Valkyries Turned Around Biggest Weakness—But Is It a Mirage?
The Golden State Valkyries took the WNBA by storm when they burst onto the scene with a competitive spirit and defensive tenacity that few teams in the league could match. They finished the 2025 regular season with the third-best defensive rating in the W, and that’s what propelled them to their historic playoff appearance, as it masked serious offensive struggles, particularly from behind the arc.
The Valkyries took the most 3-pointers per game last season, but they only converted 32.5% of them, which was one of the worst percentages in the W.
That looks much different this year. The Valkyries are taking a ton of threes and cashing in on them at a high clip despite only making minimal changes to the roster. But there are still some questions left to answer. Can they sustain their success from behind the arc and be a top two-way team for the entire season? What happens if their 3-point shooting drops off?
The Valkyries have been scorching hot from three to start the season
Golden State still leads the league in 3-point attempts per game with 31.3, taking almost three more than the next-best team. They also lead the league in 3-point percentage, sinking 39% of their attempts per game—a massive increase compared to last season.
The addition of Gabby Williams is a big reason for this turnaround. She shot 38.8% on 5.4 attempts in her first nine games and creates open looks for players like Kayla Thornton, Cecilia Zandalasini, Veronica Burton, and Janelle Salaün, who are not experiencing the same amount of defensive pressure as they did last season. But Williams is far from the only player on the roster having 3-point success.
Seven Valkyries players are averaging at least 37% shooting to start the season (not counting Ashton Prechtel, who only played one game). Five of them—Burton, Zandalasini, Williams, Thornton, and Salaün—are doing it while taking at least three 3-pointers per game.
For Salaün and Zandalasini, their efficient 3-point shooting is very much in line with what they have shown so far in their WNBA careers. Burton, Thornton, and Williams, meanwhile, are all shooting well above their career averages. That poses the question of whether they can continue to sink 3-pointers at an efficient clip and how much of a hit the Valkyries’ offense will take if they can’t.
The Valkyries’ offensive system relies heavily on 3-pointers. If they make them as they have been to start the season, they can put up so many points that, paired with their stifling defense, opponents struggle to keep up. However, when the 3-pointers aren’t falling, they tend to struggle to create offense elsewhere.
The Valkyries shot at least 37% in all of their wins this season except one—but that was against the Connecticut Sun, which makes it much easier to overcome bad 3-point shooting. They also shot 32% or less in two of their three losses. 3-point shooting was not a problem against the Las Vegas Aces. A lack of size and the inability to slow down A’ja Wilson were.
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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.