Valkyries Could Be Surprise Winners of a Lynx Upset in the First Round
After a 91-75 loss to the New York Liberty, the Minnesota Lynx are staring at the possibility of an early first-round exit. If they don’t win Game 2 in New York tonight, they will fall short of winning a championship for the third year in a row. Even if they win, an upset is still in the cards. The Liberty, with their size and length at almost every position, are a bad matchup for the Lynx, especially when Olivia Miles and Napheesa Collier aren’t playing up to their standards.
If the Liberty manage to pull off the upset, the Golden State Valkyries could end up as a surprise winner of the Lynx’s misfortune.
Napheesa Collier signed a one-year contract ahead of this season. Ever since she inked that short-term deal, there have been speculations about her impending departure in unrestricted free agency. That possibility becomes a lot more likely if the Lynx suffer an early playoff exit.
If Collier explores unrestricted free agency, Golden State seems like the most likely destination. The Valkyries take care of their players and have modern facilities, as well as a great fanbase. Collier, who was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2024, would fit their defensive identity very well. She could also give them the offensive boost they need to be a consistent two-way force. Moreover, Collier and Gabby Williams played together at UConn and later joined forces on Fenerbahce’s roster in Türkiye in 2024.
If the Lynx’s season ends in disappointment again, Collier might seriously consider chasing a title elsewhere—and which team could offer her a better chance to do that than the defensive-minded No. 2 seed in desperate need of an MVP candidate to stabilize its offense?
The Valkyries would be scary with Collier
The Golden State Valkyries didn’t need much to go from scraping past the Los Angeles Sparks into the final playoff spot to the No. 2 seed and a potential championship contender. They added Gabby Williams, who had just received her first All-Star nod last season, signed Kiah Stokes, who won three titles with the Las Vegas Aces, and banked on internal improvements from Veronica Burton, Janelle Salaün, and Kaitlyn Chen, among others.
Their defense is the best in the WNBA, and they regularly manage to hold great offensive teams to their season-low in points scored.
The Valkyries can also get hot on offense. In Game 1 of their first-round series against the Dallas Wings, they scored a season-high 104 points and knocked down 18 3-pointers. Williams, Cecilia Zandalasini, and Tiffany Hayes all scored between 20 and 22 points. The Wings’ lack of defense helped.
Golden State’s biggest problem is that this kind of offensive output is not the norm. They finished the regular season seventh in offensive rating, fourteenth in points per game, and sixth in 3-point percentage. The team took a massive leap offensively compared to last season, but still isn’t consistently great on that end of the floor.
Signing Collier, who was one of the best scorers in the W for two straight seasons before her ankle injuries cost her most of this season, could help the Valkyries take another step forward offensively without sacrificing any of their defensive tenacity.
The move would also make sense for Collier if the Lynx flame out in the playoffs again. Signing with the Valkyries would immediately put her back in contention for a title and an MVP award. The latter could be difficult to get with Olivia Miles now in Minnesota. Miles already looked like a potential MVP candidate in her rookie season. If she doesn’t outright overtake Collier as the Lynx’s best player, the two would at least split some of the votes. In Golden State, Collier would be the undisputed number-one option.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.