Her Game Her Voice™

Valkyries Mascot Reveal, Ballhalla, and the WNBA's Tech Revolution

• Kaari Peterson • Season 1 • Episode 13

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The Golden State Valkyries just cracked open a surprise — literally. Outside Chase Center, a giant violet egg hatched their brand-new mascot:  Violet the Raven. Host Kaari Peterson breaks down Violet's egg-cellent debut and the Norse mythology behind “Ballhalla.”

Next up, it’s tech time: The WNBA’s partnership with Second Spectrum is bringing full-court optical tracking and mind-bending analytics to the league. From sharper coaching to smarter storytelling, Kaari dives into how data is reshaping the game.

And we can't forget — this week’s awards:

🏆 Buzzer Beater: Sue Bird gets immortalized in bronze

❌ Airball: An all-male officiating crew in a WNBA game (seriously?)

🚫 Flagrant Foul: The bizarre wave of sex-toy tossing on W courts

Hit play, and let’s talk mascots, mythology and motion capture.

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#WNBA #HerGameHerVoice #GSValkyries #WomensBasketball #Ballhalla

“Big stories, little episodes—amplifying the voices shaping the game on and off the court." - Her Game Her Voice Podcast by Kaari Peterson

Kaari:

Hey hoop heads welcome to another episode of Her Game Her Voice. The podcast with big stories and little episodes all about women's basketball. I'm your host Kaari Peterson.

Kaari:

In today's episode we'll start with the Golden State Valkyries check-in, I'll answer a question about Valhalla, and talk about how the W is using technology to further the game. And of course, I'll wrap it up with the awards.

Kaari:

Let's tip it off!

Kaari:

The Golden State Valkyries just pulled off one of the most mysterious and entertaining mascot reveals we've seen. First, a giant violet egg with gold speckles showed up outside Chase Center. The team referred to it as an "unidentified bird species." After the egg was outside for a while, it was tucked into a giant nest inside Chase Center.

Kaari:

Fast forward to a game against the Connecticut Sun. The egg cracked open, and at halftime we were introduced to, drumroll please, Violet, or Vi, the Valkyrie's brand new mascot. Vi is a lavender-feathered raven in custom Valkyrie's gear. She's got a dress, a bow, violet sneakers, even gold-rimmed glasses because apparently she's nearsighted.

Kaari:

But why a raven? In Norse mythology, ravens were the Valkyrie's clever companions. So, yeah, it makes sense. Welcome to the Bay Area, Violet. Your entrance was egg-cellent.

Kaari:

This week's listener question comes from Ellen in Denver, Colorado. She wrote... What's the deal with the Golden State Valkyries and Balhalla, or is it Valhalla with a V? Great question, Ellen. And to answer it, we need to step back into some Norse mythology. According to Norse legends, Valhalla, with a V, was the Hall of the Slain, a place of honor and glory where fallen heroes were welcomed.

Kaari:

Translation, basically it was heaven for warriors. Oh, okay.

Kaari:

The Valkyries, also according to Norse mythology, were fierce female figures, say that three times fast, who chose which warriors would die in battle, and then after the battle, escorted them to Valhalla, which seems like the least they could do after deciding that these were the soldiers that were going to die.

Kaari:

So the Golden State Valkyries are extending their Norse mythology to Chase Center in San Francisco, where they play their home games. During those games, Chase Center transforms into Ballhalla, with a B, like basketball. It's a playful twist mixing basketball with Norse mythology. It gives the team's home court its own identity.

Kaari:

So just remember, Valhalla is for warriors, and Ballhalla is for hoopers. Same vibe, just with more sneakers and fewer swords.

Kaari:

Thanks for your question, Ellen. Do you have a question for me? please write to me at hergamehervoice at gmail.com.

Kaari:

All right, hoop heads, it is time to nerd out with some of the technological history of the WNBA. Stay with me now. This is pretty fascinating stuff.

