In the franchise’s second year of existence, the Golden State Valkyries have clinched the No. 2 seed in the 2026 playoffs, and will face the No. 7 Dallas Wings in a best-of-three series in the first round of the post-season.
Series Schedule:
- Game One: Chase Center – 6:00 p.m. PT on Sunday, Sep. 27 ()
- Game Two: College Park Center – 6:00 pm PT on Wednesday, Sep. 30 ()
- Game Three (if necessary): Chase Center – TBD on Friday, October 2 ()
Key Matchups
Simply put, this is a tough draw for the Wings. They’ve lost to the Valkyries all three times they’ve matched up this season (by a staggering combined 37 points). Dallas has averaged 75.3 ppg against Golden State, an almost 15 point drop off from its usual figure of 89.4.
When you have a star like Paige Bueckers on your roster, though, hope can never be completely lost. Despite a short slump during the middle of the season, the point guard averaged 20.9 points, 5.9 assists, and 4.1 rebounds in 32.8 minutes per game, earning her her second All-Star selection and even landing her in some early MVP talks. Bueckers has, time and time again, flexed her offensive prowess in the clutch and shown that she can singlehandedly lead this Wings team across the finish line when they need her most.
If anyone can stop her in post-season play, however, it’s the 2025 Most Improved Player Veronica Burton, who’s continued to breakout and establish herself as one of the league’s best passers and defenders. Burton, who’s averaging 12.2 points, 5.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per game in the Bay, has given Bueckers a hard time on multiple occasions this season, holding the guard to only 2 points (1-6 from the field) in the first 15 minutes of their last matchup. With the way things ended for the Wings in the 2026 season, plus Azzi Fudd’s season-ending knee procedure, it’s unclear whether the team has any hope to steal a game if Bueckers isn’t at her absolute best, which coach Natalie Nakase, Burton, Gabby Williams, and the rest of the Valkyries’ roster will commit to making the truth.
Good guard play is what opens opportunities for everyone else on the floor to be great, and especially in the Wings’ case, you can stay in almost any game if your star is performing well. They’re big shoes to fill for a second-year player, but if anyone can do it, it’s Paige Bueckers–that is, unless Burton has something to say about it.
X-Factors
As the Wings’ All-Stars this year, Bueckers and Jess Shepard will surely be expected to contribute to the team’s success, but there’s another player that has the potential to make a huge difference: Finnish forward Awak Kuier. Kuier struggled to see the floor for much of the early part of the season, but has since established herself as a true rim protecting savant, averaging 1.6 blocks per game and recording 5 in three games against the Valkyries. Given Golden State’s relative weakness in the frontcourt–largely due to a lack of size and strong paint presence–this series gives Kuier an amazing opportunity to hold things down near the basket, especially given the insurmountable challenge her teammates will be facing trying to contain the Valkyries’ three-point shooting.
For the Valkyries, I see their depth in a general sense as the X-factor in this series. Golden State’s is the best bench in the league by far, led by 6POTY frontrunner Janelle Salaun, veteran Tiffany Hayes, and former UConn Husky Kaitlyn Chen. The second-year franchise is known to go into offensive slumps on occasion, and the second unit will be integral in keeping things afloat during minutes in which Williams and Burton can’t get shots to fall. The ability to rest the stars for big moments will be an invaluable one, and coach Nakase is in a great position to be able to do so by employing her hard-hitting bench unit throughout the series. It’s unclear whether Dallas has any players on its roster that you can say the same about in non-Bueckers minutes.
Bold Predictions
Based on the season series, this may not be the boldest take, but I do believe that the Valkyries will sweep the Wings in the first round of the 2026 playoffs. There’s simply too much evidence pointing in that direction–between the top-rated defense, well-restedness of Gabby Williams since the FIBA World Cup break, Paige Buecker’s playoff inexperience, and how passionate Valkyries fans will be on Sunday–I don’t see the Wings taking a game, barring a complete collapse from Golden State.
