Golden State Valkyries continue proving doubters wrong with eye-opening midseason grade
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Golden State Valkyries continue proving doubters wrong with eye-opening midseason grade originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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Nobody expected an expansion team to become one of the biggest stories in the WNBA this season. The Golden State Valkyries have changed that narrative in a hurry.
CBS Sports released its midseason report cards this week, and one of the biggest winners wasn't the defending champion Las Vegas Aces or the Minnesota Lynx. Instead, it was the WNBA's newest franchise, which earned an impressive A grade after exceeding virtually every preseason expectation.
It's another reminder that the Valkyries' remarkable first season is becoming impossible to ignore.
Golden State's defense has become its identity
The Valkyries enter the second half of the season with a 15-7 record and one of the league's stingiest defenses.CBS Sports pointed to that defensive identity as the biggest reason behind the team's success, noting Golden State ranks second in defensive rating while consistently forcing difficult shots and creating turnovers.
That formula has helped fuel a five-game winning streak and put the Valkyries firmly into the championship conversation. It's a dramatic turnaround for an expansion franchise that many expected would simply spend this season building for the future.
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Gabby Williams has transformed the ceiling
One of the biggest additions has been Gabby Williams. CBS Sports credited Williams' arrival with raising the team's ceiling while allowing Golden State to become much more than a feel-good expansion story.
The Valkyries have embraced a physical, relentless style that frustrates opponents, and their depth has allowed them to wear teams down over four quarters. Even when the offense isn't firing on all cylinders, the defense continues to keep them in games.
One question still remains
The report did identify one hurdle standing between Golden State and legitimate championship favorite status. The Valkyries are still winless against the league's top two measuring-stick teams, the Minnesota Lynx and Las Vegas Aces, going 0-5 in those matchups.
That doesn't erase everything they've accomplished. Instead, it creates an intriguing storyline for the second half of the season.
If Golden State can finally break through against one of those elite teams, the expansion franchise may go from one of the WNBA's best stories to one of its biggest championship threats. At the midway point of the season, though, CBS Sports made one thing clear: the Valkyries have already exceeded expectations, and they're no longer catching anyone by surprise.
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