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The Golden State Valkyries have set the standard for the five WNBA expansion teams entering the league from 2026 to 2030.
The Valkyries announced that they sold out all 22 games at the Chase Center following their final home game Saturday against the Minnesota Lynx. The announcement came just two days after Golden State clinched a playoff berth to become the first WNBA expansion team to make the playoffs in its inaugural season.
Golden State also set records in total (397,408) and average (18,604) attendance during the regular season. This year’s Indiana Fever are second all-time in total attendance at 349,313 with one home game left on their schedule, while the 2024 Indiana Fever set the previous average attendance record at 17,036. The WNBA regular season had a record of 44 games this year, four more than last season, with two additional home games per team.
However, the Valkyries may not be able to host a playoff game at the Chase Center due to a schedule conflict with the Laver Cup, a tennis tournament. Golden State announced Friday that its first-round home playoff game will be played at the SAP Center in San Jose.
As one of the four lower seeds in a best-of-three first round, the Valkyries are only guaranteed one home playoff matchup: Game 2. Should the Valkyries upset their first-round opponent, they will be guaranteed at least one more home playoff game, which could be played at Ballhalla, the team’s nickname for the Chase Center.
The Valkyries are guaranteed a playoff series home game because of a recent format change. The WNBA returned to a 1–1–1 first-round playoff format this year after running a 2–1 format since 2022. The higher-seeded team receives home court in Games 1 and 3, which ensures that the lower-seeded team will have one home game.
Last year, all four lower-seeded teams were swept in the first round—including Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever—which meant they were unable to host a playoff game.
