Sore but still celebrating, Valkyries are focused on the fun of being WNBA champs

Valkyries players Cecilia Zandalasini, Kaila Charles and Kayla Thornton conduct their exit interviews at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland, Calif. Monday, Nov. 2, 2026 after winning the WNBA 2026 Championship. (Jessica Christian/S.F. Chronicle) The Golden State Valkyries are still nursing sore muscles and lost voices from their title celebration on Halloween night. Many are still catching up to the hundreds of congratulatory text messages and calls pouring in. "I think everybody that I know in life hit me up," Kiah Stokes said on Monday morning.Gabby Williams, the Finals MVP for her heroic 28 second-half points in Game 7, woke up on Monday morning to a text from a fellow Finals MVP, one who won it six times over with the Chicago Bulls."Michael Jordan texted me," Williams said, adding that she savors recognition from her colleagues and teammates more than any public adoration. "Having so many past teammates just genuinely who followed my trajectory reached out to me, that meant a lot to me."The Valkyries prevailed over the WNBA's first seven-game series in history, and now the championship tour has begun.The team kicked the tour off on Sunday back at the arena where they made history - just 24 hours after toppling the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 - to show off the trophy and celebrate with fans at the Warriors' game against the Los Angeles Clippers (the NBA team with which Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase got her start as an assistant).Players sat courtside to watch the Warriors rout the Clippers while Veronica Burton relived the title run with Warriors broadcasters Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike for the telecast. On Monday, the entire team gathered for exit interviews with the media - the opulent silver championship trophy next to them while they fielded questions. One player absent was the WNBA's unanimous sixth player of the year honoree, Janelle Salaün, who wasn't there because of a prior commitment, the team said.It was a strange postseason for Salaün. She epitomized the depth the Valkyries prided themselves on by setting scoring records from players off the bench, but she saw her role minimized in the playoffs, including her being benched in the final three games of the Finals. Rookie Juste Jocyte, the fifth overall pick of the 2025 draft, wasn't much of a participant during the regular season after her late arrival and was relegated to garbage time minutes in the playoffs. She said on Monday she came to terms with the lack of playing time."I also feel like just putting everything aside and wanting the best for your team," she said. "I don't think the team can have that kind of attitude of being sad or bad or whatever."Personnel decisions would be more steadily scrutinized in a losing season, but Golden State is the last team standing. Coaching decisions paid off and are validated by that championship trophy.The Valkyries will get to celebrate more this week. The parade is on for Wednesday afternoon. It will start at the Ferry Building and, unlike San Francisco-based parades of the past, will go down the scenic Embarcadero toward Oracle Park (where the San Francisco Giants play), a few blocks shy of Chase Center."I feel like my teammates kind of know what the Bay is about," said Williams, who spent large chunks of her childhood with extended family in the Bay Area. "But I'm like, ‘Nah, now you're going to see it.' Just hearing all the music blasting and stuff like that, the dancing and the energy. I'm excited for my teammates to see what I grew up around and experience that."The parade will act as a last hurrah of sorts for this group. It's a team that proved it can win with depth as its strength and collective defense as its superstar, but will certainly see shifts in its roster."Unfortunately, we'll never have exactly this group ever again," Williams said.Kayla Thornton and 14-year veteran Tiffany Hayes are unrestricted free agents while forward Cecilia Zandalasini and Laeticia Amihere are restricted free agents heading into the offseason. Hayes retired in 2023 and returned to the league, winning her first title with the Valkyries. The 37-year-old said there are no plans to retire again this offseason."Right now, no, I mean, that's always a game-time decision. So when it comes up, it comes up. I'll still be here," she said, adding that she would "love to" come back to the Valkyries. "If it was up to me. But it's not just me."Zandalasini and Thornton kept mum."Yeah, no, I haven't even thought about that," Thornton said. "Right now, I'm just soaking in each day and soaking in with my girls.""I think we all wanna repeat, so we will see what is happening in the offseason," Zandalasini said. "But I think, for me especially, I love this place. I love the team. I find myself being comfortable being here, so that's a very big thing for me."Williams said she felt an odd sense of serenity in the 36 hours after winning the title, while others mentioned how much the team has bonded."We (have) such different personalities, such different backgrounds, such everything, unique stories," Burton said, reflecting on their connection. "But the way that we came together, (we) just loved one another and the joy we had." Added Kaila Charles: "I don't think it's hit yet, and I think it's gonna hit once we go our separate ways and realize we don't have practice anymore. I can't just go upstairs and bother them, but yeah, it's just been amazing the last 36 hours."SubscribeThere’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Sore but still celebrating, Valkyries are focused on the fun of being WNBA champs.