SAN FRANCISCO — Gabby Williams heard the intro to E-40’s anthem and started bouncing to the thumping beat while Kiah Stokes sprayed and swigged champagne.
“Yay Areeeeaaaaaa,” Williams shouted as the throng of fans sang with her.
The Golden State Valkyries headlined the marquee on this picturesque Wednesday on the edge of the San Francisco Bay. Williams was the brightest star, fittingly on the lead bus in the parade, basking in the glow. And as in the second half of Game 7 against the Atlanta Dream, Williams decided it was time to turn up. “Blow the Whistle” started playing.
So she danced harder. Smiled wider. And when the song ended, she went to the DJ atop her bus and told him to play it again. Then she came bouncing off the bus to connect with the people.
Black hoodie on her back. Whistle in her mouth. Pride in her heart.
“The Bay has always been love. The Bay’s always been a community like this,” she said last month. “It just feels like a big party. And I’m just enjoying it, honestly. I’m enjoying it.”
Fresh joy intoxicates. The beginning of a thing leaves room for imagination. These Valkyries, champions in their second season, don’t fear the future. They savor its possibility. Because this doesn’t feel like lightning striking. Not to them. Not to anyone paying close attention. This feels like they discovered electricity, the well of energy and momentum that could power a dynasty. Like the right people came together at the right moment to do something they could only dream.
They’ve filled an arena. They’ve galvanized a region. They’ve hoisted hardware. And now they plot to extend their reign.
“The best is yet to come,” team owner Joe Lacob said. “Look, what we did, what these ladies did. Everybody was really amazing. … But we have the most amazing fans. We have the best management team. We have the best players. We’ve got everything it takes to do this again. And we are going to do it again.”
CHAMPagne spray courtesy of Gabby Williams and Kiah Stokes 🍾🍾 @valkyries
🎥 @ThompsonScribe https://t.co/Y45D0hNOjl
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) November 4, 2026
The audacity of that declaration loses its luster considering this day of celebration was sparked by his audacity. Lacob’s guarantee his franchise would win a title within five years before he had a roster only makes this prediction feel run-of-the-mill.
But sources inside the Valkyries, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, say the team plans to be aggressive in free agency to build on their championship roster. They aren’t worried available star players will look elsewhere out of fear of being seen as ring chasers. The names thrown around as “what ifs” behind the scenes are Napheesa Collier and Kelsey Mitchell. Either would figure to make the champs even better.
The Valkyries would have the money for both. And nobody likes a big splash more than Laocb.
The selling point to future free agents: the culture they’ve built.
“So much character,” general manager Ohemaa Nyanin said. “The commitment, the need, the want to be a part of a community that’s invested in us in ways that we couldn’t imagine. Work ethic, really hardworking individuals. Selfless individuals. Unique individuals. … They believe. They trusted each other. And they wanted it for each other and not just for themselves.”
They believe it will attract. They believe other stars are watching the Valkyries, how they roll, and will be interested. They’re no longer an expansion franchise, but an expanding one.
The larger point: Golden State’s championship celebration is as much motivation as it is a coronation. The Valkyries got a taste of how the Bay Area treats champions.
Point guard Veronica Burton could barely contain her excitement. Before the parade even started, she bounded off her bus and ran toward the fans. Slapping hands. Giving out T-shirts. Signing autographs and taking pictures.
She wanted to get to the fans across the street, on the opposite side of the light rail on Embarcadero. But a black rail kept her separated. Until she was told an opening lay ahead. So Burton ran down the street, crossed over and high-fived fans on the other side.
“It means everything to do it alongside just incredible women every single day,” Burton said. “The love we have for each other, the love that we have for this community, for our family … it’s really special. So it’s a dream come true.”
Point guard Kaitlyn Chen, Burton’s homey and backup, also got off the bus. Chen, who showed up to Game 7 on Halloween in a hot dog costume, was given a hot dog wrapped in foil by the fans. Many brought pictures of hot dogs. A few even wore the same costume. The little girls screamed for Chen like she was a pop star.
Kaitlyn Chen hanging with a fan dressed as a hot dog during the @valkyries parade 🌭
Chen wore her own costume before Golden State’s Halloween ‘BOO-Halla’ Game 7 win. https://t.co/6ZPxsHbWH7
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) November 4, 2026
And some big names showed up for the Valkyries. Laeticia Amihere made sure to get a photo with singer Kehlani, who rode in the parade with Oakland’s re-elected mayor Barbara Lee. Fresh off the blue wave from the midterm elections, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi dressed in violet and rode on a trolley.
The city announced 400,000 people attended the parade, which began on the Oakland side of the Bay with a rally before they took a ferry to San Francisco. Something feels premature about this. Championship parades are supposed to be the reward for years of suffering, for enduring all the ways sports break players’ hearts before filling them with joys like this. But the Valkyries had enough talent and determination to avoid all that.
“The reason why defense is our identity is because these women are gritty,” coach Natalie Nakase said. “They’re nasty. They’re aggressive. … We, Ohemaa, intentionally picked all these players because they have that.”
In a couple of hours, she’d be partying with fans. Holding babies and hugging little girls.
That’s the power of beginnings. They encourage the pursuit of what could be, unburdened by all the reasons it might not happen.
Maybe this proves to be a beautiful accident, one of those extraordinary seasons that sports tend to produce and decline replicating. Maybe this day is a one-off, a singular convergence of talent and opportunity that will grow more precious as the years pass. Maybe the champagne dries, the sun goes back behind autumn, the roster changes and the rest of the league catches up. Maybe this championship becomes a moment in time and not the first of multiple.
They sure don’t think so.
Not Lacob, who already promised another. Not the players, who now know firsthand what awaits them if they deliver. Not the hundreds of thousands who lined Embarcadero, dressed in violet and euphoric about their Valkyries.
And certainly not Williams, who heard the music stop and demanded it be played again.
This party, they don’t intend it to end.
