The Golden State Valkyries are entering the WNBA playoffs with something that has quickly become hard to ignore: belief that they can win the whole thing. That confidence has been building inside a team that earned the No. 2 seed after going 32-12 in its second season and opened the postseason with a 104-80 demolition of the Dallas Wings.
Tiffany Hayes has seen enough to know what a championship team can look like. The 37-year-old veteran is making her eighth playoff appearance, but this is her first postseason with the Valkyries, and she told coach Natalie Nakase exactly what she expected from this group before the playoffs began.
“‘We can win it this year,’” Nakase said Hayes told her.
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Hayes has reached the WNBA Finals and played on multiple semifinal teams during her career, but a championship has remained out of reach. Nakase said the conversation reflected how badly Hayes wants the title that has eluded her, and the veteran immediately backed up that confidence once the postseason started.
Hayes scored 21 points in Golden State’s Game 1 victory over Dallas, helping turn a close opening quarter into a 24-point win. The performance also highlighted why the Valkyries have a weapon that can cause problems for opponents even when their starters are being tightly defended.
The Valkyries have one of the deepest benches in the WNBA
Golden State’s bench has been one of the team’s defining strengths throughout the season. The Valkyries averaged 35.9 bench points per game during the regular season, 7.4 more than any other team in the league, while also ranking first in bench offensive rating.
That production was on display against Dallas, as Golden State erupted for 37 points in the second quarter, a franchise record for a single period. Hayes played a major role in creating that separation, and Dallas coach Jose Fernandez did not need much convincing about where the problem began.
“Golden State’s strength is their bench. They’ve got the No. 1 bench in the league,” Fernandez said.
The depth gives Natalie Nakase several ways to keep pressure on an opponent over 40 minutes. A team can spend most of its defensive attention on the starting five, but Golden State can send Hayes and other productive reserves into the game and keep the offense moving without giving the starters an outsized workload.
The bench also fits the way the Valkyries want to play. Their defense ranked No. 1 in the WNBA during the regular season, allowing 75.1 points per game, so the reserves do not have to score 20 points every night to change a game.
Tiffany Hayes sees something different in Golden State
Hayes has spent years around veteran teams with championship ambitions, and she sees enough similarities in Golden State to believe this group can go further than last season’s early exit. The Valkyries are already playing with far more pressure than they did a year ago, when simply reaching the postseason was the headline.
Her role has also been managed with the playoffs in mind. Hayes averaged 17 minutes per game this season after playing nearly 27 minutes the year before, with Nakase deliberately keeping the veteran fresher for the stretch when every possession carries more weight.
That approach paid off immediately against Dallas, and Hayes’ confidence now has a game attached to it. Golden State will play Game 2 against the Wings in Arlington on Wednesday night, with a win sending the Valkyries into the semifinals for the first time and a loss forcing a decisive Game 3 in San Francisco.
For a franchise in only its second season, the expectations have changed quickly. Hayes told her coach she believes Golden State can win the championship, and the Valkyries now have a chance to make that prediction a lot more interesting by backing it up on the court.
Tiffany Hayes Believes Golden State Valkyries Can Win It All as WNBA Playoffs Begin