 2025.

Enter the Valkyries.

Since its inception in 2025, the Valkyries have sold out every single regular-season home game. That’s 44 consecutive sellouts at Chase Center, which was nicknamed Ballhalla for the Valkyries.

In their first season, Golden State became the first team in WNBA history to average over 18,000 fans per game across a full season. The Valkyries also reached the playoffs in their inaugural season.

In their second year, the Valkyries swept the defending champions Las Vegas Aces in three games to reach the WNBA Finals.

Unlike the Aces, the Valkyries built its team around a defense-first mindset. Las Vegas’ roster holds several All-Stars and MVP A’ja Wilson. The Valkyries chose not to focus on scoring superstars, but instead chose two-way players to help create a culture.

Golden State was extremely calculated from the top down of the organization. The front office, the coaching staff and roster were all curated with a specific goal.

Natalie Nakase spearheaded the vision for the Valkyries as the first head coach in franchise history.

“How I create my team culture is choosing 12 players that have a very competitive mindset, who work extremely hard,” Nakase said at the start of her Valkyries tenure.

“The baseline is just being a great human being, you don’t always just think about yourself but you think about your teammates constantly. That’s pretty much going to be my motto is team over self with anything on or off the court.”

Nakase joined the Valkyries with an impressive basketball resume. The former UCLA player spent three years as an assistant coach with the Aces, when Las Vegas won back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023.

Prior to her three years with the Aces, Nakase spent 10 seasons in a player development role and as an assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers. 

Nakase’s mindset has gotten the Valkyries to the biggest stage in women’s basketball.

Winning has only been a piece of the puzzle for the Valkyries, an organization that has quickly established a true identity and community. The Valkyries are valued at $1 billion, making Golden State the first-ever billion dollar franchise in the history of women’s sports.

In his first Valkyries press conference, Lacob promised fans a WNBA championship in the first five years of the franchise.

Golden State is four wins away from making good on that promise in just its second season.