San Francisco – Golden State Valkyries owner Joe Lacob hired coach Natalie Nakase in Oct. 2024 with the expectation that the team would win a WNBA title within five years.
Saturday night, the Valkyries made good on that edict with a 68-63 Finals game 7 win over the Atlanta Dream, in just their second season. Top scorer Gabby Williams, who had 28 of her team-high 30 points in the second half, broke the league record for most points scored in a half of a playoff game in WNBA history.
Tiffany Hayes scored 11 points for Golden State, while Veronica Burton chipped in 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Kiah Stokes snagged 13 boards. The Dream saw Jordin Canada score 18 points and Allisha Gray 16, while Angel Reese was held to 8 points and 12 rebounds.
The win capped an unforeseen run, as the Valkyries were picked to finish near the bottom of league standings by both ESPN, and the WNBA itself. But both players and Nakase said their team chemistry paved the way to a championship.
Stokes said players and coaches were “very intentional about hanging out with each other and getting to know each other.”
“We’d have (times) when we didn’t want the night to end, which was a sign we had something special,” Williams said.
Nakase said she joined in at times to “learn how to push (player’s) buttons.” She added that spending time together helped build a strong team culture. Williams said everyone benefitted from team bonding.
“It’s easy to be patient when you trust the people around you,” she said. “Nat wants the best for people, and she’s never once not had my back all year.”
The first half of play was a defensive battle, and Atlanta lead 30-24 at halftime. But the hosts stepped it up, lead by Williams, and outscored their opponents 44-33 the rest of the way.
Both the final and the semifinal were nothing anyone predicted, as Golden State swept the Las Vegas aces to reach the final round, and the Dream swept the New York Liberty.
Atlanta coach Karl Smesko faulted several offensive lapses for his team’s loss.
“At the beginning of the game, we didn’t play at our pace for five minutes…..you can’t get those five minutes back,” he said. “I look back at several stretches, and if we’d just played those a little better, the mood for our players would be a lot different right now.”
Both Williams and Stokes praised each other after the game, while Nakase called Finals MVP Williams “the most valuable player in the world, hands down.” But Williams chalked up the series win to team chemistry.
“That’s what we’ve been doing all year. We just trust each other,” she said.
