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SAN FRANCISCO – The Golden State Valkyries' loss to the Las Vegas Aces did not feel as close as the 78-72 final score indicated. The Valkyries' offense faltered once again, shooting 39.7% from the field and 18.2% from beyond the arc, their third-worst 3-point shooting performance of the season.
Here are three takeaways from a loss that puts the Valkyries' playoff hopes into dangerous territory.
What style do the Valkyries want to play at?
Golden State hasn't figured out what pace or tempo to play at since losing Kayla Thornton for the season. The Valkyries' offense has looked rudderless for extended stretches in many of these games and especially in these losses. Against the Aces, the Valkyries oscillated between slowing the tempo down to run their pick and roll game and pushing the pace to get easy baskets.
Neither style generated consistent scoring, which begs the question: What style does the Valkyrie offense want to play at, at a point in the season where every game matters in terms of standings?
Before the season started, the Valkyries leaned into that pace and space, a beautiful game style of basketball. But versus the Aces, they only collected nine total team assists, settling into a lot of slow and deliberate isolation plays. This down-tempo style of basketball is a recurring trend as of late, and Natalie Nakase knows it.
Before the game, she explained the reasoning behind the stylistic change.
“Six games in 12 days. Six games in 10 days. I think that has something to do with the pace,” Nakase said, implying the slower pace helps the team conserve energy amid a tough schedule crunch. “We play with, I think, so much energy, especially on the defensive end, and obviously the physicality of rebounding. So the schedule kind of doesn't help, so I think that's why [we've played that way].”
As reasonable as that logic is, nine total team assists are not going to cut it for a team lacking a de facto go-to scorer. The Valkyries are not a good isolation team, which leads me into my second takeaway…
Carla Leite gives the Golden State a different dimension
If there was one player who gave Golden State a spark of life versus Las Vegas, it was Carla Leite. While she only finished with 11 points and 2 assists, Leite provided some much-needed juice off the bench. The ball moved more whenever Leite brought it into the frontcourt. Possessions flowed better whenever Leite forced the Aces' defense to collapse on her drives.
There was just a contagious and palpable energy from Leite that her teammates picked up on, and Nakase sensed something to that effect. Leite played with starters in the closing lineup over Veronica Burton. After the game, Nakase explained her reasoning behind the tactical decision.
“I'm just going to run with the people that are getting layups,” Nakase stated. “Nothing wrong with [Vee], she played a hell of a jump. She did a great job on both ends of the court. But I thought Carla was able to get downhill in certain schemes, and so I had to go with Carla.”
To that effect, it felt like she was the only Valkyrie who forced Las Vegas to react on the defensive end. Of their 72 points, only 34 of those points came in the paint, which is above their dead-last season average but not nearly enough to threaten the Aces. Part of the reason why the Valkyries shoot so poorly beyond the arc is that they lack the personnel to collapse the defense. Leite, when healthy, has been the only one who can do it consistently.
Golden State's Cinderella playoff hopes are on a knife's edge
The loss to the Aces completes the two teams' season series with Las Vegas taking it 3-1. That means they hold a de facto tiebreaker over the Valkyries in the standings, which will almost certainly come into play down the line. It would be surprising for Golden State to make a move less than 12 hours before the trade deadline, so as things stand, this is the group the Valkyries are going to rock with.
After the game, Nakase was asked about the frustration emanating from the team. She emphasized that she and the team are more than ready to embrace the feelings that come with losing.
Natalie Nakase was asked about the frustration brewing from the Valkyries as of late and how the team can turn that page moving forward:
“Bring it. When frustration happens it means they love what they do… That means you care. That means, to me, they played their hearts out.” pic.twitter.com/3G7LhwG5fL
— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) August 7, 2025
“Bring it. When the frustration happens, that means they love what they do,” Nakase said.
“That means you care. That means, to me, they played their hearts out, and I'm fine with that. Sometimes, you know, it just didn't go our way. So the frustration means they care. I want them to feel that pain, the frustration, however it is, it could be sadness, it could be disappointment. Good, feel it.”
Golden State sits only a half-game ahead of the surging Los Angeles Sparks with a schedule that gets difficult very quickly. The Valkyries face Mercury and Lynx two more times, as well as the Liberty, Fever, Storm, and Dream, one more time each. This season has been an overwhelming success, but the clock's ticking to start making headway into the WNBA playoff picture.
