San Francisco Sets Wednesday Embarcadero Parade for WNBA Valkyries

San Francisco crews are installing barricades and hanging violet championship banners along The Embarcadero ahead of Wednesday's waterfront victory parade celebrating the Golden State Valkyries' first WNBA title, according to ABC7 News reporter Cornell Barnard.

Wednesday Waterfront Parade Route and Transit Plans

The Valkyries clinched the WNBA Finals on Halloween night with a 68-63 victory over the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 at Ballhalla. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie invited fans across the region to line the waterfront route on Wednesday:

• Parade Schedule & Route: The celebration begins at noon (12 p.m.) Wednesday at the Ferry Building, proceeds south along The Embarcadero, and concludes at Second and King streets, running until 2 p.m.
• Transit & Fan Turnout: City officials encouraged attendees to take public transit due to limited parking, and BART plans to run extra trains. Outside the packed Golden State Shop at Thrive City on Sunday, supporters Sylvin Ganad, Courtney Escanio, and Shalana Johnson—who noted that 20,000 fans packed the arena—shared plans to line up at the Ferry Building at noon.

Finals MVP Gabby Williams Reconnects With San Francisco Youth Coach Alfonzo Joo

As reported by NBC Bay Area, Valkyries forward Gabby Williams—who joined the team as a free agent ahead of the season—scored 30 points in Game 7, fueled by a decisive third-quarter surge, to win WNBA Finals MVP. Immediately after the final buzzer on Saturday night, Williams embraced her longtime youth basketball coach Alfonzo Joo on the court. Although raised in Reno, Williams frequently visited extended family in the Bay Area as a child and played for Joo's San Francisco-based Bulldawgs Basketball Club, a youth program Joo has coached for about 30 years.