‘The blue is stupid’: New Valkyries court design draws divided reaction from team, fans

SAN FRANCISCO — There was something different about Ballhalla on Sunday night.

The Valkyries unveiled a different Chase Center court design ahead of their 96-79 win over the Toronto Tempo, setting a new bar for brand integration. Not everyone was a fan of the new design, though.

Golden State’s new floor is bright blue – decidedly not a Valkyries team color – and features clear Chase Bank branding throughout. A blue gradient and “Freedom motif” named after the credit card bearing the same name adorn the court, replacing the traditional violet hue.

Fan reaction on social media has been near-universally negative, noting the stark contrast between the new hue and the traditional violet floor.

At the arena, the reaction was mixed.

“The blue is stupid,” fan Ellen Robinson said matter-of-factly.

Multiple fans noted the contrast between the shade of blue chosen and the violet “GSV” in the middle of the court, namely that they did not match.

Tempo coach Sandy Brondello seemed puzzled by the absence of violet.

“It’s blue. They’re purple,” Brondello mused. “That’s OK. Blue and purple go together.”

In a release, the Valkyries said the new hardwood is the team’s “first-ever custom court and the only co-branded partner court to be revealed in the WNBA this season thus far. The court brings the partnership with Chase Freedom to life beyond the jersey, celebrating the fan energy driving the growth of women’s basketball.”

The new floor will be in use for both games against Toronto this week, with the second taking place on Tuesday night.

In a post announcing the court change on Instagram, the Valkyries said that Chase Freedom is offering fans 20% off at the Golden State Shop and will donate $1,000 to the Golden State Community Foundation for every shot made during the two games.

The charitable aspect drew praise from some fans, as well as Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase and guard Veronica Burton.

“It’s a little different from the normal colors,” said fan Chris Akings. “But to see that every shot, basically, this is happening because of the donation, I think that’s pretty cool that they could do that. It’s for a great cause.”

Nakase was effusive in her praise and highlighted the charitable aspect unprompted during her pregame press conference.

“I love it. I think it’s beautiful,” she said. “I also think change is also good for players because it just gives them a different feel. I don’t know for sure how the fans have been responding, but it’s beautiful. We’re playing for something bigger than ourselves. If we can do both at the same time, I think that’s an amazing opportunity.”

One thing several fans had in common? They wanted the purple back soon.

“If we lose, they better jettison that court really fast,” Robinson said.

‘I love who we have’

When the WNBA trade deadline passed Sunday at noon, it was official – there would be no additions or subtractions to the Valkyries’ roster.

That was just fine with Burton, who has embodied Golden State’s desired culture from the beginning and was pleased to see the same group remain in place.

“That’s not my job, so at the end of the day, I don’t really think about that,” Burton told the Bay Area News Group. “I love who we have here, so I’m happy. That’s been the same the whole time, that feeling, that love for each other. So we don’t really pay much attention to what’s going on outside our locker room, and I think that’s refreshing about us.”

Nakase was visibly on board with keeping things the same, noting how much she was grinning while discussing her team.

“Do you see the smile on my face? Am I happy?” she asked rhetorically. “Yeah. Look, we haven’t reached our peak yet, right? We haven’t maximized where we are yet on so many levels. And then my response definitely has been strength in numbers. It’s something that we took to heart because of what happened in the playoffs.

“So as we continue to build in the right direction, Ohemma (Nyanin) has done an elite job of the moves and the decisions she made in the offseason and what she was able to construct. And so as we work in tandem, she’s my partner in crime. We continue to build, but we continue to push each other to make sure we’re going to be elite at all levels.”

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