Victory parade: Fans shower the champion Golden State Valkyries with love and gratitude
on November 4, 2026
The Golden State Valkyries made history in becoming the fasting rising star in WNBA history when they won the league championship on Saturday. Along the way, they brought in more revenue than any other women’s sports team and captured the hearts of people in the Bay Area.
BART’s Red Line went Valkyries lavender Wednesday morning as fans filled trains heading to the Embarcadero, where the team’s Victory Parade was expected to kick off at noon.
At Oakland’s MacArthur station, BART announced to riders: “Congratulations to your 2026 WNBA champions, the Golden State Valkyries”
Fans are showing the Valkyries how much the team means to them, turning out by the thousands for the victory parade in San Francisco, where Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, who handily won reelection yesterday, joined San Francsico Mayor Daniel Lurie and other Bay Area officials.
Many of those same fans were in the stands at the Chase Center — nicknamed Ballhalla in recognition of the team’s Norse mythological name —as sell-out crowds filled every home game in the team’s inaugural season last year and again this year.
“We are the Bay’s team, from our practice facility in Oakland to our home court in San Francisco and everywhere in between,” Golden State Valkyries President Jess Smith said in a news release on the team’s website Sunday. “Our fans have been with us since day one.”
In October, the franchise became the first professional women’s sports team to generate $100 million in annual revenue. It’s also the first WNBA team to be valued at $1 billion and the first to earn a playoff berth in its inaugural season, as well as to the first to win so early in only their second season.
“All season long, our fans have proven over and over again why they’re the best in the world,” said Valkyries Head Coach Natalie Nakase. “I can’t even express how amazing it was to finish off this Finals series in front of them in Ballhalla, to celebrate everything we’ve poured into each other to become Champions. This is as much theirs as it is ours. We can’t wait to bring the 2026 WNBA Championship Trophy to them and celebrate what we’ve accomplished together.”
At the parade, Tanya Reyes of San Francisco was soaking up the enthusiasm.
“My favorite part is seeing the families and the kids, they’re screaming their minds off and it’s just so human,” she said.
“There’s also so many dads, I love that.”
Lexie Bispee, dressed as “Violet Valkyrie,” wearing lavender from head to toe said the parade was also a celebration of women’s sports and women athletes.
“The most impacted and inspired are the gay and female communities,” Bispee said.
Reporting by Natalia Banos Delgado, Daisy Dayoung Yoo, Lizzy Myers, Siyu Pan, and Sami Sui
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