Went back into the clip archives to come up with the Most Valkyrie Play of the season, and then looked at some interesting lineup data on Janelle Salaün and Golden State’s French Connection as a whole. riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/most-valky...

One thing the Valkyries did with All-WNBA Rookie Team member Janelle Salaün was move her around, starting her at three different positions on the season. Only Ceci Zandalasini (10 starts vs. Salaün's 33) also started for GSV at three positions. (You'll probably want to expand this image)

The first season is over | @sfchronicle.com www.sfchronicle.com/sports/artic...

"These moments don’t come around too often. More and more WNBA teams will join the league in the next few years, but there’s only one Valkyries inaugural season, only one Ballhalla, only one deeply personal connection for every fan." Thanks, y'all. riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/the-valkyr...

Salaün on Phee. Rupert for the added spacing. It’s happening.

Quite. Very much so, in a year of good coaching.

The Golden State Valkyries have lost 5 straight games to the Minnesota Lynx. Needing to make defensive adjustments for a win-or-stay home game 2, should they do the unthinkable against Napheesa Collier? riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/win-or-sta...

Wrote about what happened in Valkyries-Lynx game one, from GSV’s paint deficit, turnover issues, and thumb down action, to MIN’s execution, guard wins defensively, and Natasha Hiedeman sparking the Lynx (to the left): riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/lynx-out-e...

Quite. Very good.

Wrote about what happened in Valkyries-Lynx game one, from GSV’s paint deficit, turnover issues, and thumb down action, to MIN’s execution, guard wins defensively, and Natasha Hiedeman sparking the Lynx (to the left): riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/lynx-out-e...

Ok, finally getting a chance to watch GSV-MIN game one. Will try not to be too self-referential to the pre-game post in this thread, but it will sometimes be inevitable. riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/how-the-va... Zoom empty with Carleton—would love to shrink the floor more at the nail here.

Oh lord

Much to my chagrin, I won't be able to watch this game live in depth (I'll be following along). But I'll be able to watch it back later today, and I'll have the post-game up by tomorrow morning. Prediction: Iliana Rupert from three early. Playoffs!

Went deep on some adjustments GSV might make to beat MIN. How do they exploit MIN's pick-and-roll coverages? How do they stop Napheesa Collier and MIN's balanced offense? From high screens and "attack 15" to delaying Delay, your pre-game Xs and Os: riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/how-the-va...

Some end-of-season graphs. WNBA final 2025 challenge rankings, with the Lynx (perhaps unsurprisingly) claiming the top spot:

Is this thing on?

The Valkyries, Risen. riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/x-golden-s...

The Valkyries are going places.

Looking forward to a special night in Valkyries history, not least because it’s better than hate-watching Eagles-Cowboys (which I will continue to do as well).

10pm tip-off. 8am work. Sabrina Ionescu out. Monique Billings in. Valks are getting a dub tonight.

Even a broken clock struck three, time and time again, as the Valkyries exploited Indiana’s 3-2 zone to build an early lead and move up the standings. Also, LeBron himself shows you that the Fever defense wasn’t firing on all cylinders (final clip). riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/clock-in-c...

Miraculously, I will be able to watch this game live. Haven’t really talked about this lineup much but it’s been a neat way to blend what GSV wants to do without sacrificing size. Enabled by hot shooting from Burton and Charles (and the French Connection)

Added a bit of context for the challenge rankings: WNBA teams have been slightly less successful (58.5% overturn rate) than 24-25 NBA teams (62.7%). NBA success rates have risen over time since the league introduced challenges in 2019; WNBA is likely to follow suit (challenges added 2023).

The Valkyries dominated the Mystics, picking up another win, a season series sweep, and another step along the path to the playoffs. Quick look at the vibes, the magic number, the path forward, and more (with updated challenge rankings): riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/the-final-...

Wholly unsurprising effort from the Valkyries in this blowout performance.

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Probably my favorite newsletter yet! Love the Shaqtin interludes and the call back to Theseus at the end of was perfect.

