Valkyries, fans revel in franchise's first WNBA title during championship parade in downtown San Francisco

Golden State Valkyries fans have turned out in droves from the jump. They've packed the Chase Center, fueling an atmosphere nicknamed "Ballhalla" in each of the WNBA franchise's first two seasons of existence.

The Valkyries led the W in average home attendance in both 2025 and 2026 , according to Across the Timeline.

The energy of the violet-clad Golden State faithful was palpable during Year 1, when the Valkyries became the league's first expansion franchise to make the playoffs in its inaugural season. The support only built in Year 2, as Natalie Nakase's squad won 32 games and then the organization's first WNBA title.

That fervor was felt on Wednesday, all throughout downtown San Francisco, where the Valkyries held their championship parade along the Embarcadero.

With the waterfront in view, fans poured in to rejoice in the celebration of a Golden State postseason run that culminated in a thrilling Game 7 victory over the Atlanta Dream .

The winner-take-all showdown on Halloween night, according to USA Sports PR, drew 3.3 million viewers , making it the most-watched WNBA playoff game ever and the second most-watched WNBA game, period, since the league's opening weekend in 1997.

Kiah Stokes is a four-time WNBA champion. The veteran center won her first three titles in a four-season span with the Las Vegas Aces.

She earned another ring this year with the Valkyries, and she took the opportunity Wednesday to remind everyone how one particular analytics metric discounted Golden State this summer. Stokes donned a customized T-shirt that featured an ESPN WNBA Basketball Power Index graphic from July 5 .

The graphic showcased the five teams who, at the time, had the best chances to win it all in 2026. Notably, the Valkyries weren't among the bunch.

But they defeated a pair of the teams included — sweeping the Aces in the WNBA semifinals and outlasting the Dream in the WNBA Finals — on their way to championship glory.

Natalie Nakase unintentionally draws some laughs while explaining Valkyries' defensive identity

Before the parade, the team was introduced during a championship celebration in Oakland. While Nakase was illustrating the grittiness of the Valkyries — who allowed, by far, the fewest points per game this season — her word choice resulted in some humorous facial expressions and an outburst of laughter.

"I'm being serious, guys," Nakase had to clarify.

In all seriousness, Nakase has established herself as one of the W's best coaches. She was crowned the WNBA Coach of the Year in 2025. Quickly, she's constructed a cohesive and championship-caliber culture in the Bay Area .

Valkyries board ferry in Oakland, boat over to Embarcadero in San Francisco for parade

Once the Valkyries finished their festivities in Oakland, they traveled by ferry to San Francisco.

That made for some stunning aerial views of their journey to their championship parade. The team's mascot, Violet, was having quite the time, dancing as the watercraft continued toward the Embarcadero, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle .

Plenty of love for WNBA Finals MVP Gabby Williams

Golden State is widely billed as a well-rounded WNBA team. It doesn't have the conventional star power like a handful of other squads in the W.

No player averaged 15-plus points per game this season for the Valkyries. That said, Gabby Williams is their leading scorer, and she certainly starred in the WNBA Finals.

The two-way French American forward posted 19.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.6 steals per contest over the seven-game series. In the league's first Game 7, she put up a 30-piece, scoring a WNBA postseason-record 28 second-half points in a 68-63 triumph .

She helped Golden State erase its six-point halftime deficit and defeat an Atlanta team centered around All-Stars Angel Reese, Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard.

"I was literally smiling. I could not stop smiling during the warmups of Game 7, said Williams , who grew up playing youth basketball in the Bay Area and honored the full-circle moment Wednesday with a sweatshirt that read "For! The! Bay!"

She continued on the mic in Oakland: "I was like, 'How ridiculous is [it] that I'm in the best arena in the entire planet.' I've played in the Olympics. I've played on the biggest stages. … And I'm literally cheesing so hard during the warmups. … I was like, 'Look where I am.'

"You guys took the stress off of my shoulders and allowed me to play so free."

But then Williams candidly and funnily delivered this line:

"I was ass," she said, alluding to her slow start.

"I was ass for like 30 minutes of that game. I hit one bucket, and y'all erupted. And I thought I had 40 points."

The two-time All-Star didn't didn't end up too far off that mark and was named WNBA Finals MVP for her heroics .

Williams was in the spotlight during Wednesday's parade and had the privilege of beating the drum while spearheading "G-S-V" chants.

Former Warriors center Festus Ezeli, Giants outfielder Hunter Pence join in on the fun

A couple of memorable faces from fellow Bay Area championship-winning teams were spotted on Wednesday.

Former Golden State Warriors center Festus Ezeli, who won an NBA title with the Warriors in 2015 — at the beginning of their dynasty — was on hand, and so was former San Francisco Giants outfielder Mike Pence, who won a pair of World Series amid the Giants' three-ring run in the 2010s.

Ezeli, in an interview with NBC Bay Area, was protecting the Valkyries' WNBA championship trophy, similar to how all 6-foot-11 of him used to protect the paint on the hardwood.

"Nobody's going to take it away from the Bay Area again, alright?" Ezeli said of the trophy, via NBC Bay Area . "It just means a lot for the Bay. It means a lot for these ladies and all the investment that has gone into this women's team. It just shows you what can happen if you invest in the team."

Considering Pence also knows how difficult it is to win a championship in pro sports, he was asked how much credit the Valkyries deserve for getting it done so early in the franchise's history.

"I mean, so much credit," Pence said, via the parade broadcast the W streamed Wednesday.

"The city backed them, and they stood up and pulled [it] out for us. You just feel that community support. The dedication and the heart of this team was inspiring. It was historic. And they're the champs."

Valkyries guard Kaitlyn Chen was a fan magnet on Wednesday as well. She interacted with gobs of them, partying along the way.

Chen even helped operate the ferry taking the team to San Francisco.

Tiffany 'Tip' Hayes soaks in long-awaited WNBA championship

Tiffany Hayes has been playing in the W since 2012. She's 37 years old. Finally, she's a WNBA champion.

Hayes spent her first 10 WNBA seasons with the Dream, the team she ended up beating to enjoy the well-deserved circus that was Wednesday.