SAN FRANCISCO -- Still sporting his lavender "Ballhalla" shirt, Joe Lacob stood in the tunnel behind the Chase Center court late on Saturday afternoon, rehashing an extremely physical and competitive Game 1 of the 2026 WNBA Finals. "We didn't play well," the Golden State Valkyries owner was overheard saying. But he wasn't lamenting a loss.
He was celebrating his team's 68-64 comeback win over the Atlanta Dream. The Valkyries fell behind on the opening possession, trailed by nine early and again by seven in the fourth quarter. They led for just six minutes and four seconds all day, and shot 32.1%, which was the third-worst field goal percentage in a Finals win in league history.
By any objective measure, they did not play well – certainly not on the offensive end. But one of the Valkyries' many mystical qualities is that they don't have to play well in order to win. "Whatever happens, this team is gonna find a way," Gabby Williams said.
The Valkyries found a way Saturday in quintessential fashion by leaning on their depth, defense and deafening home-court advantage. The pre-game experience at Ballhalla is unique. Not just because of the noise or the light show or the hype video depicting Norse warriors doing battle.
When it's time for player introductions, the voice echoing around the arena makes no mention of starters. Rather, "it's time to meet the first five." The Valkyries have "strength in numbers," coach Natalie Nakase said, echoing the mantra that Steve Kerr made famous during the Golden State Warriors' run to the 2015 NBA championship. (Kerr was in attendance Saturday, along with a number of Warriors players.) The Valkyries' "first five" is just that. Whenever they check out, a new wave enters.
Nakase went with a 10-player rotation in Game 1; many teams don't go that deep in the regular season. Only two Valkyries players reached 30 minutes, and one of them was Kaila Charles, who came off the bench to put up seven points, a team-high 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. She had a huge 3-pointer late in the third quarter, and an even bigger steal and layup in the middle of the fourth to end a two-minute scoring drought.
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