The Golden State Valkyries have had a fantastic start to the season and sit in second place in the standings at the All Star Break. They have done well even with some extremely tough stretches in their schedule, which means that their remaining strength of schedule is not considered too difficult compared to other teams. With the team playing especially well at home, venues will also be a factor in how challenging the remaining games are. This year’s World Cup is earlier in the calendar, so the WNBA is taking a break in the middle of the regular season instead of trying to fit in the entire season before it starts. The timing of the games before and after that stoppage will also affect results.
Strength of Schedule
There is a clear separation in the standings right now between the teams in playoff spots and the teams still chasing them with a gap of 4 games in the loss column. That level of difference makes it a little bit easier to compare remaining schedule strength for teams now than it might be in other years. In terms of opponents, the Valkyries have the fewest remaining games against teams that are also in playoff spots with only 5 of 17 games against those squads. The Valkyries have done a good job against the teams outside of the playoffs right now with a 9-1 record against that group, so continuing to take care of business in those matchups would be a big help. The games against the current playoff games will still be tough with a pair of games against the league leaders Minnesota as well as a pair of games against Dallas and a final game at New York.
| Team | Total Games Remaining | Games Left Against Teams in Playoff Spots |
| Minnesota | 16 | 10 |
| Golden State | 17 | 5 |
| Las Vegas | 18 | 9 |
| Dallas | 17 | 8 |
| Indiana | 17 | 10 |
| Atlanta | 18 | 8 |
| New York | 17 | 8 |
| Washington | 18 | 7 |
Game Locations
The Valkyries have the best home record of any team, but they have 10 road games left compared to 7 home games left. While their road record is not quite as gaudy, they are still tied for the 3rd best percentage in the league. The big challenge on this front will be another 5-game road trip over 9 days before the World Cup hiatus. The stretch includes games on consecutive days and player availability could be an issue for teams during that time.
World Cup Hiatus
The World Cup starts on September 4th and the expectation is that Janelle Salaun, Gabby Williams, and Cecilia Zandalasini will be participating. The new CBA has specific language about when players subject to prioritization can leave for this event. Those players would not be able to leave the Valkyries until after their game in Connecticut on August 26th. It is unclear when players would actually depart the team as there is also a game in New York on the next day. Since the event is in Germany, it would certainly not be expected that players would fly back West for the game in Portland on the 30th and then get on a longer flight after that.
While it certainly not be optimal for the Valkyries to be without rotation players, both New York and Portland also have players who could miss those games. USA Basketball has not announced their roster or any of their preparation plans, but it would not be surprising if they do not have any of their players miss any WNBA games to maintain a strong relationship between the organizations. Even if there ends up being no Valkyries player representation, Natalie Nakase will be one of the team’s assistant coaches. For players not representing their national teams, there can be practices, but each of them is also entitled to a full week of vacation during that time.
Post-World Cup
The Valkyries have four games left in the regular season after the conclusion of the World Cup on Sunday, September 13th. For players who have not been playing for their national teams, it will be a quick return to action with home games on consecutive days right away on Friday and Saturday. They then finish the regular season with road games on Tuesday and Thursday. All four teams that they face are currently not in playoff places so it is possible that they could be thinking more about draft position and not overworking any of their players by that time instead of going all out to win the games, which could be beneficial to the Valkyries.
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