The WNBA is in a great place right now. The league’s popularity has skyrocketed, and commissioner Cathy Engelbert finally felt it was the right time for an expansion. The Golden State Valkyries are the first expansion team to join the league since 2008, and will soon be followed by the Toronto Tempo and a team in Portland. After that, a sixteenth team is expected to be added by 2028.
Despite playing only two preseason games, the Golden State Valkyries have already amassed a sizeable fan base. Their first preseason game against the Los Angeles Sparks already drew 17,428 fans to Chase Center. Attendance should be even higher during the regular season, especially considering the Valkyries’ season ticket sales. The tickets sold out quickly and the Valkyries immediately set a league record. That is not the only remarkable thing about the Valkyries’ season ticket sales, though.
“They have more season ticket holders than any team in the history of the WNBA,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said when she appeared on The Bill Simmons Podcast. “And what’s really interesting, Bill, and this tells you about the W, less than five percent of those season ticket holders are Golden State Warriors season ticket holders.”
The Valkyries already have their very own fan base
The Golden State Valkyries have not yet had a chance to win over fans during regular-season games. They also don’t have a clear-cut star or face of the franchise yet, and many of their most notable players are not very well known among fans in the U.S.. Janelle Salaün, Carla Leite, and Juste Jocyte, who will join the team next year, are some of the best young talents on the Valkyries’ roster, and all of them played exclusively in Europe until now.
So, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see the Valkyries attract a lot of Golden State Warriors fans at first. Buying season tickets to the Valkyries’ games would be an easy way for basketball fans in the Bay Area to see almost year-round action at Chase Center.
That is not the case, though. Even in their first season, the Valkyries didn’t need to borrow fans from the Warriors to sell tons of tickets. They have already attracted their very own fan base, and that only speaks further to the great place the league is in right now.
The WNBA has its own dedicated fan base and, maybe contrary to popular belief, doesn’t have to rely on NBA fans looking for something to do during the offseason.
The 2025 season is expected to build on last season’s record-breaking viewership and attendance numbers. The Valkyries will be a big part of that.