Not bad for a first-year expansion team in a league where newcomers are usually happy just to avoid total embarrassment.

Head coach Natalie Nakase proved last season that she could build something real out of essentially nothing — assembling a competitive roster through the expansion draft and turning a collection of castoffs and overlooked talent into a squad that actually mattered come postseason time. That's coaching. That's culture-building. And frankly, it's the kind of scrappy, do-more-with-less ethos we wish our city government would adopt.

But here's where it gets interesting: Year Two is a completely different animal. The element of surprise is gone. Opponents have tape. They have scouting reports. The expectations that didn't exist 12 months ago are now very real. Going from "happy to be here" to legitimate contender requires a leap that plenty of teams — in every sport — have failed to make.

The good news? The Valkyries don't carry the bloated overhead of, say, a Bay Area transit agency. They're lean, hungry, and coached by someone who clearly knows how to maximize what she's got.

The question for this season isn't whether the Valkyries belong — they settled that debate last year. It's whether they can build sustainably. Can they develop young talent? Can they attract free agents to a market already dominated by the Warriors, 49ers, and Giants? Can they carve out a permanent identity in one of the most crowded sports landscapes in America?

We're betting yes — cautiously. San Francisco loves an underdog, and the Valkyries have earned their spot. Now it's time to prove the first chapter wasn't a fluke.

Tip-off can't come soon enough.