Ahead of Game 3 of the WNBA Finals, Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase said her team will put up their “best fight” to take the lead against the Atlanta Dream at State Farm Arena. However, the opposite has happened, as the Valkyries are crashing at the worst possible moment. The Atlanta Dream is showing the world the Valkyries are an expansion side, playing only their second season in the WNBA. After a blowout 97-71 loss on Wednesday, the Valkyries look like a shell of the team that won 32 regular-season games and swept reigning champions Las Vegas Aces 3-0 in the semifinals to reach this point.
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For WNBA analysts Gianna Hearn and Jordin Robinson, the Valkyries’ ongoing issues in the Finals aren’t tangible.
“This is a heart issue; it feels like that to me. And I could be so wrong. The players could be watching us like you don’t know what’s going on. I don’t, for sure. But you can see the heart in the Atlanta Dream right now. It’s beating strong.” Hearn said on The Athletic LIVE YouTube channel.
“Yes, it is. And again, it’s the finals. The coach should not have to go from player to player, shaking them, saying, wake up. This is what you live for: to be at this stage, to be at this level of your career, to work all season long to get to this point, and then they say you’re not playing hard enough. That’s crazy.” Robinson added.
Hearn’s assessment makes sense. Early on the contest, it became obvious the Valkyries lacked the energy required to match Angel Reese and company. And that energy reflected in the stat sheet. The 25-point second quarter was the only time the Valkyries showed any “fight” that Nakase mentioned ahead of the game. But before and after that, it was not even close. The Dream bullied the Valkyries in the paint, outscoring them by 24 points.
“Sometimes promises aren’t kept,” Nakase said postgame, referring to the comment she made before Game 3. “(It’s not that) they don’t want it and they don’t want to fight. It’s just sometimes, how do we make sure we can do it all together? There’s sometimes individual punches, and some people with great spurts and some people with great energy. But how can we do it all together, boom, punch together?”
More than anything, the Valkyries lacked their own identity. They are one of, if not the best, defensive sides in the league. The Valkyries entered the playoffs with the best defensive rating in the WNBA regular season (99.3). Furthermore, Kiah Stokes, Veronica Burton, and Gabby Williams were all named to the 2026 All-Defensive Team. But according to the league’s postgame notes, the 97 points were a Dream record for a WNBA Finals game.
“This game they wanted it more than us. That’s not who we are, that’s not who we’ve been and that’s not how we got here. I think we got to get a little bit more that (discipline) in our tank.” 14-year veteran Tiffany Hayes said, who scored 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting.
Let’s not forget about the Valkyries’ turnover problems. For the second straight game, the Valkyries committed 15 or more giveaways. In Game 2, they conceded 24 points off 19 turnovers. Game 3 was no different, as the Dream scored 22 points off 17 Valkyries turnovers.
“Unfortunately, if you turn the ball over, Atlanta’s going to make you pay,” Nakase said.
As the old saying goes, defense wins championships. And maybe that is true, considering two of the best defensive teams are currently locking horns in the WNBA Finals. But that does not mean the Valkyries’ offense should take a hit. In Game 1, the Valkyries’ defense was at its best, limiting the Dream to just 64 points. However, they won the contest by only four points. In Game 2, the Dream scored 79 points. Considering the Valkyries have averaged almost 82 points in the postseason, it should have been at least a competitive game in their own backyard. But that was not the case, as the Dream won by 14 points.
Game 3’s 26-point blowout loss makes it all too clear the Valkyries need to make strides in their offense to support their world-class defense, as this is the third straight game the Dream limited the Valkyries to 72 points or less while shooting 35% or less from the field. Gabby Williams reflected on this matter after the loss.
“Sometimes shots don’t fall. We don’t like to make it about offense. They scored 97 points. We have no chance (if they continue that). We just have to back to our defense, and that will get our offense going… We were a bit undisciplined,” Gabby Williams said after the game, who had her own offensive struggles, scoring 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting.
Apart from Williams and veteran Hayes, only two other Valkyries players managed to score in double digits. Sixth Player of the Year Janelle Salaun and Cecilia Zandalasini recorded 13 points each. Kiah Stokes scored only two points in 26 minutes, and Veronica Burton had only three points in 29 minutes. Meanwhile, Kayla Thornton went scoreless in 13 minutes.
The pressure is getting to the Valkyries. With the Dream taking a 2-1 lead in the WNBA Finals, head coach Nakase’s side understands they are now in the driving seat. They must also know stopping Angel Reese will not be easy, as was the case on Wednesday, when she scored 21 points and 12 rebounds. Game 4 will return to State Farm Arena, where the Dream have not lost a single playoff game. A 3-1 Dream lead would put the Valkyries in grave danger, and they would hope to level the series ahead of Game 5 at Chase Center.