When an expansion team joins a professional sports league, the results are always a bit erratic in the early going. Such has been the case in the [WNBA](https://fansided.com/wnba/), but the Golden State Valkyries have been making a push to change that.
After selling out their season tickets before the year even began and captivating audiences with their exciting play style, expectations began to mount for the league's newest team. While new head coach Natalie Nakase is surely upset with the team's 2-4 record, there has been plenty positive to build on.
This Valkyries team has the perfect blend of experienced and young players, which will only help them as the season goes along. However, after one month of the season, let's take a look at how the team has fared.
Golden State Valkyries are surprisingly competitive
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Golden State sits at just 2-4 heading into Thursday's matchup against the 5-3 Phoenix Mercury. However, two of those losses were closely contested against the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, the unquestioned two best teams in the WNBA.
While they did lose two lopsided contests to the Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks, the final scores are a bit misleading. The Valkyries competed through the first three quarters in each of those contests, but the wheels fell off the wagon near the end of the game.
Their wins against the Sparks and the Washington Mystics proved that they can play with a lead and win close games, which is an incredibly big component of being a successful team. Coach Nakase has this group way ahead of where most expected them to be.
**RELATED:** [**Valkyries lineup shows team has yet to learn important lesson**](https://fansided.com/valkyries-lineup-update-shows-team-yet-to-learn-important-lesson)
The Valkyries have also had five different players lead the game in scoring through six contests, which is an incredible testament to the unselfish nature that they play with. They have nine players averaging between 6.0 and 12.0 points per game, which is exactly how basketball was meant to be played.
If Tiffany Hayes can find her groove after returning from injury, then that may give Golden State the go-to player that they have missed at times through the first month of the season. Turnovers have continued to plague this group as well, but that is what happens when 12 players from completely different backgrounds come together for the first time and have only one month of training camp to prepare.
While the Valkyries would be on the outside looking in if the playoffs were to start today, they are only one game back from being in the postseason picture. It is difficult to give too high a grade to a 2-4 team that is ninth in the league right now, but based on where many expected them to be, and the prospect of where they can go, a high grade o
GRADE: B
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