Kaari:

One of the coolest things I've learned about the W this year came straight from my basketball class with the legendary coach Tara Vanderveer. We had a special guest join us for a class. Her name, Bethany Donovan. If you don't know Bethany, let me share a few details. She played for Stanford Women's Basketball from 1998 to 2001. Then she went on to play basketball overseas as well as for the New York Liberty. And these days, she's the WNBA's head of league operations. She is a total boss. With Bethany's on-court experience and an MBA from Wharton, she described her leadership role as a bridge or translation layer between WNBA players, and WNBA executives, kind of at the intersection of business and basketball.

Kaari:

During Bethany's visit, she gave us a sneak peek into how the W is using technology to level up the game. She talked about the league's deal with Second Spectrum. It was announced back in March, 2024. The deal made the WNBA the first women's pro league in the US to incorporate league-wide optical tracking. So let's talk more about the WNBA's data revolution. Hey, I warned you that we were going to be nerding out today.

Kaari:

You've probably seen it on a WNBA broadcast. Those half-court graphics with red and green dots showing where a player has taken shots and whether they hit or missed. Well, that's not just TV magic. It is powered by a data tracking system called Second Spectrum.

Kaari:

And here's how Second Spectrum works. And I kind of simplified it a little bit. So... First of all, multiple cameras. They have 12 high resolution cameras placed around each arena, usually high up in the catwalks, and they capture the court from multiple angles. These cameras record the action at 25 frames per second.

Kaari:

So what happens with all of this video footage? So the video from all of those cameras feeds into a powerful system that uses advanced computer vision and machine learning algorithms to churn out the data.

Kaari:

There's even part of the process called pose estimation. This is where it gets wild. The system tracks 29 specific points on each player's body to reconstruct their movements in 3D. We're talking elbows, knees, hands, feet, everything.

Kaari:

The system crunches all that data to extract specific player and ball positions, speed, acceleration, you name it. This info is then turned into advanced statistics, 3D visualizations, and live insights for coaches, broadcasters, and fans.

Kaari:

Some of you may be thinking, well, didn't we already have stats in the W? Yes, and the previous system was called Synergy, and it worked more like a video review system where humans had to tag and log plays manually. It's still useful, but think of Second Spectrum as Synergy after three cans of Red Bull.

Kaari:

Bethany told us that coaches and players love second spectrum because it isn't just about more data, it's about better data. Second Spectrum lets teams do things like analyze points per chance, like how often a good look at a basket results in points. They break down defensive matchup, like who's getting open and who's contesting, and they track individual movement and effort to tailor conditioning plans for players.

Kaari:

Here's a second spectrum data real world example. Often when players get back on the court after being sidelined with an injury, you'll hear announcers like Rebecca Lobo say something like, so-and-so is back but playing, quote, "limited minutes." Second Spectrum data helps coaching staffs calculate how many minutes a returning player can safely play in a game without risking re-injury.

Kaari:

Second Spectrum data allows teams to get really into the weeds with this stuff, but it's a good thing. So, like, blocks and steals are flashy, but they don't tell the whole story. Second Spectrum lets teams quantify things like help defense and rotation speed. So when Asia Wilson slides over to force a bad shot, that shows up in the data.

Kaari:

But of course, Second Spectrum is big for offense, too. With Synergy, the old system, you can say, Sabrina Ionescu is hitting pull-up threes. With Second Spectrum data, you can add how far away the defender was when Sabrina shot the ball, how quickly Sabrina came off the screen, and who else was involved in the play.

Kaari:

Second Spectrum data gives us a better experience as fans, too. As Bethany Donovan put it, it isn't just about wins and losses now, it's about storytelling. We no longer have to settle for vague takes from announcers like, she's a gritty defender. Now we have the data to prove it.

Kaari:

The bottom line? Second Spectrum is an extraordinary tool for WNBA teams. They can use it for everything from advanced scouting to injury prevention strategies, and it's all powered by real data.

