Sports fans know that Game 7s are precious. Especially here in the Bay Area, where there have been just four winner-take-all contests involving our professional sports teams. The Golden State Warriors are still licking their wounds after surrendering a 3–0 series lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers, falling 93-89 in the deciding game in 2016! For many fans, it feels like yesterday! But not now, that belongs to the Golden State Valkyries. The Valks rallied from a 2–1 deficit to win the next two games before clinching the title over the Atlanta Dream, 68-63.
The V in Valkyries also stands for victory. To honor and celebrate the WNBA champions, this post offers seven talking points about the victors.
1. Thoughtful logo
I made a steadfast effort to talk about this team in Sports and Spirituality. Next to my agenda for each class period, I include an image that most often refers to an something in sports I'm excited about. Needless to say, this team got a fair bit of air time.
While most of the students knew a fair bit about the team, I thought a good starting point for the conversation was their logo.
As written on the team's website:
The outer shape of the logo is a V, reinforcing the V in Valkyries, which symbolizes the unity of a group of Valkyries in flight, and standing for victory.
The Bay Bridge is depicted to reinforce the team’s presence across the Bay, but specifically the tie between the team’s homes in both Oakland, where the team’s practice facility and front office is located, and in San Francisco’s Chase Center, where the team will play all home games. The bridge tower doubles as a sword—a symbol of courage, power, and authority. Swords are weapons frequently depicted with Valkyries in mythology.
The bridge cables double as wings, a strong telegraphic symbol of Valkyries. The five triangles formed within the wings represent the five players facing each other on each side of the court.
The thirteen lines coming from the top of the sword represent the Valkyries becoming the 13th active team in the WNBA.
Valkyrie Violet symbolizes power, ambition, nobility, and women’s empowerment, much like purple has been used symbolically in modern history.
My students looked on in amazement and wonder that this amount of detail, symbolism and meaning could come together in a single design. No wonder a few of my friends who majored in psychology went into marketing and design! Furthermore, their example invited me to consider other logos and their import. Can you think of others?
2. Two Teams: One Family
The Warriors and Valkyries belong to the same family. I like to think of them as brothers and sisters—without the rivalry. I love seeing how many Dubs show up at Valkyries games and vice versa. I think this is good for the game and for us, the fans. One need not succeed at the expense of the other. There's room in the family for everyone. Here's more.
Both teams represent Golden State and share a common identity. For those not in the know, Valkyries are fearless, unwavering warrior women rooted in Norse mythology. Both teams also call Chase Center home, although the Valkyries have given their court-side fan experience its own identity: Ballhalla.
The connection is made possible by their common owner, Joe Lacob. You've seen him sitting courtside, front and center, for countless games. That's a lot of basketball! Under his leadership, the Warriors have captured four NBA championships, while the Valkyries have already added a WNBA title to the family trophy case.
I appreciated Lacob's remarks at the trophy ceremony. He began by praising the team:
“First of all, I just have to say we have an incredible team. You guys are incredible. What you did was unbelievable. Unbelievable determination.”
He then singled out three women:
“Natalie Nakase, Ohemaa Nyanin and Jess Smith. Those three women made this happen. They deserve all the credit in the world.”
And then he turned to the fans:
“Who needs to be thanked the most is all of you.”
A friend recently quipped, “I wish he would buy the Niners.” I couldn't help but wonder: Could another Bay Area championship be in the cards?
A friend recently quipped, "I wish he would buy the Niners." I couldn't help but wonder if we would have another W.
3. Violet
I want to thank the Valkyries for expanding the color palette among popular sportswear, jerseys, and more. Although I originally referred to this beautiful hue as lavender, I get it: there's a "v" in violet. Their signature violet color is consistent and on brand. Another V for victory.
4. The History of the League
The story surrounding this series is that we had the first Game 6 (and Game 7, for that matter) ever. What was too often left untold is the development and expansion of the league that made these contests possible! The quality of the competition has made them necessary.
The WNBA began in 1997 with eight teams. How many of the pioneer programs can you name? Only the top four teams qualified for the playoffs, and both rounds were decided by a single game. There were no best-of-three or best-of-five series.
That changed in 1998, the league's second season, when both the semifinals and Finals became best-of-three series. In 2005, the WNBA Finals expanded to best-of-five, although the semifinals remained best-of-three until 2016.
