Game Preview: Valkyries vs. Lynx Commissioner's Cup 6/1/25

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WNBA Golden State Valkyries

Game Preview: Valkyries vs. Lynx Commissioner's Cup 6/1/25

May 30, 2025 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Golden State Valkyries News Release


After two straight games against the defending champs, the Golden State Valkyries head back to Chase Center to face the other team that made the 2024 WNBA Finals, the Minnesota Lynx, on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. The Lynx feature the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and an early MVP contender in Napheesa Collier. Minnesota joins the Liberty as the only remaining unbeaten teams (5-0), while Golden State seeks to get back to .500 at 2-3.

FIRST-EVER COMMISSIONER'S CUP GAME AT CHASE CENTER

Sunday's game at Chase Center marks the Valkyries' first Commissioner's Cup game in franchise history. The Commissioner's Cup is an annual in-season competition in which each Eastern Conference team will play against the other five East teams and every Western Conference team will play against the other six West teams for the chance at a $500,000 prize pool. Commissioner's Cup games will be played from June 1 - June 17, with a championship game between the West's best and East's best on July 1, hosted by whichever team had the best record in Cup play. Potential tiebreakers include average point differential and head-to-head record.

Valkyries vs. Lynx

Sunday, June 1 | Tipoff: 5:30 p.m.

WATCH: KPIX+ (Bay Area), KMAX (Sacramento)

LISTEN: 95.7 The Game

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LAST TIME OUT

The Golden State Valkyries fell just short in their 82-77 defeat against the Liberty in New York on Thursday. Thursday's game was far more competitive than Tuesday's, featuring 20 lead changes. The Valkyries' bench helped push the defending champs to the brink, outscoring theirs 29-10. However, they weren't able to overcome New York's star power, as Breanna Stewart (27) and Sabrina Ionescu (24) combined for 49 points. With the loss, Golden State fell to 2-3 and the Liberty improved to 5-0. » Full Game Recap

PREVIOUS GAME STARTERS

GSV: Veronica Burton, Janelle Salaün, Kayla Thornton, Stephanie Talbot and Temi Fágbénlé

MIN: Courtney Williams, Kayla McBride, Bridget Carleton, Napheesa Collier and Alanna Smith

JANELLE SALAÜN'S REMARKABLE START TO ROOKIE SEASON

Through five games, Valkyries rookie Janelle Salaün is making as many threes per game as sharpshooting superstar Caitlin Clark (2.8 3PM) while shooting a higher percentage from behind the arc (Salaün 44.0 3PT%, Clark 31.4 3PT%) and grabbing as many rebounds per game (7.8 RPG) as multi-time All-Stars Napheesa Collier and Brittney Griner. Salaün recorded her first career double-double on Thursday with 18 points and 13 rebounds, which was just the second double-double in franchise history. The 23-year-old rookie is making waves and will look to keep up the momentum on Sunday.

MINNESOTA SCOUTING REPORT

The Minnesota Lynx have joined the New York Liberty in a tier of their own to start the season as the two remaining unbeaten teams. The Lynx are second in offensive rating (108.6 OFFRTG) and net rating (+10.6 NETRTG), only trailing the Liberty. Minnesota's offense has relied on great ball movement, as they average a WNBA-best 24.0 assists per game. The hub of their offense and defense is forward Napheesa Collier, who leads the league in scoring at 26.8 points per game. Collier is a remarkably efficient volume scorer, shooting 52.7 percent from the field, 43.8 percent from three and 93.4 percent from the free throw line - the only 20-point-per-game scorer on 50-40-90 shooting splits this season. Defensively, she is averaging 2.4 steals per game and 1.4 blocks per game, making her the league's only player ranking top-five in steals and blocks per game.

Check out the Golden State Valkyries Statistics



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