After the Valkyries game against the Indiana Fever last week, WNBA journalist Ashmere Prasad had a question for their head coach Natalie Nakase: "Would you consider this a rivalry? And if not, what is a rivalry, in your eyes? "
"Everyone’s a rival, in my eyes," Nakase responded immediately.
Afterwards, KALW News hit the the streets of Chase Center to ask Valkyries fans the very same question. They shared different answers:
"I’m gonna say the Fever right now."
"Las Vegas Aces."
"Just throwing out the Liberty."
"I think it’s gonna come down to Portland, too."
"Because anybody on the West Coast is a rival, so that’s what it is."
Last Thursday, the Valkyries defeated the Indiana Fever at home in a nail-biter, led by the matchup's better point guard Veronica Burton, who finished with a season-high 25 points and a career-high 5 blocks. On Sunday, they welcomed the Las Vegas Aces to town.
"Anytime there’s Las Vegas Aces-Golden State Valkyries matchup, it is one to watch," said Sara Brande, an Oakland-based Valkyries fan. Their deep respect for the Aces means that, for them, "that’s the strongest rivalry that we have." To fans' disappointment, the Valkyries lost that game, 91-81.
And then there’s the West Coast’s newest flame: the Portland Fire.
"Portland has multiple members of the front office that are previously Valkyries front office members," said Brande.
This includes Vanja Černivec, former Vice President of Basketball Operations, at Golden State who left ahead of the 2026 season to become and the General Manager of Portland's even newer expansion franchise. Brande says that ups the stakes. "I think there’s definitely a rivalry there. A palpable one."
On Monday, the Valkyries played the Fire for the first time and beat them gracefully: 95-77.
With six wins and three losses this season, the Valkyries are going on a road trip. First to Minnesota and then to Las Vegas, for a rematch against the Aces. But don’t call either team the Valkyries biggest rival.
"Shoot, give us all fourteen rivals," Nakase told reporters last Thursday. "That just helps us build, and prepare. Fourteen rivals, that’s good."
