While the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations have remained unresolved, the Golden State Valkyries’ schedule release Wednesday provided some clarity on what awaits the Bay Area’s WNBA franchise this season.
Golden State’s season is scheduled to start and end on the road, beginning on May 8 at the Seattle Storm and ending on Sept. 24 with a matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks. The Valkyries will have their home opener against the Phoenix Mercury on May 10.
Through the five-month regular season, the Valkyries will have three back-to-backs with road matchups against the New York Liberty and Indiana Fever on May 21-22, and consecutive games at the Connecticut Sun and the Liberty on Aug. 26-27. Golden State will get a home back-to-back when it hosts the Portland Fire and the Storm on Sept. 18-19.
Superstar Caitlin Clark will play just once in the Bay Area this coming season, on May 28, during a homestand that will include the Valkyries welcoming the defending champion Las Vegas Aces three days later.
The Valkyries are set to play nine weekend games at Chase Center – three on Fridays, two on Saturdays and four on Sundays.
Things will most certainly change between now and the start of the season, as an expansion draft and a highly anticipated free agency period will have an impact on rosters by the time the league year starts. The league and the players association are still negotiating on a new collective bargaining agreement; a breakdown there could threaten the season, or at least its start.
After a season in which the Valkyries defied the odds to become the league’s first expansion team to make the playoffs, the 2026 schedule is highlighted by marquee matchups with the league’s biggest stars and a key road trip in August.
Here’s a breakdown of six of the Valkyries’ most important games:
May 10 vs. Phoenix Mercury
The Valkyries’ first home game will feature a matchup with a team that was most recently in the WNBA Finals. Golden State dropped all three games to Phoenix last season as the Mercury were a nightmare matchup for the then-expansion team. But a potentially packed house on opening night will certainly make things tough for the Mercury.
May 28 vs. Indiana Fever
Caitlin Clark will play in front of a Bay Area crowd just once in the regular season as the Valkyries’ lone home game against the Fever will take place seven games into the season. Clark struggled in every game she played against the Valkyries, but she is still the league’s biggest draw and a sold-out crowd is expected when she comes to town.
May 31 vs. Las Vegas Aces
The defending champions might look a little different by the time the season starts, but this will be a big test for the Valkyries. Golden State stunned Las Vegas in a nationally televised game last season, but the Valkyries struggled to handle Aces’ star A’ja Wilson in the next three matchups – all resulting in losses. This game will be headlined by Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase going up against mentor Becky Hammon. Nakase was on staff with Hammon in Las Vegas, where she helped the Aces win two WNBA championships.
June 17 vs. Dallas Wings
The Valkyries’ Commissioner’s Cup finale will feature a home game against last year’s rookie sensation Paige Bueckers. Bueckers averaged 18.3 points per game across four contests against Golden State last season. The Valkyries defeated the Wings in late September to clinch the playoffs.
Aug. 30 at Portland Fire
This game against one of the WNBA’s newest franchises has less to do with who the Fire will have on their team and more about where it lands on the schedule. This contest will be on the back end of a stretch of five road games in 10 days, a trip that includes matchups with the Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx. This will be the last game before the WNBA takes a two-week break to accommodate for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup that takes place in Berlin from Sept. 4-13.
Sept. 24 at Los Angeles Sparks
The season will end with a road game against in-state rival Los Angeles Sparks and former Stanford star Cameron Brink. The Valkyries were dominant against the Sparks last season, holding a 3-1 record, including a very important victory near the end of the regular season that clinched a tiebreaker that the Valkyries needed to leap over Los Angeles in the playoff race.
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