How the Mercury out-executed the Valkyries offensively, from flare screens and Twirl counters to delay action and other heavy doses of Alyssa Thomas' passing. Then, a quick look at Paige Bueckers' recent three-level scoring profile: riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/valkyries-...

Tomorrow morning’s post will cover the execution gap in the loss to the Mercury, Alyssa Thomas’ passing ability & delay, and a Paige Bueckers offensive preview. But this might be the most important coverage of the weekend for GSV folks:

WNBA challenge rankings check-in, through August 21:

Great stuff here as usual—very worth a listen. Here's the rest-of-season rest prospectus.

Felt bad about not having a graph for this post, so I made one. It's called "Did they play?" (Shoutout @owenphillips.bsky.social again, this time with a Consolas nod.) riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/pre-game-r...

The terrific Stephen Pridgeon-Garner joined me to review some adjustments for the Valkyries-Mercury rematch tonight, including low Alyssa Thomas pick-and-rolls, up-to-touch coverages opening up Valkyrie shooting lanes, and VB and Tip's driving effect. riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/pre-game-r...

The short-handed Valkyries had one of their best offensive games and worst defensive games of the season against the Mercury, with a big drop-off in 3PT shooting from first to second half. Some of the whys of the weirdness: riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/mercurial-...

Looked at some differences in opponent execution in the two Golden State Valkyries games over the weekend, and went into the weeds with some graphs and individual player clips and notes. riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/sky-dream-...

This one might be on me; as soon as I started watching intently, everyone got hurt and Atlanta started hitting threes. Valks Qs? Might be the smoothest return post to encapsulate the games I’ve missed.

Quick posting update—will try to get at least one piece up before the GSV-PHX game Tuesday night, but not sure whether it’ll be tomorrow or Tuesday morning and whether or not it’ll look at the Sky game (perhaps perfunctorily). Fully back on schedule after that Tuesday night game though.

Rather good win by the Valkyries yesterday, eh

Had to briefly celebrate Veronica Burton's performance—defensive, of course—against the Washington Mystics, and also looked at some Golden State Valkyries offensive development. Plus, one key point for tonight's rematch against the Chicago Sky. riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/valkyries-...

Don’t count on any live coverage tonight (recap tomorrow as usual), but here’s how the Valkyries won the Janelle Salaün mismatch battle to win a narrow game over the Mystics in the last game between these two teams: riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/how-the-ja...

Violet the Raven arrived at halftime, and the Golden State Valkyries' three-point shooting arrived in the second half to comfortably beat the Connecticut Sun. On their offensive execution, adjustments, and exploiting the absence of Tina Charles: riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/a-violet-s...

No Tina Charles in the lineup for Connecticut is rather good for the Valkyries. Best player on the floor and a +39 in the last upset. Going to try something different tonight here: instead of a ton of clips, I'll just highlight/examine one play per quarter. Full recap up tomorrow morning as usual.

Wrote about the Golden State Valkyries dominating the statistical strength-on-strength matchup with the Los Angeles Sparks, and how they did so tactically, schematically, and consistently to pick up a big win for their playoff push: riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/stopping-t...

GSV: pack the paint > LAS takes the resultant threes > LAS misses 75% of those threes > profit

Cannot beat the Valkyries if you are less effortful and less effective from beyond the arc!

"Wilson!" How the Aces cast away the Valkyries, with a plot featuring a lot of zone-beating on the court and on the offensive glass, a ton of free throws, some missed three. Starring A'ja Wilson: riseofthevalkyries.substack.com/p/wilson-and...

"The calls have to be consistent"

Ok, here we go. Rather important game for standings positioning. Early zone vs. SLOB, they double Wilson in the post like the first matchup, turnover.

34 minutes together, -10 net rating, slow pace. I all but guarantee some positive shooting regression (43.8% TS%).

Late-night live thread coming tonight because last game's was so distorted. Wide away in this violet city, as Mansionair might say.