Seven wins in a row is a franchise record for the Golden State Valkyries, and it's put the rest of the WNBA on notice. Some national power rankings have had Golden State at No. 1 for weeks now, while our own have Golden State at No. 3.
At 17-7, Golden State is positioned behind the league-best Minnesota Lynx (18-6) by only one game and shares the league's second-best record with the Las Vegas Aces. The Valkyries already need just six more wins to match last season's total of 23 with 20 games left on the schedule. Since June 13, nobody in the WNBA has a better record than Golden State's 9-2, and the current 7-game streak accounts for most of that stretch. The Valkyries are showing signs of a special team establishing a strong culture.
The Valkyries are coming off a defining 79-64 victory over the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena. It was the 40th win in franchise history, and Golden State got there in just 68 games, faster than any expansion team in WNBA history.
A Defense Playing Above Its Class
Elite defensive execution has been critical to the Valkyries' success since their creation, but especially during this seven-game winning streak. Golden State's 100.4 defensive rating already ranked first in the WNBA this season, and during this stretch, it has improved significantly to a still league-best 92.5. The Valkyries also rank in the top three in opponent field-goal percentage and points allowed per game, and no team has held more opponents under 70 points than Golden State's six this season. Scoring against this team is a daunting task for any team with how physical they are getting into the ball with aggressive pickup points, while also having a collective mindset to embrace tough assignments and rotate as a unit.
Kiah Stokes has taken pride in protecting the rim inside at the center position, averaging 5.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks a game on 47.8% shooting across the last seven contests. She wants the guards to know they have help when they get beat on the perimeter.
"I've been telling [our guards], if you get beat, I'm probably gonna be there," Stokes said. "All jokes aside, I just try to have my teammates back. That's one of the reasons why I'm on this team, is to be a rim protector, so anything I can do to help."
Nothing exemplifies the Valkyries' success this season better than their second-quarter performance against Connecticut. Golden State held the Sun to 6 points on 5-of-21 shooting, the fewest points the Valkyries have ever allowed in a single quarter and tied for the fewest by any team in the league this year.
Golden State's half-court defense ranks in the 93rd percentile leaguewide at just 0.885 points allowed per possession, and opponents are shooting only 41.7% overall against the Valkyries this year. Opponents do reach the rim on 37.1% of their attempts, but Golden State defends that shot at a 100th percentile clip, holding opponents to 52.5% shooting there. Guarded catch-and-shoot looks are even tougher, just 30.0% for opponents. Defending cutters is the one soft spot, 43rd percentile, the only category where Golden State grades out as merely average.
The Golden State Valkyries are thriving in their second season thanks to their 3-and-D style of play 👏
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) July 15, 2026
➡️ 10.6 3PM PG (Most in WNBA)
➡️ Top 3 in Opp. FG%, PPG allowed and Def. RTG
➡️ Since June 13, they boast a league-best 9-2 record, including an active 7-game win streak pic.twitter.com/C6ptY6AD8x
'We Stayed Connected': Depth Carries the Load
The Valkyries' clear growth potential lies on the offensive end. Over the streak, Golden State is averaging just 77.6 points per game on 43.9% shooting, one of the league's least productive stretches. Depth has covered for it. The Valkyries are outscoring opponents by an average of 9.1 points a game because the rotation keeps producing no matter who's on the floor.
That showed up July 8 in an 83-75 win over the Toronto Tempo, a game Golden State trailed for stretches before pulling away in the fourth quarter.
"Basketball is a game of runs. They had a run, we had a run," said Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton. "The biggest thing was staying locked in, staying consistent with what we do, and staying together. We could have broken mentally, but we didn't. We stayed connected, got stops, and just kept building from there."
Spacing, she said, is why Golden State is hard to guard no matter who's scoring.
"We do a great job with spacing because we have shooters all over the floor," Thornton said. "When we're spaced properly, it makes us difficult to guard. We also have great drivers who can find those shooters. Good spacing stretches the defense, and then it's on us to knock down the shots."
Golden State's bench alone scored 52 of the team's 83 points that night. Kaitlyn Chen chipped in 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while Veronica Burton has paced the team at 5.1 assists a game and a team-best plus-10.1 mark over the streak.
Look at the on/off numbers, and the depth gets even more obvious. Every regular in Golden State's rotation posts a positive net rating when they're on the floor this season, from Cecilia Zandalasini at a modest plus-1.5 up to Laeticia Amihere's team-best plus-15.2. Nobody's minutes are dragging this team down. During the win streak, those numbers have gotten better across the board, with several players sitting in the high teens, with Tiffany Hayes leading the way at plus-19.1 and Burton right behind at plus-18.9. Only one split in the entire rotation is negative: the 88 minutes Golden State has played without Burton during the streak, when the team's net rating drops to minus-3.0. That's how much the offense runs through her.
