The thrill of the Golden State Valkyries becoming the first WNBA expansion team to make the playoffs in their first year comes with the insulting reality that they won’t get a first-round playoff game on their own home court.

Bay Area women’s sports fans went berserk with joy Thursday night when the Golden State Valkyries beat the Dallas Wings 84-80, and by doing so, became the first-ever WNBA expansion team to clinch a playoff spot in their inaugural season in the 29-year history of the league. And a huge reason for their shocking success has clearly been the boisterous home crowd at Chase Center that has sold out every single game.  

But those fans will not be rewarded with a home game in the first round of the playoffs, because the Chase Center is already booked.


But let’s first enjoy the euphoric scene at Chase Center after that historic playoff-clinching win. It was a comeback where the Valkyries were behind much of the game, but Janelle Salaun led the charge, scoring 19 points. And Veronica Burton (15 points) hit the winning shot over No. 1 overall draft pick Paige Beuckers, with 30 seconds left in the game.


Now for the very frustrating part — the Valkyries will not get their first-round home playoff game at home.

We have known for weeks that the Chase Center is already booked for the Laver Cup tennis tournament on the days of the first round of the WNBA playoffs. These arrangements were made before the Golden State Valkyries team even existed.

And the first round of the WNBA playoffs is a best-of-three  series with a “1-1-1” format, where the lower seed (which the Valkyries will be) get the middle game as their home game. That game will fall on either September 16 or 17.


So the scuttlebutt had been that they would play that game either at Oakland Arena or San Jose’s SAP Center. Fans would obviously prefer Oakland, because it’s closer and easier to get to, and has all that history as the Warriors’ “Roaracle Arena.”

But the Valkyries organization told the Chronicle that the Oakland Arena was also already booked for a “property-wide private event,” so that paper reports the Valkyries' first-round home playoff game will be played in San Jose.

“After exploring every possible option to move things around and host this game at Chase Center, SAP Center emerged as the right fit for this historic event,” the team said in an email to season ticket holders after the game. “We vetted several venues, including Oakland Arena which has a scheduling conflict.”

So yes, this sucks that the Valkyries first home playoff game will be played 55 miles away from Chase Center, or about an hour and 15 minute drive away.

Image: WNBA


But hey, it’s the playoffs, so let’s focus on standings and scenarios. The Valkyries clinched no worse than the eighth spot (eight teams make the WNBA playoffs), and could finish as high as the fifth spot. They have three games remaining, and two of them are against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx. The other game is against the Seattle Storm, who are themselves fighting for a playoff spot. So it’s a tough three games to close out the season.

And it will be even tougher for your Golden State Valkyries to win that first round playoff series against a much higher seed, which would earn them home playoff games at Chase Center in the second round. That second round is scheduled to begin Sunday, September 21.

Related: Valkyries Knock Off Defending Champions, Could Clinch Playoff Spot Thursday Night [SFist]

Image: SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 04: The Golden State Valkyries celebrate after they beat the Dallas Wings at Chase Center on September 04, 2025 in San Francisco, California. The victory clinches a spot in the playoffs. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)