Natalie Nakase fainted, fell to the floor, and got right back up. Within a minute or two, she was charting out Golden State Valkyries strategy on a clipboard.
Who does that? How is it even possible? Don’t you need to be revived, somehow, with concerned folks hovering about before you’re led away for treatment? Maybe we’ll see you next game?
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Not for Nakase, the distinctly wondrous coach of the Golden State Valkyries. She had far too many important things to do that early October night. As people tried to fathom the power of her mind, she went about the business of orchestrating a three-game first-round victory over the Dallas Wings at Chase Center.
Sorry, typographical error. Ballhalla is where this championship team plays, and where people gather for the most unique sporting experience of their lives.
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It was a tumultuous WNBA season in the realm of social media and outside noise, all about racists and bigots and blowhard executives saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, and it really had people thinking the league was in serious crisis.
Valkyries games offered an emphatic counterpoint. Those who attended – the LGBTQ+ community in particular – left enchanted, in dreamland, knowing that they had finally discovered the league in essence. By the time the organization staged its memorable victory parade in San Francisco, the story of Ballhalla inclusion was supremely documented.
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What mattered just as much, in the end, was the basketball.
I don’t remember anyone predicting a title as this story began to unfold, only because the WNBA’s high-profile stardom is so pervasive. It’s remarkable, though, how poorly those stars performed against the Valkyries. Sometimes they appeared decidedly ordinary.
During the regular season, Golden State held Caitlin Clark to shooting nights of 3-for-12 and 4-for-14. Two games saw rookie sensation Olivia Miles go 1-for-10 and 3-for-12. Sabrina Ionescu: 3-for-10 and 2-for-12.
By this time, something quite intriguing was apparent: The league referred to the Valkyries as a team with no stars, but in fact they had three – based on their defense alone. Gabby Williams should have won Defensive Player of the Year (it went to Angel Reese), Kiah Stokes became the most disruptive inside presence in the league (a stunning 19 blocked shots in the Finals), and Veronica Burton‘s passionate commitment outclassed opponents at every turn.
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“She’s the best point guard in the league,” Nakase said of Burton after one game, and while that was hardly true, it certainly was at the moment. None of the other candidates had distinguished themselves at the times they were needed most.
The Valkyries’ defense became downright merciless in the postseason. Paige Bueckers shot 3-for-13 and 3-for-14 in the last two games of the Dallas series. As Las Vegas got swept in three, MVP A’ja Wilson shot 10-for-32 when guarded by Stokes. And Reese, after a glorious start to the Finals, shot a combined 12-for-45 over the last four games, with 19 turnovers.
As such, the Valkyries became the first team to win a WNBA title without placing a single player on the all-league list. In terms of how it felt to watch them, especially their body-at-risk tenacity, they were the runaway leaders.
There were several moments on championship night when Burton was in tears, soaking up the applause and the sheer weight of accomplishment, and many fans cried along with her. They understood her resolve, how she’d taken about six violent blows to the body and face in recent days, and kept getting up.
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And speaking of the hardwood, whenever Tiffany Hayes retires, the franchise should gift her a section of the Chase floor. Hayes played so ferociously, with such a complete lack of fear, she took countless hard falls over both of these memorable seasons. Some players use a hostile knockdown to just lie there for a moment, regrouping with a bit of rest; not Hayes. She can’t wait to deliver a return blow – or better yet, blow by defenders with a level of quickness seldom seen from a 37-year-old.
The majesty of the Valkyries’ climate ran up and down the bench, and we mean that literally, including every player. UConn coaching great Geno Auriemma has often said he wants every reserve to be totally into the game, visibly vibrant in support of all teammates – and if he doesn’t see that, that player won’t be around long.
Such teamwide spirit is the essence of the Valkyries, particularly Kaitlyn Chen, who couldn’t be more delighted as she leaps wildly off the bench, jumping up and down like a little kid. It shows in Kaila Charles, who finally became a starter when it was apparent she didn’t give one damn about the great Angel Reese, getting right in her face and influencing plays at both ends.
And when it came to a couple of excellent foreign players seeing virtually no action, Aminata Gueye and Justė Jocytė (an icon in Europe since her teens), there was undeniable pride just to be a part of things. Gueye was a beacon of enthusiasm and Jocyte, gracefully coming to terms with her role, said she had found “peace” in this setting.
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A team with no stars? Well, not on your life. In Williams’ perfect world, she’d be one of eight players scoring 11 points each. But in times of crisis, she’s the best two-way backcourt player in the league – “One of the best athletes we’ve ever seen,” Auriemma said. It was so fitting that she got a congratulatory text from Michael Jordan, because he was similarly dominant, comprehensively, on both ends of the floor.
People reached for all sorts of comparisons when it came to Williams’ stunning takeover of Game 7, such names as Joe Montana, Steve Young and Stephen Curry coming properly to mind, but that’s missing the point. The story of the Valkyries, and Williams in particular, is strictly about the pulsating rise of women’s sports.
Inspired young girls can read up on Billie Jean King, Mia Hamm, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Toni Stone, Nancy Lieberman, Julie Krone, the Williams sisters, while paying attention to what Sheryl Swoopes, Maya Moore, Cynthia Cooper, Diana Taurasi and so many others brought to the WNBA.
Nakase’s story is one to cherish, as well. We see her now so determined and focused; she took just a few days to celebrate before diving into ways to improve the team. And what a legacy she leaves for 2026: Her strategy was flawless. She fainted and got back up. She tossed out a couple of joyous F-bombs to the crowd when her team won it all. Just impossibly cool.
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I really wonder what the team’s most devoted fans were saying as they drove home that night. Some were probably left speechless. Gabby and Veronica were very hot topics. There were plans on scoring those hard-to-get tickets for 2027.
And somewhere, among the hard-partying set, someone wondered, “Think we could have the whole team over for Thanksgiving?”
Bruce Jenkins writes the 3-Dot Lounge for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: jenksurf@gmail.com; Twitter: @Bruce_Jenkins1
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This article originally published at Valkyries kept getting back up. That became their championship formula.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
