Get ready to party, Valkyries fans.
In mere hours, Golden State plans to celebrate its WNBA championship on Wednesday with a waterfront parade through the violet-clad streets of San Francisco.
The Valkyries’ WNBA Finals win over the Atlanta Dream on Saturday capped the team’s record-breaking, two-year ascent from expansion team to league champions — a journey that captivated Bay Area and coronated Ballhalla (the arena previously known as the Chase Center) as the sport’s new crown jewel and best home-court advantage.
The Valkyries are expected to begin parading down The Embarcadero at noon Wednesday, starting at Mission Street outside of the Ferry Building and ending some two hours later at King and Second streets.
Follow along here for all the latest updates from the festivities:
11:12 a.m.: ‘There’s a Valhalla effect going on’
Near the Bay Bridge, a group of four friends decked out in Valkyries jerseys and purple wigs waited excitedly for the festivities to begin. Some of them took the train in from the South Bay, with more and more fans clad in lavender joining the journey northward.
Fans from the East Bay joined the party, too.
“It proves that we’ve been waiting for a team for a long time, and it proves that when you put money in … and when you invest in women’s sports, people are going to show up, especially in the Bay Area,” said Simone Barnard, a 29-year-old resident of Oakland. “We accepted this team immediately from the get-go.”
Barnard has been a fan of women’s sports since childhood, but she recalled facing ridicule for it by others while growing up. Not anymore.
“There’s a Valhalla effect going on and people want to replicate that,” she added. “In a time where we’re all craving community and like togetherness and third spaces, I think the Valkyries kind of took the culture of the Bay Area and made it their own and kind of just met us where we’re at, not tried to make something else.”
The Valkyrie’s champion busses are ready for the team to arrive at the ferry station in San Francisco Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (Ray Chavez/ Bay Area News Group)
10:49 a.m.: Fans begin arriving in San Francisco for the parade
Across the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, final preparations were underway for the championship parade.
The Valkyries’ championship busses were parked and awaiting the team outside the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Meanwhile, a sea of fans dressed in purple spilled off the San Francisco Caltrain train and into the city on Wednesday morning, passing people selling T-shirts on the street as they headed in the direction of the parade route.
By 10:30, droves of fans had already lined up along the parade route holding signs and flags.
Sisters Veronica Grace Flores of Millbrae and Berniedette Flores of South San Francisco both brought purple sequined jackets to the parade with them Wednesday — their favorite color since grade school, but just a secondary benefit of the Valkyries win.
“Finally! Finally! Finally!” Veronica Grace Flores exclaimed when asked about the Bay Area getting a women’s basketball team. “It’s just really rewarding to see these girls. They put so much of their heart out there, and they’re just such good girls,” Berniedette Flores said. “This is the day to call in sick.”
“It’s nice to see a lot of young kids, a lot of young boys coming to support women’s sports, which I feel like is still very new,” Veronica Grace Flores added. “Seeing some of the families come or even the dads bringing the sons, that’s really great to get them exposed and start their support earlier on because we need support.”
10:35 a.m.: ‘I played as hard as I could – we all did.’
WNBA Finals MVP Gabby Williams garnered some of the biggest cheers Wednesday during the team’s rally at Jack London Square in Oakland.
She recalled Game 7 of the finals, when she struggled during the first half but exploded in the second with 28 points. Her offensive outburst propelled the team from a halftime deficit to the WNBA championship.
All of it was thanks to her teammates, Williams said, recalling how “these guys would have loved me the same” no matter how she played in that game.
“When you feel that, the pressure goes off and the basket is as big as this logo,” said Williams, motioning to a massive Valkyries sign behind her.
“I played as hard as I could,” Williams added. “We all did.”
Williams specifically called out numerous family members and friends who attended Wednesday’s rally, recalling how her mother went so far as to make Costco grocery runs to that Williams could focus on the playoffs.
And Williams saved some of her greatest praise for Valkyries fans, who have transformed the Chase Center into a venue nicknamed “Ballhalla.”
