Game 10 preview: Golden State Valkyries vs Seattle Storm, 5:30 PM PDT.

Duel with the hottest team in the WNBA

Life without the Euros

Here are the games in June where GSV will have 1/3 of the team leaving for Eurobasket.

• June 9 at #11 Los Angeles Sparks (OT thriller victory)

• June 14 vs #5 Seattle Storm ← YOU ARE HERE

• June 17 at #13 Dallas Wings

• June 19 vs #7 Indiana Fever

• June 22 vs #11 Connecticut Sun

• June 25 vs #1 New York Liberty

  • (return from Eurobasket for losers of Group Stage)

• June 27 vs #12 Chicago Sky

• June 29 vs #5 Seattle Storm

• July 5 at #2 Minnesota Lynx

Expect ferocious fight and heart against the odds, and if we ever get a Full Squad, then they should be able to beat all but the top WNBA teams.

• All about June Eurobasket and the huge changes it brings for the Valkyries

• Group Stage ends Jun 21, 22 (return Jun 23, 24)

• Knockout Stage ends Jun 29 (return Jul 1)

The Commissioner’s Cup

• This is described in detail here.

How to watch

• As usual: KPIX+ (Bay Area), KMAX (Sacramento)

  • In the Bay Area, KPIX is channel 5, and KPIX+, the home of Valkyries basketball, is channel 44 (cable 12). In Sacramento, KMAX is channel 31, and KOVR is channel 13.

• (For Friday games, they’re also on ION, available on Fubo and YouTube TV and elsewhere)

• WNBA League Pass if you are out of the blackout region. Even if blacked out, in theory the game is available right after the conclusion.

GSV injury / absence report

• Last game: Tiffany Hayes - OUT - Nose

• Salaun, Vanloo and Zandalasini are officially gone for Eurobasket.

  • There has been no official announcement of Fagbenle going to Eurobasket, but it is very likely to come soon.

What to expect

From the Valkyries:

• High energy

• Fast pace, fast breaks

• Aggressive defense trying for on-ball steals and deflected passes

• Three-point shooting (not necessarily three-point making)

• Five-out formations, pick and roll, and HORNS formations

Comparative team power rankings

Seattle is stronger than its standings ranking, as they’ve won 3 games in a row, including the upset over the 1st place Lynx.

Power rankings are all made up, but they are useful to see the conventional wisdom about teams. Here’s one from Newsweek, reflecting the fact that SEA are the hottest team in the WNBA.

6. Golden State Valkyries (4-5)

Last Week: 11 | Upcoming: SEA (6/14) DAL (6/17) IND (6/19)

The Valkyries lean on their rebounding skills to score in transition. In their dominant win against the Aces, the Valkyries held double-double machine and one of the league's best rebounders, A'ja Wilson, to only six boards. Golden State's intensity on the glass also helped secure the win against the Sparks in an overtime contest.

2. Seattle Storm (6-4)

Last Week: 5 | Upcoming: GSV (6/14), LAS (6/17)

The Seattle Storm came to rain on everyone's parade this week with massive wins against the Mercury and Lynx.

The entire Storm starting lineup brought the thunder, with all five starters scoring in double figures. The Storm are a methodical midrange team that does a lot of damage inside of the arc, but when they do take the three-ball, they're also one of the most accurate in the league, resulting in a pick your poison situation.

Apricot’s recent game summaries

• Game 9 wrap. Leite out of the doghouse, closes out the game with Thornton in OT to beat LA; Salaun pours in 21

• Game 8 wrap. Valkyries blow out #3 Aces and contain MVP A’ja Wilson

• Game 7 wrap: Buddhism teaches us that suffering comes from attachment to material things

• Game 6 wrap: Valkyries even with WNBA Finalists Lynx at half, get blown out in Q4, storm back at end too late

Oversimplified guide to the Valkyries roster

Four players are planned to leave through the month of June to participate in Eurobasket (thoroughly explained earlier): Fagbenle, Salaun, Vanloo, Zandalasini. Don’t worry, just four of the most important players. A shooting-starved team is losing their #1, #2, and #4 in threes per game, and Fagbenle is their starting center. This is a huge disruption to a team that has only been together about 1 month. It’s also a big opportunity for everyone staying.

• Starters, slightly scoring challenged but feisty defenders

  • #22 Veronica Burton. Solid point guard, outstanding defender and ball-stealer, decent at running pick-and-roll.

  • #5 Kayla Thornton. Key bench player for the champion Liberty, vet all-around forward. Likes to spot up for corner 3s and get dirty fighting for rebounds everywhere. With Burton seems to be a team leader and organizer.

• Possible Starters during Eurobasket

  • #25 Monique Billings. Sturdy scorer and rebounding vet, starting to really hit her stride as the screener in pick and roll. Presumably will start at center during Eurobasket.

  • #0 Carla Leite

    • Youngest at 21 y.o., was 2024-25 EuroCup Finals MVP.

    • Excellent bounce back game after being in Coach Nakase’s doghouse, barely playing the previous 4 games.

    • Promised NOT to leave for Eurobasket, a commitment that has won my heart.

  • #20 Kate Martin. The most popular player, Iowa teammate of Caitlin Clark.

    • Has hit a couple of threes but her finishing at the rim has been difficult

    • Starting to settle in a bit as a shooter and even as a screener for pick-and-pop.

    • Chaotic on defense: some very heads-up rotations, some bad switches.

• Entertaining Bench, slightly chaotic

  • #7 Stephanie Talbot. Vet wing who can shoot the 3. Had been penciled in as starter in preseason, but injuries delayed her debut until Game 3 where she looked rusty. Has been a Did Not Play - Coach Decision recently. Presumably will get more minutes during Eurobasket.

• Joined as Eurobasket replacements

  • #3 Laeticia Amihere.

    • Indirectly won this spot over Linskens since GSV is going further into smallball, 5-out, run-and-gun style, which needs a more dynamic athlete to run the court. It didn’t hurt that Amihere hit a couple of threes in preseason.

    • Presumably will have minutes at backup center.

  • #23 Aerial Powers.

    • The fifth overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft, Powers averages 10.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and a 39.7 field goal percentage across her nine-year WNBA playing career. The 5’11” guard was named to the WNBA All-Rookie team in 2016 with Dallas, and guided Washington to the 2019 WNBA Championship title. Powers spent the 2024 season with Atlanta where she averaged 8.6 points per game.

• Maybe Not Playing (see Injury Report above for updated availability)

  • #15 Tiffany Hayes. Lightning bug driver, unstoppable in the open court. But this team leader (she spoke at opening day) had a bad nose RE-INJURY and her return date is unclear.

• Away for Eurobasket

  • #24 Cecilia Zandalasini. Another vet wing who can shoot the 3. Has been out all training camp with right foot issue but came into the Liberty game and hit big shots. She was given the last shot to tie the game, so Nakase believes in her.

  • #35 Julie Vanloo. Goddess of Chaos, inventive and ambitious playmaker guard. Wild with the ball (5+ TOV per 36 minutes) but also makes wild positive plays. A little shaky on defense so far.

  • #14 Temi Fágbénlé. Decent scoring, all-around, solid vet center.

  • #13 Janelle Salaün, Fresh off an Italian League Finals MVP, she joined GSV in Game 2 and hasn’t stopped shooting since. She’s reportedly headed for Eurobasket for June so enjoy her while you can.