Then, in 2025, the Finals moved to a best-of-seven format. The Las Vegas Aces swept the Phoenix Mercury that year, so the series never reached a sixth game. It took until this season for fans to experience the full drama of the new format: the first Game 6 and the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history.
5. Coolest Parade Ever
I almost lost my mind when I heard about the parade route for the Valkyries' victory parade on Wednesday, November 4, 2026.
In an interview with 95.7 The Game on Monday, November 2, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said:
“This team came to us, and said that they wanted to do something different with the parade, and we said, ‘Whatever you want. You've done things differently from the start.’”
He added, “It's going to be epic.”
And it was! In an effort to celebrate their identity as the Bay Area's team, the celebration began at their practice facility in Oakland. The team crossed the Bay by ferry, arriving at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. From there, players and staff boarded floats, greeting fans along the Embarcadero. The parade traveled south along the waterfront for more than a mile, passing the piers and an estimated 400,000 fans.
Indeed, it was a sea of violet. A diverse crowd—women and men, young and old. They weren't just showing up to celebrate a championship; they were showing up for a team that felt like theirs.
This might be the most important point in my 7 for 7. In fact, what I'm about to write probably deserves its own post.
I'm asked all the time about my thoughts on the WNBA. Quite often, I find myself questioning the spirit behind those questions. Are people genuinely searching for an answer? Do they want to know my opinion? Are they looking for me to confront a bias, offer a criticism, or weigh in on a larger cultural conversation?
In short, I see a tension in the way the WNBA is covered and discussed: the conversation about women's basketball can sometimes become bigger than the basketball itself. I think that's worth acknowledging.
The stories surrounding the WNBA are legitimate and often important. Issues of gender, race, equality, labor, identity, media representation, and social justice are part of the league's history and present reality. They deserve attention and thoughtful discussion.
At the same time, those stories can sometimes overshadow the actual sporting product. The quality of the basketball, the extraordinary athleticism, the coaching, the rivalries, the personalities, and the sheer entertainment value deserve sustained attention in their own right.
Men's sports, and the NBA in particular, face a similar challenge: conversations about issues surrounding the game can sometimes overshadow the game itself. But the imbalance is different. This is a challenge women's sports face more broadly, and it is particularly pronounced in a league that has become such a significant part of larger cultural conversations.
My point isn't that we should talk less about what the WNBA represents. It's that we should spend just as much time talking about what the WNBA actually does: play outstanding basketball.
The league doesn't need to be defended solely on the grounds of representation, equality, or social progress. It can—and should—be celebrated for the competition, the talent, the strategy, the drama, and the entertainment. Those things are not secondary to the WNBA's importance. They are central to it.
7. "We're Here"
Tiffany “Tip” Hayes was the last of the four Valkyries to take the microphone during the trophy ceremony. The crowd recognized the significance of the moment: at 37, after 14 seasons in the WNBA, Hayes had finally become a champion.
She seized the moment and delivered a message that was bigger than the championship itself:“This is just what happens when you invest in women's sports. Valkyries, we're here. We ain't going nowhere. Invest in women's sports, baby. Let's go!”
And she's right. The numbers are backing her up. As reported by Yahoo Sports, the Valkyries' title-clinching win over the Dream drew 3.3 million viewers on Halloween night, making it the most-watched WNBA playoff game ever and the fourth-most-watched game in league history.
Tip's message was both a celebration of how far the WNBA has come and a reminder of how much potential remains.
In Conclusion
It's very strange for me to think that a cigarette company popularized the phrase, “You've come a long way, baby!” And maybe it should be even more concerning that Virginia Slims sponsored women's tennis for so long. But, much like the Valkyries' V logo, the psychology behind the campaign was onto something.
Women's sports has come a long way. The sheer number of men, women and children wearing a woman's jersey, talking about the in-person experience at Ballhalla, and scheduling their Halloween around catching Game 7 is noteworthy. These are meaningful signs of how far the landscape has changed. And I think it's equally important to acknowledge that women's sports still have a long way to go.
The WNBA will be under new leadership next season. I hope the next commissioner will address the questions and concerns that both skeptics AND fans have. For example, exactly WHY does the league's policy allow players not to be on the court during the national anthem? The league has a long history of taking progressive positions on matters of social justice. That's fine. Stand for what you believe in. But speak up, explain your position, and share why you believe it. That kind of transparency won't put every talking point to rest, but it might help move the conversation forward....which is exactly what this team did in 2026.
Photo Credits
Tip
Violet
Purple Reign
Champs
Lacob
Logo
Parade Route