“I was literally smiling – I could not stop smiling during the warmup of Game 7,” said Williams, recalling how she thought “I’m in the best arena in the entire planet.”“You guys took the stress off of my shoulders and allowed me to play so free,” she added.
10:28 a.m.: The coach speaks
Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase hailed her players during the rally at Jack London Square, recalling how a single theme – love – permeated the team from its very first game.
“I know we’ve been sharing that word but love is the most empowering thing in the world. These guys embody love.”
The Valkyries have become known for their unique depth and deep bench, led by 6th Player of the Year Janelle Salaün. And on Wednesday, Nakase praised the team’s selflessness.
“It matters – everyone’s role, everyone’s love for each other, everyone’s trust in each other, it matters,” Nakase told the crowd. “One minute, one second, they fully took on the role and they backed it because they wanted to do it for their teammates.”
She also spoke of the team’s imposing defense-minded style of play, which was key to the Valkyries’ title run.
“These women are gritty, they’re nasty, they’re aggressive, and it’s part of the Bay,” Nakase said.
10:20 a.m.: Lacob issues another promise
Golden State Valkyries’ owner Joe Lacob made headlines when the Bay Area was awarded its own WNBA franchise by vowing that the team would win a title within five years.
On Wednesday, while celebrating a championship in just the team’s second year in existence, Lacob acknowledged that “I never thought we could do that within two” years.
Then he went on to issue another promise.
“The best is yet to come, of course,” Lacob said. “Look what we did, what these ladies did. Everybody was really amazing. We can all be so proud of it.”
“We have the most amazing fans,” he added. “We’ve got everything it takes to do this again. And we are going to it again.”
10:13 a.m.: Barbara Lee celebrates with the team
At a fan rally in Jack London Square ahead of the parade, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee donned a lavender wig and took the stage with the team.
“Women’s sports, first of all, is on the map, thanks to our champions here,” said Lee, while suggesting that more women will play sports thanks to the Valkyries’ title. “We don’t ask for permission – they didn’t ask for permission.”
Standing under a clear blue sky, Lee repeatedly rallied the crowd in cheers for the team. In the process, she said that the Valkyries have a bright future.
“We can’t forget that we gotta keep love and joy in what we do here in sports,” Lee continued. “The future is women’s sports, with a whole lot of love, because that’s what brings championships to women’s sports.”
10:08 a.m.: The path to the championship
The Golden State Valkyries’ path to the WNBA title began barely more than three years ago, when the league announced its plans to expand to the Bay Area.
Right from the start, the team’s owner put the league on notice.
“I’m telling you right now, we will win a WNBA championship in the first five years of this franchise,” said Joe Lacob, who also serves as governor of the Golden State Warriors.
Over the next three years, the team built a title contender faster than any other prior expansion franchise in major North American professional sports – making the playoffs in their inaugural season and scrapping their way to the league championship in their second campaign.
Get caught up on the nascent franchise’s major milestones with this timeline.
Serena Poon, 48, from San Jose, at the Valkyries Tip-Off ceremony at Jack London Square in Oakland, Calif. ahead of the parade in San Francisco on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. “I’m just riding a high,” said Poon, “It keeps getting better. The Valks win, and then the Dems win. Sanity and empathy, let’s bring it back. I’m super stoked to see what’s going on in the House, and also all the governorships.” (Justice delos Santos/ Bay Area news Group)
9:17 a.m.: The celebration begins
A sea of violet began trickling into Ferry Lawn at Jack London Square ahead of the Oakland portion of the Valkyries’ championship celebration, with Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and legendary Oakland rapper Too $hort’s “Blow the Whistle” blaring from a set of stage speakers ahead of the festivities.
“I’m just riding a high,” said Serena Poon, 48, from San Jose. “It keeps getting better. The Valks win, and then the Dems win. Hopefully, the country’s going to some sanity. Sanity and empathy, let’s bring it back.”
Bay Area News Group reporters Nathan Canilao, Christian Babcock and Kate Bradshaw contributed to this report