The Golden State Valkyries are WNBA champions in only their second season. They beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in Game 7 at Chase Center on Oct. 31. The San Francisco Standard looked back at how general manager Ohemaa Nyanin and coach Natalie Nakase built the team from nothing.

A promise from the owner

Owner Joe Lacob introduced the team in October 2023. "I'm telling you right now, we will win a WNBA championship in the first five years of this franchise," he said then, according to The Athletic's story in the San Francisco Examiner. After Game 7, Lacob gave the credit to Nakase, Nyanin and team president Jess Smith. "Two years -- it's insane," he said.

The Athletic noted that no expansion team in the NFL, NBA, NHL or MLB has ever won a title so quickly.

The early moves

In the expansion draft, Nyanin took Veronica Burton from the Connecticut Sun, Kayla Thornton from the New York Liberty and Cecilia Zandalasini from the Minnesota Lynx, the Standard reported. Burton is the only Valkyrie to start all 101 games, playoffs included.

Top free agents didn't come in 2025, so Nyanin looked overseas. She signed French forward Janelle Salaun, who made the All-Rookie Team and later won Sixth Player of the Year. Veteran Tiffany Hayes also signed. Nyanin drafted UConn guard Kaitlyn Chen in the third round, and Chen averaged 7.2 points this season. Kaila Charles had been cut five times before she joined on a hardship contract. She later got a two-year deal.

Williams and Stokes

After a 23-21 first season and a first-round exit, the Valkyries went after Gabby Williams. The Standard reported that Lacob and Warriors star Draymond Green helped pitch her, and so did her family, many of whom live in the Bay Area. A day after Williams signed, the team added 11-year veteran Kiah Stokes. Stokes started a career-high 43 games and made the All-Defensive Team. With two games left in the regular season, the team also signed French center Aminata Gueye, who helped slow A'ja Wilson in the semifinals.

Williams scored 30 points in Game 7, 28 of them in the second half, and was named Finals MVP. Read our story on her record half and our Game 7 recap. The team's parade is on Wednesday. Here is what to know.