The Valkyries made history during their 2026 championship season, and standout broadcasters Kevin Danna and Zena Keita were pivotal storytellers who documented the journey from the very beginning. Danna is the Valkyries’ play-by-play radio broadcaster and a co-host of the “Violet and Black” postgame show for 95.7 The Game, ESPN 1320, and the Audacy App. Danna got his start with the Golden State organization as the voice of Santa Cruz Warriors basketball in 2012. He has been preparing to broadcast WNBA games in the Bay Area ever since. 

“Before I ever did a G League game back in 2012, the assistant GM told me to get ready to do WNBA games,” Danna said. “This is how long the idea of getting a WNBA team has been for this organization.” 

Danna covered the Santa Cruz Warriors' finals runs in each of his first three seasons, including their first championship in 2015. He also did color commentary for the Stanford women’s basketball NCAA Championship in 2021. In 2026, he called the most significant championship-clinching moment of his career in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals. 

“And that’s it, the game is over, the Golden State Valkyries are the 2026 WNBA Champions,” Danna shouted in jubilation. 

Danna had been anticipating this moment for months. A five-game road trip in which the Valkyries beat the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx for the first time and then followed it up with a 19-point win over the New York Liberty gave him the confidence that a team he already viewed as a title contender was destined to win the championship. 

“Normally I feel like I’m better if I don’t rehearse these kinds of calls, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about this since August,” Danna said. 

When the moment finally arrived at Chase Center on Halloween, Danna wanted to convey to the audience the significance of this monumental accomplishment. 

“The first thing I wanted to do was work in a ‘Mr. Joe’ reference because that’s how Ohemaa [Nyanin, General Manager] and the players refer to him [CEO and Co-Executive Chairman Joe Lacob],” Danna said. “I also knew I wanted to mention that they were three years ahead of schedule from Mr. Joe’s five-year timeline and tout the off-the-court successes, billion-dollar valuation, and over $100 million in revenue.”

Then, Danna really got into his bag of metaphors, saying, “Now you shall put a ring on it like Beyoncé. Her husband might run this town, but on and off the court, the Valkyries run this league.” 

Danna connected Beyoncé’s Single Ladies ‘Put a Ring on It’ song to the championship ring that the Valkyries had just earned and tied her husband Jay-Z’s song ‘Run This Town’ to the dominance the Valkyries have displayed in the WNBA so quickly. It beautifully and fittingly encapsulated the franchise’s historic feat. 

Keita is a pregame, halftime, and postgame analyst for Valkyries games on KPIX and is also a host on the WNBA podcast ‘No Offseason’ for The Athletic. Keita played collegiate women’s basketball for Yale University from 2010-2014, playing in 88 games and making 34 starts. She was candid about the game's growth since her playing career and how she’s witnessed firsthand the impact the Valkyries have had on that evolution. 

“If I knew this was available, I might’ve been in the gym a little longer,” Keita said. “It is so refreshing to see women’s sports in any capacity be supported in the way Ballhalla has gotten behind the Valkyries.”

“It’s particularly inspiring to see a team that in its essence is built off women who were told by other teams that you’re not good enough to protect in the expansion draft,” Keita continued. “They took all of that and channeled that into being unapologetically committed to excellence. That’s so inspiring for any little girl, anyone really, that just because it’s a no here doesn’t mean it’s a no overall. You can do exactly what the Valkyries did, winning a championship quicker than everyone’s ever done it, and change the entire trajectory of what’s expected for people in your position.”

Keita relishes the opportunity to lend her voice to the “movement that is women’s basketball.” She has earned credibility by breaking down the x’s and o’s of the game, educating newer fans, and giving them context into what they’re watching. 

“It’s been a second coming for me to fall in love with basketball in a way I never did when playing,” Keita said. “These women deserve to have their story told right, people that genuinely care about the work being put in and the dedication to their craft.” 

The environment of Ballhalla brought a once unfathomable atmosphere to life. Keita’s friend from college immersed herself in the experience as a season ticket holder who even traveled to Atlanta for the finals. 

“I could’ve never imagined that women’s basketball could have Chase Center sell out 53 games,” Keita said. “I’ll never forget the Valkyries losing Game 2 of the WNBA Finals and the crowd stayed until the team left the floor, chanting ‘GSV’ and thanking these women. People didn’t come to see us play. People now love and respect this game. It matters, and that’s cool.”

Women’s basketball will only continue to ascend, and so will the Valkyries as they look to build off their first championship in franchise history. Secure your opportunity to witness Ballhalla by getting your tickets for the 2027 season and tune in to the team’s broadcast partners for more game coverage (WATCH: KPIX; LISTEN: 95.7 The Game, ESPN 1320, The Audacy App).