Valkyries’ Breakthrough Season comes to an End

Ballhalla isn’t a place—it’s a feeling. And on Wednesday night, that feeling filled SAP Center.

Forced from their usual home by a scheduling conflict with the Laver Cup, the Golden State Valkyries staged their first-ever WNBA playoff home game inside the San Jose Sharks’ arena. The change of venue did little to dull the moment. The building sold out. Violet T-shirts flooded the stands. The same electric roar that had defined Chase Center all season followed the Valkyries south.

For three quarters, it worked.

Golden State fed off the energy, pushing the WNBA’s top-seeded Minnesota Lynx to the brink. After a 29-point loss in Game 1, the Valkyries needed something extra—something unmistakably theirs. They found it in the crowd, in the pace, and in the belief that had fueled a remarkable inaugural season.

The Valkyries didn’t just make the playoffs in Year 1—they announced themselves. They earned respect, captured attention, and injected fresh life into the Bay Area sports scene and the WNBA at large. This run felt like the beginning of something lasting.

It nearly became something unforgettable.

But championship teams respond when their backs are pressed, and Minnesota did exactly that. The Lynx opened the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run, erasing momentum and introducing Golden State to the unforgiving reality of playoff basketball. What had been a commanding 17-point Valkyries lead vanished under relentless pressure.

When the final buzzer sounded, Golden State’s dream season ended in heartbreak—a 75-74 loss that sealed their elimination.

The ending stung. But the message of the season was clear: the Valkyries have arrived. And Ballhalla, wherever it lives next, isn’t going anywhere.