This was a sight Tuesday night that had never been seen before inside Barclays Center.

The Golden State Valkyries were here to play the Liberty. The expansion team brought along a popular piece of the Liberty’s fabric from the past two seasons in Kayla Thornton.

Oftentimes, “not good” is a good way to describe a first-year team. But the Valkyries were off to a good start, winning two of their first three, although those victories weren’t against the league’s elite.

The Liberty are in that upper class. The defending WNBA champs won this first-ever meeting with Golden State, 95-67, to move to 4-0.

Breanna Stewart led them with 24 points. Marine Johannes delivered 18 points on six threes. Jonquel Jones had 13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Sabrina Ionescu had eight points and six assists. They have scored at least 90 in all four games, a franchise record to begin a season.

“Our offense is rolling,” Ionescu said.

They will try to roll again in the rematch Thursday night at Barclays.

The last expansion team before Golden State was the Atlanta Dream in 2008. It took them 19 tries to win two games en route to a 4-30 season. So the Valkyries are way ahead of that pace.

Just don’t call them an “expansion” team to their face.

“From the jump, we eliminated the word ‘expansion,’ ” coach Natalie Nakase said. “We just said, ‘This is our team. We need to write our story.’ ”

Thornton became a part of their story after they selected her in December’s expansion draft. “Obviously, [it was tough losing KT,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “She brought so much to our team. She was a ‘3-and-D,’ but she was more than that. She was just great energy in our locker room. She was loved by everybody, including our fans.”

Thornton is starting for Golden State and averaging 12.8 points and 6.3 rebounds. Thornton had 13 and six in this return.

“It’s been emotional,” she said. “ . . . New York and the fans and my old teammates hold a special place in my heart.”

She first saw her old teammates after Golden State’s shootaround. It was emotional for both her and the Liberty.

“You kind of don’t forget all the memories and all the fun and positivity that she brought,” Ionescu said.

Tears flowed.

“I kind of just broke down,” Thornton said. “That was a special moment.”

She saw them again right after a pregame video tribute. The Liberty gathered by center court as Thornton was presented her championship ring by GM Jonathan Kolb.

Then her old team jumped out to a 22-3 advantage.

By the end of the first quarter, Stewart had outscored the Valkyries 11-10. The Liberty led by 17.

Johannes posted 12 points in the second quarter — pull-up three, running three, pull-up three, step-back three.

The Liberty had a 48-29 cushion at the break.

They went up by 25 in the third. Golden State cut it to 11 late in the period, but the Liberty pulled away again.

“We’re scoring a lot,” Stewart said. “We feel like we can be scoring more.”

Natasha Cloud handed out 10 assists for the Liberty and moved into 10th on the WNBA’s all-time list, now with 1,555 . . . Jones moved into 20th on the league’s all-time rebounds list, now with 2,358 . . . The Liberty had 30 assists on 37 makes . . . Nyara Sabally, who has had right knee discomfort, missed her second straight game. “The knee is fine,” Brondello said. “We want to make sure now as we move forward in this four games in six days that we don’t overload it because she’s a very important player for us.” They hope to have her back Thursday or Friday.

… The Liberty announced that they have a new five-person investor group. The team is planning on having a new practice facility in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, and the group’s investment will go toward funding that. The WNBA Board of Governors still has to approve the investment transaction.