From Oakland to the Embarcadero, the Valkyries bring their title to the Bay

The Golden State Valkyries brought their first WNBA championship celebration to San Francisco on Wednesday, arriving by ferry from Oakland before the parade along the Embarcadero. USA TODAY’s Heather Burns and Marcus D. Smith documented the arrival and early celebrations in their live report, carried by Yahoo Sports.

Gabby Williams arrived with her Finals MVP trophy, while Kaitlyn Chen recorded the day with a camcorder. Those scenes followed Saturday’s title-clinching 68-63 victory over Atlanta, already covered in Stadium & Street’s Game 7 report.

A parade across the franchise’s geography

The team’s announced route ran from the Ferry Building near Mission Street to Second and King streets. The geography fits the franchise: its practice facility is in Oakland, while home games are played in San Francisco. The ferry journey connected those two parts of its identity before the street celebration.

Golden State won the championship in its second season. Williams finished Game 7 with 30 points, and the club named the championship parade as a celebration for the fans who had filled its arena. The team reported that Game 7 was its 53rd consecutive sellout across regular-season and playoff home games.

The title gave a young franchise an immediate shared memory. Wednesday extended it beyond the arena, with the trophy traveling through the region the team represents. This is the celebration after the championship, with the October 31 result and November 4 parade kept on their own dates.