The Golden State Valkyries and the expansion teams that will come out of Toronto, Portland, and beyond are a positive sign of growth for the WNBA, New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu said in an interview with Atleta Filipina on Friday.
Ionescu, who is currently on an international tour in the Philippines, spoke openly to reporters about the impact the Valkyries will have this season and, hopefully, for many seasons to come. Expansion teams are a "huge" part of what will keep the WNBA strong and growth-oriented, she said.
"Being able to see more teams and communities and, to be honest, if I think you'd have to ask me where we are in five years, I'd have no idea," she added. Ionescu added that it's clear to everyone the WNBA is "going up" and that being part of the group of athletes who have given birth to this era of women's basketball is "super inspiring to me, knowing that's always the goal when you're playing."
Ionescu also said that when she was a kid, it was difficult to even find WNBA games to watch on TV, something that has completely changed in recent years. The 27-year-old explained, "Growing up, the WNBA wasn't on TV. That's not something I watched, and I think now you're able to see a lot of these next generation of athletes who can go to games, who can watch, who can see us have signature shoes, who can see us come on Asia tours and being able to impact the next generation and think about those young kids and girls who are going to grow up and that's all they know."
The Golden State Valkyries have "unlimited resources" for success
Another major change for WNBA teams like the Valkyries is that team owners are more willing than ever before to invest in their teams the right way. The Valkyries are owned by Joe Lacob, who also owns the Golden State Warriors and knows what it takes to win.
While unveiling the team's state-of-the-art facilities in February, Lacob told ESPN he can provide the Valkyries with "unlimited resources" to achieve his oft-stated goal of a championship within the team's first five years — but even that might not be enough.
"We are a startup. We have no players that we are starting with, so I think that in itself, not to mention we're the first expansion team since 2008, it is challenging," Lacob said.
Golden State will build "from the ground up"
That's a challenge that Coach Nakase and GM Nyanin are more than willing to meet. We have put our best foot forward to talk to athletes and tell our story about where we are and where we're going," she told ESPN at the same event. "We are building from the ground up and we want them here. But we only want them here if they want to be here."