Valkyries Parade Draws Thousands to San Francisco’s Embarcadero for WNBA Championship Celebration - RAW CHILI

The Bay Area’s WNBA team, only in its second year, is the fastest expansion team to win a WNBA championship title.

Nov 4, 2026

Updated 10:18 am PT

Fans chant “GSV” during a celebration for the Golden State Valkyries on November 04, 2026 in San Francisco. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

Thousands of Golden State Valkyries fans swarmed to San Francisco’s waterfront on Wednesday for a victory parade just days after the Bay Area’s WNBA team defeated the Atlanta Dream 68-63 to win the league championship.

The win makes the Valkyries, only in their second season, the fastest basketball expansion team to ever clinch a WNBA championship title.

“It means everything to me. It shows that these women put in so much effort to do everything here for the Bay and all the hard work that they put in,” said diehard fan Lie Crescini, who staked out a spot along the parade route at 7:30 a.m.

Crescini flew in from Hawaii the same way she has for every home game and some away games. The Valkyries fandom, she said, is a huge part of what draws her.

Fans watch the Golden State Valkyries play the Atlanta Dream during Game 6 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center’s Thrive City in San Francisco on Oct. 29, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

“It’s the best feeling ever because it’s like having 18,000 new family members that you actually like,” she said. “It’s a beautiful feeling … it’s a feeling that has definitely shaped my life.”

Fans decked out head-to-toe in the team’s signature violet were allowed to officially begin lining up along the parade route at 9 a.m. (the earliest city officials said they would let them) from the Ferry Building to 2nd and King streets.

Marnie Carter, a San Francisco resident who played basketball at the University of San Francisco and now works to encourage young girls to continue playing through high school, college and beyond, joined the throngs of fans.

She said the Valkyries have helped bring attention and resources to not only women’s basketball, but youth basketball, as well. Players, she said, have inspired both girls and boys.

Kaitlyn Chen #2, Juste Jocyte #4, and Aminata Gueye #31 of the Golden State Valkyries react from the bench during the third quarter in game seven of the 2026 WNBA Finals against the Atlanta Dream at Chase Center on Oct. 31, 2026 in San Francisco.

Veronica Burton #22 and Cecilia Zandalasini #24 of the Golden State Valkyries celebrate after defeating the Atlanta Dream in game seven of the 2026 WNBA Finals at Chase Center on Oct. 31, 2026, in San Francisco.

“I have young men — my nephews are coming down here today — and they’re excited about it,” Carter said. “It’s so hard to get resources for what we do … It’s slowly started to grow.”

The party began early for some fans traveling from across the Bay Area to get a glimpse of their favorite team. A kickoff rally in Oakland’s Jack London Square welcomed East Bay revelers before they boarded a ferry to reach the parade.

It was a historic playoff series for many individual players, as well. Valkyries powerhouse forward Gabby Williams — who played club basketball in San Francisco as a kid — scored 30 points in Saturday’s Game 7. With 28 of those points occurring in the second half, Williams broke a WNBA record for the most points in any playoff half. She took home the title of MVP for the 2026 WNBA Finals.

Center Kiah Stokes also set an all-time WNBA Finals record with 19 total blocks during the series, while also clinching her fourth career WNBA championship title.

Golden State Valkyries mascot Violet the Raven rallies the crowd during Game 2 of the Valkyries vs. Minnesota Lynx WNBA playoff game at the SAP Center in San Jose on Sept. 17, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

Meanwhile, Tiffany Hayes had a fairytale comeback story. The Valkyries shooting guard played 10 seasons with the Dream, retired in 2023, but returned to play with the Las Vegas Aces in 2024 and signed with the Golden State Valkyries in 2025. This year, Hayes won the WNBA championship against the team where she started and built her basketball career.

Perhaps no one on the team has had a better year than Coach Natalie Nakase, who also became the first Asian American head coach to win a WNBA championship.

In only two years, the Valkyries quickly became the most valuable women’s sports team in the world. Much of the revenue the team has raked in has come from sponsorships and a dedicated fanbase of season ticket holders, many of whom were planning to be at Wednesday’s parade also.

Women’s sports still have a long way to go to reach parity with men’s sports in terms of pay, viewership and overall investment from sports leagues. But players and their fans, who sold out Chase Center over and over again this season, say that the momentum is only getting started.

“This is just what happens when you invest in women’s sports,” Hayes said immediately following the team’s win on Saturday. “We ain’t going nowhere.”