The Golden State Warriors have built a legacy of success in the past decade and conditioned fans to expect a legacy of success for basketball in the Bay.

The issue with that standard is that the Warriors haven't lived up to that standard as of late, failing to make it to the playoffs proper in two of the last three seasons, even though they were a Play-In team this past season. 

There's another wrinkle to the Warriors' legacy as well, and that's the presence of another basketball team in San Francisco, one that's gotten off to a historic start. 

The Golden State Valkyries are one of the WNBA's newest teams, playing their first season starting in 2024 and since their inception, the Valkyries have broke the mold for what an expansion team can be in the WNBA. 

They set a new league record for most regular season wins by an expansion team in their first season and made it to the playoffs in their inaugural season, even if they were eliminated in the first round by the Minnesota Lynx. 

The Valkyries set attendance records in the WNBA in their first season and have been building on that momentum with a 10-7 start to the regular season and with such an attractive player destination and with a head coach like Natalie Nakase leading the way, the Valkyries have a real chance at being contenders in the WNBA playoffs for years to come.

That stands in stark contrast to the Warriors and their struggles and recently a current Warriors player and dedicated Valkyries supporter, Brandin Podziemski, gave an honest confession about the differences between the two franchises, saying that Valkyries are the closest Bay Area team to a championship. 

That being said, Podziemski didn't count out the Warriors either and expressed confidence in his own team, but such am honest confession does shed a light on the two sides of basketball in the Bay. 

The Valkyries have brought new life into basketball in the Bay Area and in many ways have picked up where the Warriors of year's past have left off. 

The reception that the Valkyries have had speaks to the love of basketball that exists in the Bay and it also speaks to the kind of expectations of success that the Warriors have. 

In recent years, those expectations haven't been met and while the Valkyries may look to be in the better position to succeed, the Warriors aren't going to be expect to be second best in their city for long.