If the Golden State Valkyries needed any more validation for their historic success in their inaugural season in the WNBA, look no further than one of the next expansion franchise's latest front-office moves. The Portland Fire officially named the Valkyries' Vice President of Basketball Operations, Vanja Černivec, as its general manager.
“I am honored to join the Fire with a vision to build the most innovative and groundbreaking team in women’s basketball,” Černivec said in the Fire's social media announcement.
Today we are excited to announce Vanja Černivec as the General Manager of the Portland Fire.
“I am honored to join the Fire with a vision to build the most innovative and groundbreaking team in women’s basketball.” – Černivec#Reborn pic.twitter.com/taqSbwc2Ot
— Portland Fire (@theportlandfire) August 25, 2025
Černivec's hiring comes as no surprise given the success of the Valkyries' team-building in year one of their existence. Černivec played a big role in the Valkyries' front office. She was general manager Ohemaa Nyanin's first hire when the team assembled its front office over a year ago. Since then, Golden State has collected a historic 19 wins and counting, the most ever for a WNBA expansion franchise and an unexpected achievement by many.
Her background as an international scout for the Chicago Bulls from 2020-2022 as well as her past position as senior manager at the NBA Academy Women’s Program from 2015 to 2020 helped Golden State identify and recruit international talent like Justė Jocytė. And before joining the Valkyries front office, Černivec had worked as the general manager of the London Lions of the British Basketball League.
Natalie Nakase's advice to new WNBA franchises
With Černivec, it's clear that Portland is trying to re-create the circumstances that have made the Valkyries successful so quickly from an on-court standpoint by hiring one of their key executives. Still, the secret to Golden State's success isn't exactly obvious. Credit could go to the players for coming together so quickly, the coaching staff for their rigorous game planning, the front office for assembling a cohesive team, maybe even all of the above.
From head coach Natalie Nakase's perspective, a big part of their success comes from the commitment to culture. Earlier this month, a reporter asked Nakase what advice she'd give to the two new expansion teams in the Fire and the Toronto Tempo.
Valkyries’ Natalie Nakase on the advice she’d give to next season’s new expansion teams:
“I needed players that wanted to push through the worst moments of a game and I have those players…You got to have that culture and then you got to pick the players that fit that culture.” pic.twitter.com/x6HyY7NoCc
— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) August 7, 2025
“I would say, choose a head coach, obviously. And whatever your head coach feels in terms of the importance of what they want to build, cultural-wise and identity,” Nakase answered. “Those have to be established first. I've learned, and I told them all of this on the road trip, that I can only coach people who always want to win, no matter what the score is, right?”
Nakase's been a big believer in the culture of winning the Valkyries built and their singular shared goal of winning. And that's a mindset that extends across the organization. From ownership and the front office to the coaching staff and the players, the Valkyries have demonstrated a level of commitment and focus that's rare not only in the WNBA but in sports in general. If there's one lesson Černivec can take to Portland, it begins with establishing a culture, a vision, and building from there.
“To answer your question, you've got to have that culture, and then you've got to pick the players that fit that culture,” Nakase said.
