The mighty, miserly Golden State Valkyries won their first WNBA title on Saturday night with a point guard Dallas had given up on and cast aside, a starting forward who had been waived five times and a late-blooming All-Star once passed over by every team in the league. That made them a fitting match for their coach. Natalie Nakase has pieced together a basketball life on making small openings count, turning a walk-on place at UCLA into a scholarship and an unsolicited scouting report into a coaching job in Japan’s top men’s league.
The Valkyries’ nerve-shredding 68-63 fightback over the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 did more than make them the fastest expansion team in major North American professional sports history to win a championship – as 45-1 preseason longshots in their second season of existence. It was proof of concept for an organization that gave overlooked players the resources, responsibility and trust to become champions – and enlisted a leader whose own circuitous journey had taught her what those things could unlock. Golden State had built a place where players could expect investment, opportunity and the trust of their coach – and were expected to give something back.
The 46-year-old Nakase’s declaration of love came with demanding basketball obligations: defend, compete and accept whatever role helped the team win. Veronica Burton, their starting point guard, had been waived by the Dallas Wings two years earlier, returning home to work out at the West Suburban YMCA in Newton, Massachusetts, with her high school coach while waiting for another chance. Connecticut signed her, then left her unprotected in the expansion draft.
With Golden State, she became the league’s most improved player. Kaila Charles had been cut five times in five seasons. Back at her parents’ home, training with her brother and mulling her professional future, she was preparing to visit Trinidad for her grandmother’s 94th birthday when the Valkyries offered a seven-day hardship contract.
Now she was starting in the WNBA finals. Kayla Thornton went undrafted, was shown the door by two different teams and spent years establishing herself as a dependable supporting player before becoming a first-time All-Star with Golden State at 32. Cecilia Zandalasini had started only six WNBA games before joining the Valkyries and starting 44 across the team’s first two seasons.
Kaitlyn Chen, a relatively unheralded third-round draft pick, found a role backing up Burton and as the bench’s chief vibes officer. Tiffany Hayes, a former sixth woman of the year, had played more WNBA games without winning a title than anyone else in history – until Saturday night. These were careers transformed by opportunity – by a team willing to explore what its players could become.
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