From opponents to teammates: Tiffany Hayes and Kayla Thornton are already off to a great start.
Hayes and Thornton are both in the Bay Area for NBA All Star 2025, where Thornton is playing in tonight's Celebrity All Star Game and Hayes will be joining teammate Kate Martin at a filming of the "A Touch More" podcast with Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe. But before the two got down to business, they had something just as important to attend to: recording the first TikTok in the Valkyries' locker room.
Thornton arrived in the Bay Area Thursday and promptly began sharing plenty of content online. In one video shared on Twitter she said, "What's up Valkyries fans? It's Kayla Thornton, number five, reporting live from our new locker room."
"I'm excited to be here," she continued. "I can't wait to get on the floor to show y'all what we're going to do this year. Come out and support."
The team also shared video of Thornton getting shots up for the first time in the Valkyries' brand-new practice facility.
In September the Valkyries announced plans for two state-of-the-art facilities: the practice gym in Oakland and the Valkyries Locker Room at Chase Center in San Francisco, where they'll host home games. The practice gym officially opened earlier this month.
"The Valkyries Performance Center is a testament to our vision of building a championship culture in the Bay Area," said Valkyries General Manager Ohemaa Nyanin in a statement. "The state-of-the-art amenities and central location are key in the development of elite talent, and allows us to deepen our roots in the Oakland community."
The Valkyries Performance Center boasts 31,800 square feet of basketball heaven
The team's practice facility boasts 31,800 square feet of performance space, which includes two full-size basketball courts and 17 rims. The Valkyries were able to take over the space previousedly used by the Golden State Warriors from 1997-2019 and make it their own.
"Having a dedicated space of this caliber is crucial for our team's development," Valkyries Head Coach Natalie Nakase also said. "This facility gives our athletes everything they need to train, recover, and prepare at the highest level, in an environment that will foster growth and team chemistry."
The facility will also be the home for basketball camps and training programs for children in the Oakland community. Those programs will include intensive clinics that will serve to strengthen "the franchise's committment to the Oakland community."
The Valkyries' inaugural season tips off on May 16 — which gives the rest of the team plenty of time to come up with their own social media content and to give fans even more glimpses of what's to come.