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So negotiating a greater share of that increasing revenue is important. But the even greater area of growth for WNBA teams has been in their valuations, which exploded by 180 percent just since last year and possibly as much as 82 percent annually each year since 2021. Likewise, the league’s $250 million expansion fee for the new crop of teams joining the WNBA in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia is a 124 percent annualized increase over what the Golden State Valkyries paid ($50 million) in 2023. These increases in valuation, implied or estimated, are even greater than increases in short-term league revenue projections, which is why the players are even more miffed about the frictions in their negotiations — and why they talk about wanting a piece of the league’s asset growth, not just its revenue growth (as the traditional sports-league model has long held). “It’s interesting that there’s a $250 million expansion fee, and there’s no openness to have that be reflected in revenue share that goes to the players, especially as we’re experiencing growth,” Ogwumike said to the Associated Press before the All-Star festivities in Indianapolis. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but we’re hoping we can get some clarity on that in Indiana.”
Future WNBA franchise overall rankings: 1. Indiana: The Fever hold a slight edge in this exercise over the league’s other 12 teams. The duo of Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston lift Indiana to the No. 1 ranking in the player category (our most heavily-weighted section), and the Fever don’t rank lower than eighth in any of the four other categories. A new facility in 2027 should only make Indiana a more desirable place to play. 2. Golden State: It’s hard to imagine a better first half of the 2025 season for the Valkyries. They are hovering around .500 at the All-Star break, while leading the league in home attendance. Owner Joe Lacob wants Golden State to win a title in the next five years, and that goal doesn’t seem too lofty in reality. The Valkyries already have proven their front office is strong, and it’s coupled with an ownership group willing to invest. Their roster is deep, with a number of high-potential young players and facilities that will help them become one of the league’s most appealing teams.
After receiving 11 bids, the WNBA chose Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia as its next three expansion teams, with all three teams backed by owners of the NBA teams in those cities. The owners of the three WNBA expansion teams preceding these—the Golden State Valkyries, the Toronto Tempo and Portland—also have NBA ties. Last September, Allen & Co. was hired by the league to lead the expansion process. “If there are NBA owners in the back room saying, ‘Hey, when am I getting my team?’ I think Adam [Silver] is probably listening,” Austin expansion backer Fran Harris, an entrepreneur and former WNBA player, told Sportico in a phone interview. “It’s hard to tell a billionaire with a thriving NBA team and operation that they can’t run it back with a W team. It’s hard to look at them and just go, ‘I don’t think you’re right.’”
Ohm Youngmisuk: Steve Kerr and Doc Rivers are sitting courtside for Valkyries opener. Doc is here to support Golden State coach Natalie Nakase, who was an assistant under Doc and Ty Lue with the Clippers.
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Ohm Youngmisuk: Several Warriors players and Steve Kerr are expected to attend the inaugural Valkyries game tonight at Chase Center. Steph Curry, unfortunately, had to cancel due to a last-minute personal matter.
Sports Media Watch: NBA will not adjust Finals schedule in the event that both GS-MIN and WCF both go seven games. Because of GS Valkyries home opener, GS-MIN could go as late as May 20 (original start date for WCF), pushing a potential WCF Game 7 to as late as June 3. Finals starts June 5.
Most mock drafts now place Sellers as the No. 4 or No. 5 pick, which would send her to the Washington Mystics or expansion Golden State Valkyries. Still, that hasn’t kept the Sellerses from making their pitch. They feel Chicago would be a perfect fit for Shyanne — her older sister Syarra is even studying law at DePaul, regularly teasing Shyanne about the prospect of living in the same city again. And for the Sellers family, it’s hard not to hope for a return home. “It really brings you full circle,” Brad Sellers said. “She knows what the city of Chicago means to our family and what it has done for us. To see her come back, it would be a joy for me.” The Bulls drafted Sellers with the ninth pick in the 1986 NBA draft as they began building a roster around Michael Jordan. Sellers didn’t stay in Chicago long enough to reap the benefits of the ’90s Bulls. He was traded to the Seattle Supersonics just three years later and remained in the NBA until 1993, when he continued his playing career overseas.
Natalie Nakase knew she had the opportunity of a lifetime. After years of serving as an assistant coach — in the G League, NBA, and ultimately the WNBA — she had finally achieved a longtime dream of leading her own team. At last, the 44-year-old former UCLA point guard would be a head coach, selected to lead the WNBA’s incoming expansion team, the Golden State Valkyries. Nakase, who was previously an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers (2018-2020) and Las Vegas Aces (2022-24), has no shortage of experience on the bench. Under Clippers coach Ty Lue, she earned the respect of dozens of NBA players. Under the leadership of Becky Hammon, she won two WNBA championships alongside some of the best players in the sport. To this day, she credits Hammon for helping shape the WNBA into the league it is today — and for giving her a career-altering opportunity. Still, in the wake of her hiring in Golden State, there was someone else in the coaching world Nakase was eager to get to know: Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, who just a few months earlier had become the youngest head coach in the NBA to win a championship since Bill Russell did so in 1968 at age 34.
Cleveland is expected to join the league for the 2028 season playing at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. They will be reprised as the Cleveland Rockers, an original WNBA franchise that folded after the 2003 season when former owner Gordon Gund could not sell the team due to tumbling revenue and erratic attendance. But in the two decades since, the league’s exponential growth and popularity has led to rising expansion fees. The Golden State Valkyries, the league’s 13th franchise launching in May, paid $50M to join the WNBA, while Toronto and Portland —the 14th and 15th franchises —paid $115M and $125M, respectively. Now that has doubled.
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Kendra Andrews: A look at the plans for the Valkyries’ locker room at Chase Center and practice facility in Oakland. Golden State is working with Populous to design the spaces
JPMorgan Chase has signed a multiyear sponsorship deal to be the first founding partner of Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA’s next expansion team. The agreement will see the Chase Freedom logo appear as the Valkyries’ jersey patch when the team begins play in 2025.
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