Valkyries parade historic WNBA title through ‘global capital of women’s sports’

On a sun-soaked, picture-perfect Bay Area day, the Golden State Valkyries did more than just parade a historic WNBA championship through the streets of San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon. In the words of Mayor Daniel Lurie, they established the city as the “global capital of women’s sports.”And as Vakyries center Kiah Stokes said to NBC Bay Area’s camera after stepping off the ferry Wednesday afternoon, they’re just getting started.“It’s unreal,” Oakland-born singer Kehlani told NBC Bay Area during the parade broadcast. “I feel like we deserved this for so long, we deserved a team, we deserved a women’s team. And you see how people show up when you give us what we want and what we deserve.”While Bay Area sports fans may have waited more than two decades to finally get a WNBA team to call their own, it took just two seasons for the Valkyries to obtain what many thought was unobtainable for a team famously without a “star.”The Valkyries defeated the Atlanta Dream 68-63 on Saturday in the league’s first finals Game 7. In doing so, they became the first expansion team, men’s or women’s, in any major North American sport to win a championship that fast.Four days later, fans came out in droves to celebrate the title, cashing in on their very legitimate “Parade Time Off” from work and school to pack the Embarcadero with purple.“Who knew a $25 (season ticket) deposit would go this far?” one fan told an NBC reporter.After a tipoff ceremony and private party at 10 a.m., the Valkyries took a ferry across the water from Jack London Square in Oakland, Calif., to San Francisco. As the players disembarked, they were met by a frenzied crowd thousands deep.“We love you guys — keep fighting,” Natalie Nakase told an NBC reporter before hopping onto a bus to start the parade. “Do whatever looks impossible. DO IT!”A WNBA champion four of the last five seasons, Stokes set a league record with 19 blocks in a finals defined by defense.On Wednesday, she wore a shirt with a graphic from ESPN Analytics, ranking five WNBA teams by Basketball Power Index in order of most to least likely to win the finals. The Indiana Fever, bounced in the first round by the third-seeded Las Vegas Aces, were favored at 24 percent. The Valkyries weren’t even on the list.Instead of boarding the designated double-decker bus after getting off the ferry, finals MVP Gabby Williams took off down the Embarcadero, trophy in hand. She made her way to Mission Street, where the iconic drum that ushers in every Valkyries game at Chase Center was waiting to kick off the parade.Williams, Lurie, and team emcee Ari Waller beat the drum for the last time in their iconic season to the rhythm of a resounding “G! S! V!” to get the party started.The 1.2-mile route started at the Ferry Building and traveled south along the Embarcadero toward Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. Fans were supposed to gather behind the barricade on the water side of the Embarcadero, but so many people came that the other side of the street was packed as well.Valkyries owners Peter Guber and Joe Lacob, who made good on their promise to deliver a championship within five years, were driven in classic cars, and San Francisco congresswoman Nancy Pelosi rode in a bus with a cable car-shaped chassis.Whistles were blown. Smeezes and thizzles were hit. Rapper P-Lo sat on the back of a lowrider telling reporters about running the New York City Marathon in a Valkyries jersey, while LaRussell got off his float to rap multiple times. Giants mascot Lou Seal rode a Segway down the Embarcadero’s bike lane, high-fiving fans with his fuzzy gloved paw.It was Bay Area culture in the limelight.Some fans arrived as early as 4 a.m. to claim spots along the rail. Some came from as far away as Concord, Pleasanton and Vallejo on the outskirts of the Bay Area. Others came from across the bridge. Others yet came from down the street. One fan flew from New York.“Ballhalla is family,” Valkyries fan Lie Crescini told the NBC broadcast. “There’s 18,000 fans, and I like all of them. There’s not one sibling I don’t like in there.”Crescini lives in Oahu, Hawaii, but has not missed a single Valkyries game.“This is what peace feels like. (Ballhalla is) loud, but it’s peaceful.”As player buses slowly made their way down the Embarcadero, players got off to sign autographs, dance, take pictures and, in the case of center Aminata Gueye, hold dogs. Tiffany Hayes snatched a microphone from a reporter to work the crowd — “I’m married to (the game) now, I got me a ring” — before running across the street to greet fans in the spillover section. The crowd’s energy never wavered, as marching bands, floats, cars, and buses filed past for about two hours, throwing beads and spraying bubbles.The crowd was diverse and deep, and oozing with pride. The spirit of Ballhalla isn’t confined to Chase Center — have Valks, Ballhalla will travel.“We talk about so much, the different types of fans that the Valkyries attract, and it’s the sports community, it’s the LGBTQ community, it’s young girls, it’s families,” NBC anchor Raj Mathai said. “… It’s just the real sports fans and community activists here, and all that together makes the 18,000 fans strong at Chase Center.”This article originally appeared in The Athletic.Golden State Valkyries, WNBA, women's sports2026 The Athletic Media Company