The Golden State Valkyries won the 2026 WNBA title in a fairly improbable way, using the league's best defense to make up for the team having a fairly pedestrian offense. That's probably not a formula that can be easily replicated going forward, which is why this is a crucial offseason for Golden State.

What can the Valkyries do this offseason to ensure they repeat as champions in 2027?

Sign Napheesa Collier

This is the most obvious move of the offseason. The Golden State Valkyries need a go-to scorer and there's a good chance that one of the league's best players, Napheesa Collier, is going to be available, especially after her Minnesota Lynx lost in the first round of the playoffs.

Collier missed much of the regular season and wasn't quite herself in the games she played, but we're talking about a player who averaged 22.9 points per game in her last full season. She's an efficient volume scorer who also happens to be one of the league's most impactful defenders, averaging 1.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in 2025.

That defensive part matters because adding Collier is a way to improve dramatically on offense without being hurt on the defensive side. It's a delicate balance, so I don't want to say Golden State would be better defensively with Collier, but the team would at least be positioned to continue being an elite defensive team. Adding a perennial MVP candidate is something you have to do if you have the chance.

Sign Kelsey Plum

Alright, alright. I just was talking about adding offensive talent without messing up the defense, so why, you might wonder, am I following that up by suggesting the Valkyries should sign Kelsey Plum?

Because the team needs a ball-handler who really threatens defenses. Veronica Burton is a great point guard, but she's not someone who can take a game over offensively. Plum has the ability to be a volume shooter who can create her own shot and initiate the offense. Pairing her and Burton in the backcourt would really change how teams have to defend this Golden State team.

I would be worried about her impact on the defense, yes, but a starting lineup of Kiah Stokes, Collier, Gabby Williams, Plum and Burton is a lineup with four really good defensive players. You can hide Plum by putting her on whoever the opposing team's worst offensive wing is. The upside is that having her and Collier in the lineup together basically takes this from being a middling offense (seventh in offensive rating in 2026 and 14th in total points per game) to being a really good offense. How does someone stop a team like this?

Trade Janelle Salaun

Janelle Salaun won Sixth Player of the Year in 2026. She was an extremely impactful player in the regular season, with her 12.7 points per game ranking second on the team behind Williams. With that said, an upgraded Valkyries team should highly consider trading Salaun away.

For one, adding Collier and Plum means you don't need to rely on Salaun as much anyway. What would she look like in an even smaller role than the one she had in 2026? Would she want to play a smaller role? Could there be a team out there with interest in bringing Salaun in to see if she could excel in a larger role?

Let's also consider this: Salaun didn't play much in the postseason. She averaged 22.0 minutes per game in the regular season, but that dropped to 10.2 minutes per game in the postseason, and there were three playoff games where Salaun didn't even play. In the WNBA Finals, she played more than five minutes just once. It was clear that what Salaun was bringing wasn't what Golden State needed, so bringing her back in 2027 just seems like a weird move after the playoffs showed she wasn't really needed.