Zendaya cheered courtside as the Valkyries took a 3–2 WNBA Finals lead
Zendaya turned up at San Francisco’s Chase Center on Oct. 26 for Game Five of the 2026 WNBA Finals, and her home team did not let the moment go to waste. The Oakland native sat courtside in a violet T-shirt, beating a pair of inflatable thunder sticks as the Golden State Valkyries downed the Atlanta Dream 64–55 to grab a 3–2 lead in the best-of-seven championship series.
For Zendaya, the rooting interest is basically a hometown reflex. “I’m the child of two parents, one of which was a basketball coach and a P.E. teacher,” she told Extra back in 2021. “My mom is 6-foot-4. So, she played college basketball and she loves to tell everybody how she broke records for most amount of rebounds. So, I definitely come from a basketball family.”
She even admitted the sport was once the plan for her own life. “I was supposed to be a basketball player. That didn’t obviously work out,” the Euphoria star added, before joking that her dad is “still upset about that.”
The series isn’t over yet. Game Six tips off at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Oct. 29, where the Dream will try to force a do-or-die Game Seven.
She’s far from the only famous face in the stands
Game Three of the Finals had its own star power, with Kerry Washington and Ludacris both spotted courtside. Soccer legend Megan Rapinoe has been a fixture at WNBA games through the 2024 and 2026 Finals.
The New York Liberty, meanwhile, carry a long-standing celebrity bench. Aubrey Plaza, Jason Sudeikis and Alicia Keys are regulars, and Keys even narrated a playoff hype video for the team in 2024. Spike Lee, Ciara and Russell Wilson, and Common and Jennifer Hudson have all shown up to cheer the Liberty over the years.
Several stars have gone from fans to owners. Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union invested in the Chicago Sky in 2023, Tom Brady picked up a stake in the Las Vegas Aces the same year, Karlie Kloss joined the Liberty in 2025, and Serena Williams became an investor in the Toronto Tempo. The WNBA’s famous cheer squad keeps getting deeper.