Almost everyone seemed to see an obvious flaw in what the Golden State Valkyries were doing during the regular season. Of course, their defense was historic, suffocating, and the best in the league, but their offense, to many, did not look like that of a genuine championship contender. But the Valkyries could not have cared less.
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Speaking on Tuesday’s episode of ESPN’s Chiney Today podcast, Swiss sprinter Jason Joseph weighed in on just how wrong the Golden State Valkyries have proved their doubters. For him, the most impressive thing about the team was its determination to stick to its playing style despite the constant criticism of its offense.
“The thing that I appreciate the most about the Valkyries is they played their style,” Joseph said. “We talked all year about their offense not being enough, and they just laughed at us. They said they’re going to play their way. They are going to play dog-tough defense all the way throughout, and they’re going to get up as many threes as possible. They’re going to drive and force you to try to defend those drives.”
The Valkyries were not interested in changing who they were simply because others questioned whether their approach was good enough. And Joseph believes much of the credit for that unwavering conviction has to go to Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase.
“You have to give credit to coach Natalie Nakase for implementing that into her team and empowering her players to say, ‘Hey, you may have missed a couple of shots here and there, but we know we’re going to get it back on the other end. And when we come back down, you’re going to drive. You’re going to force the rotation, and we’re going to kick, and we’re going to have the defense play in a scramble,’” he added.
That shift propagated by the head coach saw them leave their mark on the WNBA this season.
The Golden State Valkyries indeed operated an offense that was thoroughly mediocre, sluggish, and often overshadowed by their league-best defense. They averaged 82.2 points per game, ranking 13th out of 15 teams in the league in that category. They also ranked seventh in offensive rating and finished dead last in pace.
Those numbers made it understandable why so many questioned whether Nakase’s team had enough firepower to make a serious postseason run. But, while their offensive production left plenty to be desired, the Valkyries remained committed to the system they believed could give them an advantage.
Whatever they lacked offensively, they made up for it with a statistically historic, league-best defense. They ranked first in the Women’s National Basketball Association with a defensive rating of 99.3. In fact, they were nearly 10 points better than the league average, making them one of the most dominant defenses relative to their peers in league history.
The Valkyries also finished first in the league in opponents’ points per game, suffocating opposing offenses and allowing just 75.1 points per contest.
That brilliant, suffocating defensive identity translated beautifully into the postseason, anchoring a historic run that saw the Valkyries sweep the defending champion Las Vegas Aces 3-0 in the semifinals. But then, even as their defensive masterclass continued to frustrate opponents, they also showed that they could deliver enough offensively to meet the demands of the playoffs.
For example, the Valkyries opened their playoff campaign by erupting for a franchise-record 104 points against the Dallas Wings in Game 1. In that game, they also caught absolute fire from beyond the arc, tying a franchise record with 18 made three-pointers. And in the process, they made history as the first team in Women’s National Basketball Association history to have six different players make multiple three-pointers in a single playoff game. Dallas Wings head coach after that game even described their bench as the number one in the league.
In short, it is safe to say that this Golden State Valkyries team, led by Natalie Nakase, has been able to compete with a system that just works. A defensive nightmare for opposing teams, the Valkyries have combined suffocating defense with just enough offense to make their approach effective against the league’s best teams.
Whether that formula will eventually be enough to secure the ultimate prize against the Atlanta Dream remains to be seen.