Since being hired as the Golden State Valkyries’ inaugural head coach, Natalie Nakase has been adamant that her team would be more competitive than expected. Nevertheless, the Valkyries were consistently ranked last in WNBA power rankings going into the season.
While making the playoffs will be a tall task and may not be in the Valkyries’ best long-term interest, the team has shown that it can be much more competitive than expected. After a rough season opener, the Valkyries got two significant wins over the Washington Mystics and the Los Angeles Sparks. The latter came on the back of youngsters Carla Leite and Janelle Salaün, as veterans Tiffany Haynes and Monique Billings missed the game.
The Valkyries were blessed with a relatively easy start to the season, but that advantage will soon go away with four games against the New York Liberty, Minnesota Lynx, and Phoenix Mercury coming up next. Still, the Valkyries showed plenty of encouraging things in their first three games of the season: good defense, improved chemistry, and competitiveness.
The Valkyries have a chance to greatly exceed expectations by potentially finishing ahead of a few teams in the standings.
The Connecticut Sun may be in for a rough season
After a disastrous offseason that saw the entire starting lineup depart, the Connecticut Sun are not in great shape right now. Connecticut started the season 0-3, losing to two contenders when they faced the Minnesota Lynx and Las Vegas Aces, and the youngest team in the WNBA. The team just doesn’t look ready for a successful season, and the Valkyries have a realistic chance of finishing ahead of the Sun in the 2025 standings.
The Dallas Wings are off to a slow start
The Dallas Wings look like a completely different team than they did last season and the start to the season hasn’t been pretty. Despite the arrival of UConn star Paige Bueckers, the Wings are currently 0-4 and still looking for the first win of the season. In their defense, the Lynx, Storm, and Dream are not easy opponents to start the season against.
Nevertheless, the Wings’ struggles early in the season are not necessarily an encouraging sign. The Wings may even be hoping for another lottery pick to put around Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale. If the Valkyries can build on the momentum of these first two wins and the Wings struggle to find success, the Valkyries could finish the season with a higher seed.
Things are not looking great in Chicago
The Chicago Sky made several big moves this offseason. They brought back Courtney Vandersloot, traded a lottery pick for Ariel Atkins, and signed Kia Nurse and Rebecca Allen in free agency. Those moves have not paid off yet as the Sky lost their first two games by a significant margin and were obviously no match for two very competitive teams.
The Sky still lack shooting and offense and Angel Reese struggled immensely against the New York Liberty. If those issues persist, the Sky may find themselves at the bottom of the standings again—perhaps even with a worse record than the Valkyries.