Tiffany Hayes was not initially sold on joining an expansion franchise.
Coming off a Sixth Woman of the Year season with the Aces in 2024, Hayes had a decision to make on how she wanted to add to her career legacy. She ultimately chose to follow former Aces assistant coach Natalie Nakase to the Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA’s newest team.
For Hayes, it was a risk that paid off.
“I'm so glad I [came],” Hayes told Sports Illustrated. “This place definitely feels like a second home to me and I hope it's like that for years to come.”
Led by Nakase, the Valkyries went on to become the first WNBA expansion team to make the playoffs in its inaugural season while setting the record for most wins by an expansion team in its first year (23). Once a difficult decision, Hayes landed on a team with a culture that she does not want to leave.
Hayes, 30, had a brief retirement before she joined the Aces in 2024. After playing 10 seasons with the Dream and one with the Sun, she was ready to turn her focus to family and other business ventures.
But Hayes’s season with the Valkyries has now rejuvenated her.
Despite Golden State’s season ending in the first round of the playoffs against the Lynx, Hayes cannot help but feel grateful for the love shown by fans. Perhaps no moment better encapsulated the Valkyries fans’ support than the moments following the team’s elimination. A sellout crowd of 18,543 used the moments following the heartbreaking result to give a standing ovation to the team that gave them so much in its inaugural season.
I’ve never seen anything like this. The Valkyries lost but the crowd stayed on their feet. GSV chants throughout. They’ve set the gold standard for a WNBA fanbase. pic.twitter.com/KHFVPW2AvV
— Matt Lively (@mattblively) September 18, 2025
“We literally just lost the game by one point, and [because of the fans] we feel kind of like we won,” Hayes said. “Besides the tears and the emotions inside that our season is over.”
Hayes gives a lot of credit to the fans for the success the Valkyries experienced in their first year.
“When we were down, we had losing streaks, they were there,” Hayes said. “We had winning streaks, they were there. So just to feel that and that reassurance from the fans in the community, it goes a long way, so really we show much gratitude for that.”
Hayes says she knew from the start that this team could be special behind Nakase, who earned Coach of the Year honors. Even then, she did not expect the Valkyries to make the history that they did.
“When you know, you know about a team,” Hayes said. “But I would have never ever… we exceeded all the expectations, even, almost in my head. … Just seeing where we started in training camp, how fast we jelled, how fast we picked up things, I'm like, ‘Yeah, this is gonna be a better season than all of us imagined and I just hope everybody feels like that.’ And we all did.”
Another word Hayes used to describe her experience with the Valkyries is “refreshing.” The guard points to the activations the team utilized that better connected the players to fans throughout the season, including the ‘Rakuten Arrivals’ runway.
Through the partnership, fans were able to shop the players' tunnel walk outfits in real-time, which Hayes felt gave her another avenue to express her style and story.
“That's connectivity right there,” Hayes said. “If you see something you like on me, you can go get it right away. I feel connected to you in a way and now we're like ‘outfit sisters.’ … That’s a part of building community and becoming a part of the community because we're new here, and they've accepted us with open arms.”
As for what’s next, Hayes is ready for the Valkyries to build on the foundation they set in their inaugural season. She will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, but if her comments are any indication, Hayes is ready to continue building in Golden State.
“I just think staying locked in and knowing that this is a really special place for us and that we can really do some amazing things, and always have that in the back of your head,” Hayes said. “I think that's something that will drive us next year for sure.”
More WNBA on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tiffany Hayes Opens Up on ‘Second Home’ Valkyries: ‘We Exceeded All Expectations’ .
