Fans cheer for the Valkyries at a watch party at White Horse Bar in Oakland on July 12, 2025. The fan group, ValQueeries, hosted a watch party. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)
The Golden State Valkyries made WNBA history as the first expansion team to reach the playoffs in their inaugural season. General public tickets and verified resales for their first home game tonight are still available on Ticketmaster.
As the first new team in the franchise in nearly 20 years, the Valkyries faced high expectations. And by finishing among the league’s top eight, they delivered.
“Could I be more excited? Impossible,” said San Francisco Valkyries fan Vanessa Hutchinson-Szekely, a teacher and co-host of the podcast Valkyries Say Less. “It is amazing, historic, and I am so proud of the journey of these incredible women.”
“Because when we started this, we had no idea where we were going to go.”
Playoffs start on Sunday. Read on to find out where you can follow the game in the coming weeks, whether it is on TV, bars or at San José’s SAP Center.
And if you’re new to basketball but want to join the Bay Area hype after the team’s big milestone, don’t worry — we’ve got a quick explainer below on what playoffs are.
KQED also has a comprehensive guide to the world of the WNBA and fan culture in the Bay Area for new viewers.
So, what are playoffs?
After a regular season of basketball, the top eight WNBA teams compete in a tournament. The team standings are:
- Minnesota Lynx
- Las Vegas Aces
- Atlanta Dream
- Phoenix Mercury
- New York Liberty
- Indiana Fever
- Seattle Storm
- Golden State Valkyries
Dates and times are subject to change — or even canceled altogether — depending on how the games go, but the tentative schedule in Pacific Standard Time is as follows:
Round 1
- Sunday at 10 a.m. on ESPN: Golden State Valkyries vs. Minnesota Lynx in Minneapolis
- Sunday noon on ABC: Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream
- Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPN: New York Liberty vs. Phoenix Mercury
- Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPN: Seattle Storm vs. Las Vegas Aces
- Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN: Atlanta Dream vs. Indiana Fever
- Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN: Las Vegas Aces vs. Seattle Storm
- Wednesday at 5 p.m. on ESPN: Phoenix Mercury vs. New York Liberty
- Wednesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN: Minnesota Lynx vs. Golden State Valkyries in San Jose
- Sept. 18 on ESPN2: Seattle Storm vs. Las Vegas Aces
- Sept. 18 on ESPN2: Indiana Fever vs. Atlanta Dream
- Sept. 19. on ESPN2: Golden State Valkyries vs. Minnesota Lynx in Minneapolis
- Sept. 19. on ESPN2: New York Liberty vs. Phoenix Mercury
Semifinals
- Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. on ABC
- Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. on ESPN
- Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
- Sept. 23 at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN
- Sept. 26 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2
- Sept. 26 at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2
- Sept. 28 at TBD on ESPN
- Sept. 28 at 3 p.m. on ABC
- Sept. 30 at TBD on ESPNU
- Sept. 30 at TBD on ESPNU
Finals
- Finals 1: Oct. 3 at 8 p.m. on ESPN
- Finals 2: Oct. 5 at 3 p.m. on ABC
- Finals 3: Oct. 8 at 8 p.m. on ESPN
- Finals 4: Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. on ESPN
- Finals 5: Oct. 12 at 3 p.m. on TBD
- Finals 6: Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. on ESPN
- Finals 7: Oct. 17 at 8 p.m. on ESPN
“[The] Valkyries have really attracted people [who] have never even watched basketball. And so there’s a learning curve,” said Hutchinson-Szekely’s co-host and fellow teacher, Raina Mast. “Normalize being confused. The structure is confusing.”
Essentially, Mast and Hutchinson-Szekely explained, each of the eight teams will play their first game on Sunday. In the first round, the highest-seeded teams face the lowest-seeded teams in a best-of-three series. The Valkyries will be facing the Minnesota Lynx, a team they have not beaten before.
In the second round, the four remaining teams play a best-of-five series. In the finals, the last two teams compete in a best-of-five series for the championship.
You may see in sports coverage where people refer to a “2-2-1-1” structure. That basically designates where the games are played. So, the first “2” means the first two games are played on the stronger team’s home court. The next “2” means the following two games are played on the weaker team’s home court. And so on.
Where can I watch the games?
ESPN, ESPN2, ESNPU and ABC will be showing the games on TV. You can also get access to the channels through platforms like YouTube TV and Fubo.
Watch the game in person
For fans hoping to see the game in person, know that any Valkyries home games will not be played at Chase Center — better known as “Ballhalla” — where every regular-season home game has sold out.
Instead, the Valkyries will be playing their first playoff home game on Wednesday at San José’s SAP Center.
Jess Smith, president of the Golden State Valkyries, announced the arena change to season ticket holders after the team won the Sept. 4 game that secured their spot in the playoffs. Smith said that Chase Center was booked for a tennis tournament years in advance, before the Bay was given a WNBA team.
“We’re already working to ensure our playoff scheduling is protected going forward to prevent scheduling conflicts for future playoff runs in Ballhalla,” the letter reads.
The news left some fans frustrated, considering that being pushed out of their home arena has happened to WNBA teams in the past. As Breanna Stewart, a player and vice president for the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, said to SFGate, “You don’t see it happening with the NBA.”
Coach Natalie Nakase, for her part, said in a press conference that the Valkyries are still playing in their territory.
“Even if we’re in San José, that’s still considered the Bay. We know that they’re going to travel, our fans are going to come,” she said. “For us, we’re still at home.”
How to get to SAP Center
If you have never been to SAP Center, you’re in luck: downtown San José is very well connected by several public transit agencies.
If you’re coming from the city’s Eastside, you can take the light rail VTA from Alum Rock station straight to San José-Diridon, which is only one block away from SAP Center.
Caltrain — which runs from San Francisco through San Mateo County to the South Bay — also stops at San José-Diridon. According to a Caltrain news release, the #416 southbound will feature a Valkyries-themed car, giving passengers the chance to win free merch.
Coming in from the East Bay? You can take BART and get off at Berryessa/North San José station and then get on a VTA bus — specifically the Rapid 500 line — which will quickly take you straight to SAP Center.
Keep in mind that public transportation in San José does not run the whole night. So if you are getting home through transit, be sure of when the last train or bus runs so you don’t get stranded. You can also use trip planners to help mark your route.
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