OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Fresh off a history-making playoff run in their inaugural season, the Golden State Valkyries are already gearing up for much more in Year 2.
And so are their faithful fans.
Click to Gallery
Golden State Valkyries' president Jess Smith speaks during press conference in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Golden State Valkyries' general manager Ohemaa Nyanin speaks during press conference in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Golden State Valkyries' head coach Natalie Nakase finishes her press conference in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Golden State Valkyries' head coach Natalie Nakase speaks during press conference in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
President Jess Smith said Tuesday that more than 90% of season-ticketholders have re-committed for the 2026 season — and that's some 10,000-plus fans. And the Valkyries know expectations will be even greater after such a successful first year, with Smith noting everybody is focused on “How can we do it better?"
Golden State became the first franchise in WNBA history to reach the postseason in its inaugural year.
“We're not satisfied,” Smith said at the team's Oakland training facility. “This is the beginning of the beginning. This isn't a movie premiere, this is a team that will be here forever and build legacy and to be a part of this great league. And so for us we're constantly thinking of the things we did well, what we think we can make better and the things that we haven't done yet that we want to.”
Smith referenced one woman from Fresno some four hours away who had season tickets this season, when Golden State sold out all 22 of its home games at 18,064-capacity Chase Center and another for the playoff game against Minnesota last week that was held at San Jose's SAP Center given a conflict at the arena because of the previously scheduled Laver Cup tennis event.
Golden State established a raucous home-court atmosphere in "Ballhalla” as it became known inside Chase Center, the team's play on Valhalla — which in Norse mythology is where Valkyries guide the souls of slain Warriors.
The Valkyries' season ended in a 75-74 loss to the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx last Wednesday in Game 2 of their first-round series, with Cecilia Zandalasini missing a jumper just before the buzzer. Golden State squandered a 17-point third-quarter lead.
“And then you got to look up and you see everybody standing, 18,000 fans standing,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. “After a loss some fans will boo but that's not Ballhalla. They supported us, they were our sixth man, so the reflection for me has been proud and the fact that I built a new family here.”
Nakase told her players how thrilled she was that they nearly forced a deciding Game 3. Nakase was named WNBA Coach of the Year and AP Coach of the Year, while Veronica Burton earned the league’s most improved player award.
Owner Joe Lacob challenged Nakase to win a championship in the franchise's first five years, and she plans to deliver it.
The first-year coach also offered a lasting message for her team: “Everyone, go get some rest, go on vacation, go celebrate what you just did,” Nakase said, “because next year I told them we're all going to do more. And that's what I'm going to focus them on.”
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
Golden State Valkyries' president Jess Smith speaks during press conference in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Golden State Valkyries' general manager Ohemaa Nyanin speaks during press conference in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Golden State Valkyries' head coach Natalie Nakase finishes her press conference in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Golden State Valkyries' head coach Natalie Nakase speaks during press conference in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
PROVO, Utah (AP) — The Utah man charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk returned to court Friday, as his attorneys sought to disqualify prosecutors because the daughter of a deputy county attorney involved in the case attended the rally where Kirk was shot.
Defense attorneys say the relationship represents a conflict of interest after prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty for Tyler Robinson.
Robinson, 22, is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, just a few miles north of the Provo courthouse. He has not yet entered a plea.
The director of a state council that trains prosecutors said he doubted the disqualification attempt would succeed, and he was unaware of any major case where attorneys had been disqualified for bias.
“I would bet against the defense winning this motion,” Utah Prosecution Council Director Robert Church told The Associated Press. “They’ve got to a show a substantial amount of prejudice and bias.”
The prosecutor’s 18-year-old daughter, who attended the event where Kirk was shot, later texted her father in the Utah County Attorney’s Office to describe the chaotic aftermath, according to court filings and testimony. She did not see the shooting but heard a loud pop, according to an affidavit submitted by prosecutors.
Robinson's attorneys say the close connection between the prosecution team and a person present for Kirk's killing “raises serious concerns about past and future prosecutorial decision-making,” according to court documents. They also argue that the “rush” to seek the death penalty is evidence of “strong emotional reactions” by the prosecution and merits disqualification of the entire team.
Defense attorney Richard Novak urged Judge Tony Graf on Friday to bring in the state attorney general’s office in place of Utah County prosecutors to address the alleged conflict of interest. Novak said it was problematic for county prosecutors to litigate on behalf of the state while defending their aptness to stay on the case.
Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray argued that Novak’s last-minute request was aimed at delaying the case against Robinson. His office has asked Graf to deny the disqualification request.
“This is ambush and another stalling tactic,” Gray said.
Several thousand people attended the outdoor rally where Kirk, a co-founder of Turning Point USA who helped mobilize young people to vote for President Donald Trump, was shot as he took audience questions.
The prosecutor's daughter, a student at Utah Valley University, texted a family group chat that day saying, “CHARLIE GOT SHOT.” Gray testified Friday that he was with his colleague when he received that text, and the colleague showed it to him.
In the weeks after the shooting, the young woman did not miss classes and reported no lasting trauma “aside from being scared at the time,” the affidavit said.
Gray emphasized that she was “neither a material witness nor a victim in the case” and that “nearly everything” she knows about Kirk's killing is mere hearsay.
“There is virtually no risk, let alone a significant risk, that it would arouse such emotions in any father-prosecutor as to render him unable to fairly prosecute the case,” he said in a court filing.
The deputy county attorney and his daughter are expected to testify Feb. 3.
If Utah County prosecutors were disqualified, the case would likely shift to prosecutors in a county with enough resources to handle a big case, such as Salt Lake City, or possibly the state attorney general’s office, said Church, the prosecution council director. Graf would have the final say, he said.
Friday's hearing was briefly interrupted when the defense raised concerns that close-up shots of Robinson livestreamed by a local television station could be analyzed by lip readers to see what he was discussing with his attorneys. That prompted Graf to order the camera operator not to film Robinson for the remainder of the hearing.
Prosecutors have said DNA evidence connects Robinson to the killing. Robinson also reportedly texted his romantic partner that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”
At the school where the shooting took place, university president Astrid Tuminez announced Wednesday that she will be stepping down from her role after the semester ends in May.
The state university has been working to expand its police force and add security managers after it was criticized for a lack of key safety measures on the day of the shooting.
Prosecutors are expected to lay out their case against Robinson at a preliminary hearing scheduled to begin May 18.
This story has been updated to correct the name of Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray.
Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
Fourth District Court Judge Tony Graf presides over a hearing for Tyler Robinson in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray addresses the court during a hearing for Tyler Robinson in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
FILE - A U.S. flag hangs at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Sept. 17, 2025, over the site where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed. (AP Photo/Jesse Bedayn, File)
FILE - Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Dec. 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)
