By Steven Serafini
Sonoma Valley Sun Sports Editor
Within the world of sports, there are cultures created by the athletes and the teams they play for, that are hopefully owned and operated by affluent people who truly care about their franchise and the value and quality of the product they offer their fanbase.
This scenario doesn’t always come to pass, but when it comes to professional basketball, the Bay Area is fortunate to be the home of an outstanding organization that has taken an existing hoops culture and enriched it, not only with a whole lot of money, but with elevated expectations for repeatedly becoming a championship franchise.
That’s what the Golden State Warriors organization has become under the leadership of its visionary majority owner, Joe Lacob, who shortly after purchasing the franchise said the main mission was to hang multiple NBA title banners. And the mission was more than accomplished.
With Steph Curry, a generational talent and one of the NBA’s greatest players, to build his dream team around, Lacob and co-owner Peter Guber, starting making master moves by getting NBA legend Jerry West on board as a consultant, and then hiring Bob Meyers as general manager.
After Curry’s eventual splash brother Klay Thompson, defensive specialist and hoops savant Draymond Green, and masterful head coach Steve Kerr became part of the organization, the Warriors went on to reach six league finals (five in a row), and capture four NBA titles between 2015 and 2022.
Now in their twilight playing years, Curry and Green with Kerr remaining at the helm, the Warriors began training for the 2026-27 season in Hawaii this week, with another championship run as the goal. And even if almost everyone thinks they don’t have a chance, because of age and health issues, I’m still not writing off proven champions.
Having built the Warriors into a championship treasure, Lacob made another visionary move that doubled his hoops fortunes when he purchased a new WNBA franchise and named his new team the Golden State Valkyries, who in only their second year of existence have the look of a juggernaut.
Lacob used a similar Warriors-like formula to build the Valkyries, hiring progressive, forward-thinking and talented women to run his new franchise. With Jess Smith as president, Ohemaa Nyanin as general manager, and Natalie Nakase as head coach, he put together what is currently a championship contending team.
The Valkyries have become something of an overnight sensation, in that they’ve captivated the Bay Area with their vibrant nature, athleticism and team-first philosophy, all instilled in them by the coaching of Nakase, who guided them to the playoffs in their first season last year, while being named WNBA coach of the year.
This season, the hugely popular Golden State Valkyries sold out San Francisco’s Chase Center for every game, just as they did last year. They set two straight WNBA attendance records, and achieved an unprecedented regular season second-best record, while securing their second straight trip to the postseason playoffs.
This past Sunday, the Valkyries attained another franchise and WNBA first by earning their first playoff win with a 104-80 victory over the Dallas Wings in front of a packed and happily-raucous Chase Center crowd. The best-of-three playoff series resumed with results not available at presstime.
With one win away from advancing to the second round, the Valkyries are in the running to reach the finals. If they do that, they could make more history by capturing a WNBA title as a two-year-old expansion team. That would be mind-blowing, and would add another layer of gold atop Lacob’s Golden State empire.
Ciao!
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