SI

Steve Kerr, Warriors Players Showed Up to Watch Valkyries' Franchise Debut

Josh Wilson

Looney and other members of the Warriors showed up to the Chase Center to support the Valkyries.
Looney and other members of the Warriors showed up to the Chase Center to support the Valkyries. / Screengrab, @956thegame on X (formerly Twitter)
In this story:

Still tender from a season-closing playoff series loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, several Golden State Warriors members showed up to support the Golden State Valkyries, the upstart WNBA franchise in the Bay Area that shares a Chase Center home with the Dubs, on Friday night.

Jonathan Kuminga (whose future with Golden State is uncertain), Kevon Looney, Buddy Hield, and Steve Kerr were all in attendance and celebrated on the jumbotron during the game:

Brandin Podziemski was also seen at the game.

The Valkyries are an expansion team making its debut in the 2025 season, owned by Joe Lacob who also owns the Warriors.

Unfortunately for the new franchise, LA Sparks star Kelsey Plum played spoiler on opening night with a historic 37-point, two-rebound, six-assist performance, leading L.A. to an 84-67 win. She was the first WNBA player with at least 35 points, 5 assists and 5 steals in a game. It was also the most points scored by a player in a team's opening game of the season (with Napheesa Collier tying the previous record on Friday night as well for the Minnesota Lynx).

A historic night for the WNBA in Golden State, and of course, the Warriors were there to see it. Even if the Valkyries wish it had panned out differently on the court. Still plenty of season left for the newly minted franchise.

More WNBA on Sports Illustrated

feed

Published
Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

Home/WNBA