The WNBA Olympic Break is Over!

With the United States national team winning their eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal on Sunday, the focus after recognizing the accomplishment goes back to the WNBA season that has been on pause for four weeks. As the season races towards its completion, there will hopefully be more news for Valkyries fans excited to have something to talk about before the team’s debut. After the season is finished, important league matters will start getting finalized and anticipation can start to build for the expansion draft. There are still some items to track over the next few months.

Valkyries Open House

The Valkyries will be hosting their first big event directed at potential ticketholders on Saturday, August 17th, inviting the 15,000+ season ticket deposit makers to bring themselves and a guest to an open house at Chase Center with the option to choose one of the hours from 12pm to 4pm to check out the arena and seating areas as well as participate in activities and possibly win items. With the large number of people invited and the advance notice, it should be a big celebration of the team’s arrival and a chance to visualize how the arena will look next season.

The number of season ticket deposits made quickly ballooned their way to a record, but this event will also be the first time that any details will be released about the options that those who made those payments will have for next season. With interest in the league rising significantly this season, fans of existing teams have started being notified about their ticket options for next season and price increases have been noticeable for many of the teams so that will obviously be the first items that will be noticed. How many sections of Chase Center will be open to season tickets is also a storyline since tickets will be held back for single game sales and mini plans while some teams only sell season tickets in the more premium sections, allowing them to open or close upper sections based on demand. Even though the team is likely to get close to capacity in terms of deposits by the time tickets go on sale, there is no expectation that all of those payments will end up converting to the start of full season tickets, especially given the relatively affordable amount so the final number of season ticketholders may be short of the amount truly made available.

Games Return

WNBA games resume on Thursday with the last team returning to action on Saturday. Some preseason expectations have been lived up to in the first part of the season while there have been plenty of surprises. With the long break for most players, there could be some teams benefitting from either the rest or the additional practice and they could be poised for a late season surge. On the other hand, some teams have more Olympians and possible fatigue should be watched for some players while other players might have momentum from their time with their national teams. Either way, there are plenty of storylines to watch for the remainder of the regular season ahead of the playoffs.

The Las Vegas Aces were certainly favored to successfully defend their title again this season, but their start to the season left them with lots of ground to make up to improve their seeding. The New York Liberty have looked to be on a mission to avenge their previous season and sit in the top spot in the standings ahead of the Connecticut Sun, who are also pushing hard for the championship, already making a big midseason trade. Also firmly in the playoff picture are the Seattle Storm, which have had the expected improvement from their big free agent signings, and the Minnesota Lynx, which emphatically announcing their surprise leap when they won the Commissioner’s Cup. The Phoenix Mercury also have a playoff cushion, but have been dealing with injuries over the course of the season that could see them climb or drop down the stretch.

The last two playoff spots are occupied by the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky, two teams that did not necessarily enter the season with clear expectations, only to see their high-profile rookies help them make a jump. Indiana has a two-game cushion on Atlanta in the loss column and the Dream will certainly go all out to chase down a playoff team with their first round pick traded away. The Dallas Wings are in last place, but also had aspirations this season interrupted by injuries. The two non-playoff teams that will not be exerting as much effort to get out of those spots are the Los Angeles Sparks and the Washington Wizards and instead they will be focused on figuring out which of their players will be part of their continued rebuilding while looking forward to snagging a lottery pick in the draft.

The Valkyries have hosted game watch events in both San Francisco and Oakland, giving priority admission to season ticket depositors and figure to continue to do so throughout the rest of the season to build excitement for their product so fans should look for announcements of future gatherings.

Late Season Transactions

Results are not the only story that Valkyries fans should be paying attention to for the rest of the WNBA season. The trade deadline is on Tuesday and teams are still waiving, releasing, and trading players. The exact rules of the expansion draft have not been revealed, but there are at least rough ideas of the mechanics of the process. Some teams may end up with too many players that they want to keep to protect all of them from selection. Who ends up being a free agent at the end of the season would also indicate who the Valkyries might target to sign outright when free agency begins.

Other Leagues

Between the end of this WNBA season and when the Valkyries will finally take the court, there will be plenty of other basketball leagues playing, both in the United States and around the world. The new Unrivaled league has been slowly unveiling the 30 players who will participate in their inaugural season. Given that those players will be in close quarters for weeks and that the league will feature many of the biggest names in the sport, there might be opportunities for players to recruit each other for upcoming seasons. Overseas play will also have its share of storylines, both for WNBA players and those who might be trying to make their way to the league. As an expansion team, the Valkyries could both be scouting for players in their prime who might be able to contribute immediately as well as looking at young international players who could be picked in future drafts.