On Friday, the Golden State Valkyries set the record for most wins by an expansion team with 18 wins. Golden State is currently seventh in the WNBA standings, 1.5 games ahead of Seattle in eighth and two games ahead of Los Angeles and Washington in 10th. The Valkyries are poised to make the playoffs in their inaugural season despite their first-round draft pick missing the season, and despite their first all-star, Kayla Thornton, going down with a season-ending knee injury last month. Even if the Valkyries fall short of the playoffs, this season has been wildly successful. As such, they offer a blueprint for the five expansion teams that will join the league in the next five years. Here are five things those expansion teams can learn from the Valkyries.

1. Go for Experience

Each WNBA team was allowed to protect up to six players for the expansion draft. That meant that extensively, the Valkyries would get the seventh-best player from each team. I expected the Valkyries would go for young players with upside in the expansion draft and perhaps even negotiate some trades for future draft assets. Instead, they built a smart, savvy roster of players who know how to play. Seven of Golden State’s 11 picks in the expansion draft were at least 27 years old. Even some of the players with less WNBA experience like Julie Vanloo and Maria Conde had extensive professional experience in Europe. They may not have a lot of high-end talent, but you can go a long way in this league simply by not having any bad players in your rotation and that is one reason Golden State owns a winning record.

2. Hire the Right Coach

The WNBA had eight new coaches entering this season, including seven first-time hires. A few of those have been wildly successful, including Karl Smesko in Atlanta and Sydney Johnson in Washington, but the frontrunner for Coach of the Year is Natalie Nakase, who the Valkyries hired following three years as an assistant to Becky Hammon in Las Vegas. Nakase was the perfect coach for this veteran team. No WNBA team has played more zone defense than Golden State this season, and the Valkyries will often switch up their zone from one possession to the next to confuse opposing offenses. Golden State was never going to have the best offense in the league but they are fourth in the league in defensive rating, which is a credit to the roster and especially the coach.

3. Create a Home-Court Advantage

Golden State currently leads the WNBA in home attendance, per Across the Timeline. Not only have the fans packed the arena, they have helped create an atmosphere that is loud and fun and difficult to play in. Eight WNBA teams have winning records at home this season, including the Valkyries at 10-6. Seven of those eight teams are in playoff spots. By taking care of their home court and winning just enough on the road, Golden State has found a winning formula future expansion teams can replicate.

4. Take a Ton of Threes

One of the reasons I thought Golden State would struggle in its first year was a lack of players who could create advantages on offense. They have made up for that deficiency by moving the ball and shooting a ton of threes. Golden State is fourth in the WNBA in assist percentage. The three teams above them have the three best records in WNBA. The Valkyries are 11th in three point percentage but first in three point attempts, shooting 2.3 more per game than the next closest team. They have scored 37.5 percent of their points on threes, also tops in the league.

On the other side of the ball, the Valkyries have the third-highest defensive rebounding rate despite their heavy use of zone defense. By limiting the opposing team’s second-chance opportunities and taking more valuable shots on the other end, Golden State can make up for what they might lack in talent.

5. Make Smart Free Agent Signings

Golden State was largely quiet in the offseason in both trades and free agency. It was thought they might pursue Kelsey Plum but instead their big acquisition outside of the expansion draft and rookie draft was Tiffany Hayes, who was coming off her 12th WNBA season. Hayes won Sixth Woman of the Year with the Aces in 2024, but the Valkyries were able to offer her a starting role with more minutes and the keys to the offense. Hayes is averaging the most rebounds and assists per game of her career in her 13th WNBA season. That almost certainly wouldn’t have happened had she joined a more established team.

Free agency will be much different for the new expansion teams. We will have a new collective bargaining agreement following this season, and nearly every veteran in the league will be a free agent. If Portland or Toronto wants to try to lure a star or stars to their city, they can do that, but there is a decent chance they’ll have to overpay if they’re not able to attract All-WNBA caliber talent. I think they could be better served by offering a veteran player an on-ball role and surrounding her with shooting and defense. Someone like Aari McDonald, who did not make a roster out of training camp but kept Indiana’s offense afloat with Caitlin Clark out, could be the perfect person to drive an offense for an expansion team.