Nakase has a name for all of it.
"We need everybody. We kind of picked up the motto 'Strength in Numbers' from the Warriors because our bench has been doing a fantastic job stepping up," Nakase said. "It's about adjusting and everyone staying ready when their number is called. We also enjoy celebrating whoever has the hot night. I think that's really key for us."
The Offense Hasn't Caught Up
There's more in the tank here, if the underlying numbers are any indication. Spot-up shooting makes up 32.0% of Golden State's offensive possessions and ranks just in the 64th percentile leaguewide, while isolation adds another 12.0% of possessions at a below-average 21st percentile. Meanwhile, the two most efficient actions in the playbook, pick-and-roll man plays (100th percentile) and handoffs (93rd percentile), barely get called, combining for roughly 10% of the offense.
Rim finishing follows the same pattern. Golden State gets to the basket on just 33.1% of its offensive possessions and converts just 55.2% of those looks, a 0th-percentile mark league-wide, even though the Valkyries defend that exact same area about as well as anyone in the league. Close that gap, and this offense starts to look like a different team.
Volume from deep is where most of Golden State's offense comes from. The Valkyries lead the league at 10.6 3-pointers made per game, the backbone of the 3-and-D identity that's carried them through their second season. On its own, though, that volume hasn't been enough to turn an inefficient offense into a good one.
Salaün Making the Leap
Janelle Salaün has benefited from that depth more than anyone, and it's made her an early favorite for Sixth Woman of the Year. Coming off the bench, the second-year forward is averaging 12.6 points on 44.4% shooting and a blistering 43.9% from 3-point range over the last 7 games, a run that included a career-high 26 points on 5-of-6 shooting from deep against Toronto.
Nakase pointed to her forward's mentality as the difference.
"She just has this fighting mentality," Nakase said. "She always wants to bring her best, and she always wants to go after the other team, whether it's defending, rebounding, hitting big shots, or attacking."
Toronto coach Sandy Brondello watched it happen up close.
"They kept throwing different looks at us, and Janelle Salaün got hot down the stretch," Brondello said.
Winning Without Gabby Williams
At 15.0 points per game, Gabby Williams leads Golden State in scoring. She just landed her first All-Star Starter selection and holds the team's reigning First-Team All-Defensive honor. Then came July 10, when a back contusion kept her out against Connecticut, her first missed game of the season, and her availability for Wednesday's game at Indiana is still up in the air.
It's a version of what Nakase has said about Williams since the day she signed.
"I told you guys day one, she's one of the best two-way players in the world," Nakase said. "She's absolutely a star, she's our star. She's definitely an All-Star, but she's going to give credit to her teammates, because that's who she is. She's the most humble star I think I've ever coached before, and that's what makes her shine even more."
Golden State didn't just survive without her, either. The Valkyries produced one of the best defensive showings in franchise history that night. Down 14-6 early and managing just 30 points in the first half, they delivered that record-setting second quarter, closed the half on a 10-0 run, and never trailed again.
All season, Golden State's defensive rating has actually run a shade better with Williams off the floor than on it, 97.5 compared to 98.9, and the same gap shows up during the winning streak, 89.7 compared to 91.0. That is by no means a knock on Golden State's defensive leader. However, it shows just how well-fortified this team's rotation is defensively, with no drop-off when its best players are not on the court.
It was Burton who put the game away in the second half, capping a 13-0 run with three straight baskets: a 3-point play going left, a buzzer-beating up-and-under to end the third quarter, and a corner 3-pointer that opened the fourth and forced a Sun timeout. She finished with a game-high 17 points and 6 assists. Salaün added 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists off the bench and was a game-high plus-18 in 27 minutes. Golden State led by as many as 22 points in the 15-point win. Hayes, who played for Connecticut in 2023, went 3-of-3 for 9 points and 5 assists in a homecoming of sorts. Burton played for the Sun in 2024.
The leadership Williams provides, even when she's not on the court, should not be overlooked. She's built a strong partnership, particularly with Burton, who shared what Williams contributes to the locker room earlier this season.
"There's a steadiness to her and she's super reliable," Burton said. "Her composure, her ability to keep us together, we really feel it, and so it really has elevated us as a whole."
Williams says much the same about her.
"I know how to get to her and she knows what to say to me to help motivate me," Williams said, "and I think that's just helped our relationship and has allowed us to play confidently."
What's Next
Golden State finishes a 5-game road trip at Indiana, where the Fever (14-9) have the league's top offensive rating and aim to end the streak.
Golden State trails only Minnesota's league-best net rating this season at plus-7.0, and over the last seven games, only Indiana's plus-12.4 tops the Valkyries' plus-11.6.
Real stakes are riding on this for two of the league's hottest teams, with tip-off at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, airing on USA Network.
