By Nathan Frandino
OAKLAND (Reuters) – The Golden State Valkyries hope to build on a blockbuster year for the WNBA in their debut season, with the newest expansion team hitting the court amid the league’s surge in popularity.
The Valkyries will tip off in May after a pivotal 2024 regular season for the WNBA, its most watched in 24 years, with attendances hitting their highest level in 22 years, averaging 9,807 fans per game compared to 6,615 in 2023.
Head coach Natalie Nakase said last year’s boom brings additional motivation to the team and the league as a whole.
“It challenges everyone in the W to always increase their game,” Nakase told Reuters at a training session in Oakland.
“Because now with the exposure, obviously it’s just kind of human nature, it’s like, okay, now if we get a little more attention, I want to up my game.”
The Valkyries are the first new franchise since 2008, after long-standing calls from fans to expand, and it is the first in a wave of three new teams joining the league. Toronto and Portland will each have teams debut next season.
The expansion comes as women’s sports across the board produce record revenue. Last year global revenues reached $1.88 billion and this year are projected to reach at least $2.35 billion, according to Deloitte.
“We’re ready to kind of like prove the world’s right in that expansion teams and investing in women, both financially and our core product, can be successful,” said the Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin.
TALENTED ROOKIES
Part of last year’s surge in exposure for the WNBA came from a talented rookie class that included Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, who have famously played against each other since their teenage days.
The Indiana Fever, where Clark plays, set a WNBA single-game attendance record of 20,711 when they played the Washington Mystics. It was one of three games to draw at least 20,000 fans, according to the WNBA.
“They bring a lot of attention to this league and we love it,” said veteran guard Tiffany Hayes, who signed with the Valkyries as a free agent.
“We’ve been here putting in the work. So if they want to bring the eyes and we get here, to be here doing our thing, then it’s cool.”
Although the team are still finalizing their roster and some players have yet to arrive for April’s training camp, Hayes and teammates Kayla Thornton and Veronica Burton have already started practicing at the team’s facility in downtown Oakland.
Thornton won a WNBA championship with the New York Liberty last year. The forward said she was excited to bring that experience and mentality to a new team.
“The ultimate goal is to win a championship but, most importantly, to build the culture the right way, to get better, to find a foundation, to find something that gathers us together and to build off of that,” added Thornton.
The WNBA regular season begins on May 16.
(Reporting by Nathan Frandino in Oakland, California, additional reporting by Jeffrey Kopp; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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