BOUNCE: The Valkyries' 1st Season in the Bay

The Golden State Valkyries created a movement bigger than themselves. Today, we’ll hear about the "Violet Wave" on the Finale of Bounce: The Valkyries' 1st Season in the Bay. 

The WPBA is a pro developmental league in the East Bay with big ambitions and real impact. It’s recognized by FIBA — rare for a U.S. women’s league outside the WNBA — and it’s becoming a place where players continue their careers, get seen by scouts, and find community.

What if your mom played basketball from high school, to college, and then for the WNBA. And what if as their kid, basketball wasn’t really your thing? That is reporter Audy McAfee’s story. She dug into her mother’s basketball history and found out what an O.G. baller she was. 

Today's episode of BOUNCE is all about the people behind the mic: sports announcers bringing listeners right into the thick of the game.

For the first time since their team folded in 1981, the first professional women’s basketball team in San Francisco reunites in the Bay Area.

The Valkyries are playing better than projected. But even the best professional athletes are finding that the real money lies in tapping into the big business of commercial endorsements. Today, that also means developing a personal brand, and lots of online engagement.

It's episode five of BOUNCE and in today’s episode, we ask: What does the Valks’ arrival mean for the LGBTQ community in the Bay?

The Valkyries lead the WNBA in attendance, and Valks merch is EVERYWHERE. Will popularity mean better pay for the players?

There is a wave of women’s sports bars opening across the United States. The trend started up in the Pacific Northwest a couple of years ago and has recently landed in the Bay Area with Rikki's. 

It's the second episode of BOUNCE, KALW’s basketball podcast that’s all about The Valkyries first season in the Bay. This one’s all about the team’s fearless leader: Coach Natalie Nakase.

The night finally arrived. Something fans anticipated for generations. The. First. Game.

The Golden State Valkyries will play their first game ever tonight! And to welcome the team to the Bay, we’re revamping BOUNCE, our the nationally award-winning basketball podcast, by, about, and for the Bay. Here’s a taste of what’s in store.

Tom Meschery was the first player in Golden State Warriors franchise history to have his jersey number retired. He grew up in San Francisco and played for the Warriors when the team moved to the City from Philadelphia in 1962. But it was off the court that Meschery had a second career as an accomplished poet and writer.

Marcus Thompson writes about basketball for the national outlet The Athletic. In recent years he wrote biographies of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. But before all that, Marcus grew up a Warriors’ fan in Oakland’s Sobrante Park.

The Warriors Community Foundation has donated over $10 million to nonprofits in Alameda and San Francisco counties since launching in 2012.

The Golden State Warriors’ off-season is underway. In one of their last moves in Oakland, the team introduced its three draft picks at its convention center practice facility. But while the new players posed for the media, the vets have other things going on. In the latest episode of Bounce: the Warriors’ last season in Oakland, KALW’s Ben Trefny has more.

The Golden State Warriors season ended last week with a dramatic loss to the Toronto Raptors. It’s not the send-off Oakland fans were hoping for as the team bids farewell to Oracle Arena. Now, a season of promise turns into an off-season of uncertainty. There are still signs of the team all over the Town and that’s not going to change any time soon. In fact, the logo for this podcast is the iconic Warriors’ bridge image dripping off a brick wall, and that’s from a mural in Oakland by Illuminaries. In this edition of Bounce, we catch up with Illuminaries co-founder Tim Hon whose crew are painting for the Dubs.

Tomorrow night, the Warriors will play their last game in Oakland. When the team leaves the Coliseum, they’ll leave behind a stadium that’s ideal for public transit riders.

We all know sports is a business. That’s why the Warriors are leaving for San Francisco — to make more money. But sports are also emotional. Sentimental, even. In the lead up to the NBA Finals, Stephen Curry decided to give back in a very sports way. He identified 30 people in the community who made a difference in his and others’ lives and gave them each a pair of specially crafted shoes from his main sponsor, the athletic wear company Under Armour. Curry’s barber Yusef Wright is one of those people. He works out of Benny Adem Grooming Parlor, just a few blocks away from the Warriors downtown practice court. In this episode of Bounce, we went to that barbershop and found a sense of peace, purpose, and hometown pride.

The Golden State Warriors have had a week off after sweeping the Western Conference Finals. So they turned their attention to the East, to see whom they’d face for the NBA championship.

Portland Trail Blazers guard and East Oakland native Damian Lillard recently returned to Oracle Arena to face off against the Golden State Warriors in the same building where he grew up cheering for them.

The Golden State Warriors are rolling, now. Last night they crushed the Portland Trailblazers in the first game of the Western Conference Finals. But, win or lose, the team is leaving for San Francisco next year. In the latest from Bounce, we're looking at how the Golden State Warriors organization is teaming up with local businesses like Oakland's Bakesale Betty to bring some East Bay flavor to the City.

You can say the Warriors relocating to San Francisco is a business move. With courtside suites costing more than $2 million a year in a city with some of the wealthiest folks on the planet, the franchise is poised to make a lot more money. Not to mention the businesses popping up near the Warriors’ new billion-dollar Chase Center. But what about the Oakland establishments near Oracle Arena in East Oakland? What are their prospects after the team leaves? In this episode of Bounce, we're headed down Hegenberger Road to see how businesses are feeling about the Warriors bouncing to San Francisco.

This interview aired in the April 3, 2023 episode of Crosscurrents.

In this episode of Bounce, we tell the story of half-a-century of trials and tribulations through the eyes of a longtime fan.

We're only two games into the playoffs and there's already a lot of drama. In this episode of Bounce, we'll cover a heartbreaking injury, a gutwrenching defeat, and we'll meet some of the people who show up outside every game to make a living.

The new series Bounce begins by looking back...

A preview of our new podcast Bounce: The Warriors' Last Season in Oakland.