Over the summer, I allowed my imagination to run wild. As an all-around Bay Area sports superfan (except for baseball — ask me about that), I’ve been calling for a WNBA expansion franchise in NorCal for just about forever. That wish came true about a year ago, when the league awarded the Golden State Warriors that expansion team, and things got even better in May when the team officially revealed “Valkyries” as their new name. All that needed to happen for the dream to be complete was for the team to select University of Connecticut superstar point guard Paige Bueckers, the consensus top pick in 2025 mock drafts.
Just picture this with me for a second: You have “Paige Buckets” surrounded by several other sharpshooters, some rangy, uber-athletic forwards and a few defensive stalwarts. We wouldn’t even need five years to win a WNBA championship (looking at you, Joe Lacob) — just give the team three seasons and then we’d two-peat, followed by a three-peat. Anyways, that’s just me dreaming big. But seriously, I think it’d be totally possible with Paige.
The Valkyries hired Natalie Nakase — who has had a wealth of experience at the collegiate and pro levels — as their inaugural head coach last Thursday. In her playing days, she was a walk-on to the UCLA women’s basketball team and played as a three-year starter. Though Nakase’s own professional playing career was relatively short, she has since racked up abundant coaching time in international leagues as well as the NBA and WNBA. Most recently, she served as an assistant coach for the Las Vegas Aces.
The task ahead for the team is difficult, but hopes are high (which is why I’ve been daydreaming about potential roster configurations for next season). Nakase and Valkyries General Manager Ohemaa Nyanin will have their expansion draft on Friday, Dec. 6, during which the team can select up to 12 players from an unprotected pool of active WNBA players. That’s where they’ll get most of their roster for next season and maybe even a few borderline stars. I’m thinking the Atlanta Dream’s Haley Jones? Perhaps the Indiana Fever’s Lexie Hull? Or the Seattle Storm’s Nika Mühl?
Regardless, none of those players will likely solve the issue of finding a centerpiece. That’s where one would hope next year’s WNBA draft comes in handy. So by now maybe you’ve realized I’m a huge Paige Bueckers fan? I would give anything to see her in the Valkyries’ new violet and black. But alas, the league has already set the lottery and Golden State is fifth in the draft order. It’s as sure of a guarantee as any that either the Chicago Sky, Dallas Wings, Los Angeles Sparks or Washington Mystics — essentially whoever gets the coveted number one spot — will immediately scoop her up.
This is a real tragedy, not just because I have to wistfully watch Paige wherever she ends up, mourning the what could-have-been. Hear me out: Generational players like Bueckers who have game-changing abilities should end up on big market WNBA expansion teams. And no, this is not to discriminate against smaller market squads like the Connecticut Sun or the Indiana Fever, but rather, for the good of the women’s game.
Let’s first take a step back and acknowledge just how far the WNBA has come. Not too long ago the league was struggling financially, so much so that several franchises shut down. There is a long-lasting lack of parity between compensation for athletes in men’s professional sports leagues versus women’s professional sports leagues. This is especially apparent in basketball, where the highest salary for a WNBA player caps out at just over $250,000, whereas the highest salary for a NBA player currently sits at over $55 million. Many WNBA players need to supplement their income by playing additional basketball overseas in the offseason when they are supposed to be resting and recovering.
Now, revenues for the league are rapidly increasing. When the time comes around to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement in 2026, players will have the leverage to insist on better treatment (e.g., playing in actual state-of-the-art arenas, not the second tier ones that some teams like the Washington Mystics have been forced to play in) and higher salaries. We’re seeing progress already; the WNBA finally implemented a chartered flight system this season.
Back to what I was saying earlier: Generational star players like Bueckers must end up on big market expansion teams. This enables the league to grow its profile even further, and in turn, all the players in the WNBA now and those who will enter the league in the future will benefit. Again, this is not a hit on a team like the Indiana Fever, who landed Caitlin Clark last season. By all measures, Clark has done much good for not only Indiana, but also the league overall. My argument is merely that the women’s game overall will benefit even more if, first, game-changing players like Bueckers end up with big market expansion teams and help organically grow the WNBA in those cities and, second, that those positive effects will percolate to the entire league.
At any rate, I just want to give a shoutout to Bueckers and all the other amazing women’s players out there for doing what they do and inspiring us all to imagine a more equal future for men’s and women’s professional sports teams. The Valkyries will always be my team from here on out, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be rooting for Bueckers every step of the way wherever she ends up.