2026 Golden State Valkyries season
Second season of the Golden State Valkyries
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The 2026 Golden State Valkyries season will be the franchise's second season in the Women's National Basketball Association and second under head coach Natalie Nakase.
| 2026 Golden State Valkyries season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Natalie Nakase |
| Arena | Chase Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 26–11 (.703) |
| Place | 0th (Western) |
|
2027 → | |
Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Club | Outcome | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Flau'jae Johnson | G |  United States |
LSU | Traded to Seattle Storm, in exchange for  Marta Suárez (No. 16) and a 2028 second-round pick |
[1][2] |
| 2 | 23 | Ashlon Jackson | G | United States |
Duke | Waived on May 2, 2026 | [3][4] |
| 3 | 38 | Kokoro Tanaka | G |  Japan |
Eneos Sunflowers (W League) |
TBA | [5] |
Transactions
Front office and coaching
| Date | Details | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| January 22, 2026 | Hired Denise Romero as Vice President of Basketball Operations | [6] |
Free agency
Re-signed / extensions
| Player | Date | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
 Veronica Burton |
April 11, 2026 | Three-year deal | [7] |
 Iliana Rupert |
April 12, 2026 | Multi-year contract | [8] |
| Janelle Salaün | |||
 Cecilia Zandalasini |
One-year deal | ||
| Kayla Thornton |
April 13, 2026 | One-year contract | [9] |
Additions
| Player | Date | Notes | Former Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabby Williams |
April 12, 2026 | Multi-year deal | Seattle Storm | [10][11] |
 Justė Jocytė |
Rookie contract activated (Unsigned 2025 draft pick – No. 5) |
Uni Girona CB (LF) |
[8] | |
 Mariella Fasoula |
Training camp contract |  Beşiktaş(Turkish Super League) |
[12] | |
| Kiah Stokes |
April 13, 2026 | Multi-year deal | Las Vegas Aces | [13] |
 Miela Sowah |
May 6, 2026 | Player Development contract | Townsville Fire (WNBL) |
[14] |
| Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda |
May 8, 2026 | Replacement contract | Vanderbilt | [15] |
Subtractions / unsigned
| Player | Date | Reason | New Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashlon Jackson |
May 2, 2026 | Waived | Connecticut Sun | [16][17] |
| Marta Suárez |
Phoenix Mercury | [16][18][19] | ||
| Mariella Fasoula |
Toronto Tempo | [16][20] | ||
| Carla Leite |
April 3, 2026 | 2026 WNBA expansion draft | Portland Fire (Selected 2026 expansion draft pick – No. 3) |
[21][22] |
| María Conde |
Toronto Tempo (Selected 2026 expansion draft pick – No. 13) |
[23] | ||
| Monique Billings |
April 11, 2026 | Free agency | Indiana Fever | [24] |
 Temi Fagbenle |
April 14, 2026 | Toronto Tempo | [25] | |
| Kate Martin |
May 7, 2026 | Waived | Los Angeles Sparks | [26][27][28][29] |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
WNBA roster page | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Depth chart
Schedule
Preseason
Golden State played one preseason game this year at the Chase Center.[30][31]
| 2026 pre-season game log Total: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0) | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
| ||||||||||||||||||
| 2026 pre-season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
| 2026 game log Total: 27–11 (Home: 15–5; Road: 12–6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May: 5–3 (Home: 3–2; Road: 2–1)
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June
: 8–4 (Home: 7–1; Road: 1–3)
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July
: 6–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 5–1)
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August: 8–2 (Home: 4–1; Road: 4–1)
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September
: 0–0 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–0)
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| 2026 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes:
- Games highlighted in represent Commissioner's Cup games.
Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x — Minnesota Lynx | 31 | 8 | .795 | – | 20–3 | 14–6 | 17–2 | 6–1 |
| 2 | x — Golden State Valkyries | 27 | 11 | .711 | 3.5 | 11–7 | 15–5 | 12–6 | 5–2 |
| 3 | x — Las Vegas Aces | 26 | 13 | .667 | 5 | 13–6 | 12–7 | 14–6 | 6–1 |
| 4 | x — Atlanta Dream | 25 | 13 | .658 | 5.5 | 11–5 | 12–6 | 13–7 | 4–2 |
| 5 | x — Indiana Fever | 25 | 14 | .641 | 6 | 12–5 | 13–6 | 12–8 | 5–1 |
| 6 | cx – New York Liberty | 23 | 15 | .605 | 7.5 | 11–5 | 13–5 | 10–10 | 6–0 |
| 7 | x — Washington Mystics | 23 | 15 | .605 | 7.5 | 11–5 | 13–7 | 10–8 | 3–3 |
| 8 | x — Dallas Wings | 23 | 16 | .590 | 8 | 10–9 | 13–6 | 10–10 | 4–3 |
| 9 | e — Portland Fire | 15 | 23 | .395 | 15.5 | 6–12 | 8–11 | 7–12 | 2–5 |
| 10 | e — Chicago Sky | 15 | 24 | .385 | 16 | 3–12 | 10–10 | 5–14 | 1–5 |
| 11 | e — Los Angeles Sparks | 13 | 25 | .342 | 17.5 | 7–11 | 6–13 | 7–12 | 3–4 |
| 12 | e — Phoenix Mercury | 13 | 25 | .342 | 17.5 | 8–11 | 5–13 | 8–12 | 2–5 |
| 13 | e — Toronto Tempo | 11 | 27 | .289 | 19.5 | 5–11 | 7–13 | 4–14 | 2–4 |
| 14 | e — Connecticut Sun | 10 | 28 | .263 | 20.5 | 3–13 | 7–13 | 3–15 | 0–6 |
| 15 | e — Seattle Storm | 8 | 31 | .205 | 23 | 1–17 | 6–13 | 2–18 | 0–7 |
Notes
- (#) – League Standing
- c – Commissioner's Cup winner
- y – Regular season champion
- x – Clinched playoff berth
- e – Eliminated from playoff contention
- Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings