Five Sneakers to Wear to the Golden State Valkyries WNBA Championship Parade

It took them two hard-fought and struggle-filled seasons, but the Golden State Valkyries finally broke through and won the WNBA Championship. That’s a silly statement, of course, as multiple franchises across all sports have played decades without coming close to winning it all, but the Valkyries deserve all the credit in the world for winning it all despite fielding a roster that does not have the big names that have been credited with uplifting the league for the past several years.

The Valkyries didn’t do with an Angel Reese, an A’ja Wilson, a Caitlin Clark, a Sabrina Ionescu, a Breanna Stewart, or a Candace Parker - all current or former signature shoe athletes - but they delivered with a strong roster of players where you have to wonder why the teams that had them previously allowed them to be taken in the expansion draft.

And then there’s the case of Gabby Williams. The WNBA Finals MVP set scoring records during the first seven-game WNBA Finals series ever, but she wasn’t even on the Valkyries the year prior. After her star turn in the 2024 Olympics when she nearly led France to a monumental upset against Team USA in the Gold Medal Game, she still wasn’t a headliner like her fellow All-Stars Reese, Wilson, and Paige Bueckers, all of whom she defeated in this year’s playoff run.

Thankfully, Jordan Brand noticed early, signing Williams in 2023 and lacing her up in various colorways of the women’s exclusive Jordan Heirs, but also PEs of the Jordan Triangle, Jordan Tatums, and Jordan Lukas. But for the Finals, Williams delivered in the flagship Jordan Brand sneaker, the Air Jordan 41 in the yet-to-be-released stateside Amethyst colorway.

The Valkyries championship parade is set for November 4, which should give fans plenty of time to coordinate their fits for the big day. While we hope this will give Jordan Brand the chance to send Williams some exclusive never-before-seen heat (perhaps the Travis Scott and Grand Theft Auto 6 Air Force 1 Cactus Jack collabs?), there are plenty of sneakers in that Valkyries light purple hue that fans will be able to choose from.

Air Jordan 41 Amethyst

Here’s a fun fact: you can buy the Air Jordan 41 in the same colorway that Gabby Williams wore during the WNBA Finals in non-US territories. So if you happen to be a SF tech executive who has the means to make it happen, you could reach out to someone who lives in Australia (the first country that pops up when you search for the Air Jordan 41 Amethyst online) and have it delivered to the Bay Area in time for Wednesday’s parade. If there is a place in the country that has the means to make that happen, it’s the one that has a WNBA franchise that became the first to be worth over a billion dollars. And with this past weekend’s championship coming in Year 2, that price is set to rise even more.

Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG Mauve

Call it Mauve, Sky J Mauve (the actual name of the color on the box label), Lilac, Lavender, or Light Purple; it was the pair that noted Valkyries fan and Bay Area legend E-40 was rocking during Game 7. While Too $hort went viral a few weeks ago courtesy of Gabby Williams giving him a shoutout after a playoff game by reciting one of his most iconic lines (something about his favorite word that we can’t repeat), it was E-40 who was a Day 1 Valkyries fan. He even showed up to the team’s expansion draft when all they had was coach Natalie Nakase. But then again, when you have a coach who rides for her players like this, it’s hard to deny this crew, even if it’s only their second season in existence.

adidas Harden Vol. 10 Tech Purple

As we covered during our preview of the Finals a few weeks ago, recently minted WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Janelle Salaün has not had the best postseason. Her minutes were drastically reduced during the playoffs as the Valkyries adjusted to different matchups that did not require her skill set, although she did have a breakout Game 3 in a loss. We did not get to see the adidas Harden Vol. 10 all that much during the Finals, but fans can make up for it with the Tech Purple colorway that’s a better match for the Golden State Valkyries vibes than the Lucid Aquamarine Salaün wore during Game 3 or the blast of pink that is the Harden Vol. 10 Reui.

Nike Kobe AD Protro Purple Stardust

While Kaitlyn Chen’s minutes decreased as the WNBA Finals progressed and her biggest contribution to the team during Game 7 was easing the tension by wearing a hot dog costume for Halloween, we’re giving her plenty of props for rocking the Nike Kobe AD Protro in the Purple Stardust for the final few games after starting the series in Caitlin Clark’s Nike Kobe 6 Light Armory Blue PE. The Purple Stardust colorway is a perfect complement to the team’s light violet look, and that should be on the feet of plenty of fans for the parade in downtown San Francisco.

New Balance 2002R Protection Pack Lunar New Year

Kayla Thornton provided the Valkyries with some New Balance representation, although it’s hard to argue that the P400 pairs that she has been wearing during the playoffs match well with the team colors. A New Balance sneaker that does blend in nicely is the New Balance 2002R Protection Pack Lunar New Year pair that was released towards the end of 2022. The Protection Pack theme has come and gone from the New Balance lineup through the years (we appear to be in a “gone” phase at the moment), but there’s never a wrong time to put on a pair of these wearable relics, especially during a parade celebrating a championship.

Bonus: Tiffany Hayes’ Taped-Up Nike Hyperquickness

Longtime fans of the Atlanta Dream can take solace in the fact that even though their team came up short, one of their own finally won the big one. Tiffany Hayes played ten seasons for the Dream, including their 2013 squad that made it to the WNBA Finals. Unfortunately for Hayes and the Dream, they were not able to defeat the inevitability of Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus. It would take them over a decade to get back to the Finals, and it just so happened that Hayes was on the other side.

For reasons unexplained (so far), Hayes wore her Nike Hyperquickness with the Swoosh covered up for several seasons early in her career, including in 2013 when the Dream made the Finals. If someone can find their old pair of the Hyperquickness and put tape over it for the parade, maybe Hayes can spot it, and we can finally get an explanation.

Juan Martinez

From video game journalism to veteran of the sneaker blog era to podcasting about well, everything, Juan is smiling through it all and can't believe this is his life. His current hot take is that people are really underrating the Psyduck trading card market. Email: juan@soleretriever.com Instagram | Twitter | Bluesky | Threads : @ezyville