Kaari:

And now you know about the WNBA Data Revolution. Viva la revolución! I think I need to take a break.

Kaari:

And now it's time for the awards section of our show.

Kaari:

First, the Buzzer Beater Award. This week's buzzer beater award goes to retired Seattle Storm WNBA legend Sue Bird. The city of Seattle installed an 8-foot, 650-pound bronze statue of the iconic guard outside Climate Pledge Arena. This made Bird the first ever WNBA player immortalized by her former team.

Kaari:

Bird spent her entire 21-year career with the Storm and she led the franchise to four WNBA championships before retiring in 2022. The statue depicts Bird mid-layup. It's a nod to her first and last made shots for the Storm.

Kaari:

At the statue's unveiling ceremony, Bird said, The truth is I never set out to be first at anything. But if being the first means that I won't be the last, if this statue means that 20 years from now there will be statues of other WNBA greats, then I'm proud to be the first.

Kaari:

Sue Bird, congratulations on your bronze statue and your buzzer beater award. And now it's time for the airball award.

Kaari:

This week's airball award goes to the guy in charge of scheduling officials for the WNBA. His name is Monty McCutchen. Now let me tell you about why Monty gets this prestigious award.

Kaari:

On Sunday, August 17th, the Golden State Valkyries hosted the Atlanta Dream at Ballhalla. Before tip-off, the Jumbotron flashed the names and numbers of the referees.

Kaari:

Yes, referees have jersey numbers, too. So the next time you yell at a ref, be sure to note their jersey number. "Hey, ref number 38, are you watching the same game I'm watching? I don't think so."

Kaari:

Now, before the ref roster appeared on screen... I was watching the officials warm up. They were kind of wandering, stretching, chatting, nothing very interesting. I thought, "hmm, looks like three men out there," but I figured maybe I just can't see clearly from where I'm sitting.

Kaari:

Then the screen confirmed it. All three refs were men, and that really stinks. Having an all-male crew officiating a professional women's basketball game is not acceptable.

Kaari:

You would never in a million years see an all-female crew calling an NBA game. In fact, spotting even one female official in a men's game is about as rare as a Starbucks barista spelling my name correctly.

Kaari:

Not having at least one woman on the officiating crew for a WNBA game is a missed opportunity. And that's why Monty McCutchen earns this week's Airball Award.

Kaari:

And finally, the Flagrant Foul Award.

Kaari:

Warning, this segment includes references to SEX toys. If you're listening to this podcast in a place where young children can hear, you might want to put on your earbuds or headphones.

Kaari:

This week's flagrant foul award goes to the geniuses who threw sex toys onto WNBA courts.

Kaari:

It happened six times during six different games. What? Seriously.

Kaari:

And I admit it, I laughed the first time. It was Valkyries vs. Atlanta, July 30th. Because nothing says professional basketball like a flying neon green, let's call it a Jolly Green Giant. The announcer says, "we'll see if the camera can zoom in so we can see what that is." Camera zooms in. "Oh, yes, we know what that is." Camera pans away quickly.

Kaari:

I laughed. It was hilarious.

Kaari:

Then it happened again and again.

Kaari:

Dangerous? Absolutely.

Kaari:

Funny? Uh-uh.

Kaari:

Sexual harassment in the workplace? Uh, yeah, you bet.

Kaari:

Some people shrugged it off like, boys will be boys.

Kaari:

No. These women were mocked while doing their jobs.

Kaari:

And if they call it out, they're just angry women who hate men.

Kaari:

The bottom line? It was childish behavior and it was wrong.

Kaari:

And that's why this week's flagrant foul award goes to the idiots who threw sex toys onto WNBA courts. Seriously, dudes grow up.

Kaari:

I'm Kari Peterson, and you've been listening to Her Game Her Voice.

Kaari:

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Kaari:

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Kaari:

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Kaari:

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Kaari:

Thanks for listening and happy hooping.

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Kaari Peterson

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