If you've been around the Golden State Valkyries, you'll notice the team uses the words “connection” and “chemistry” quite frequently. Words like “together,” “communication,” and “culture,” are also staples in the team's vocabulary.
These words show up whenever Natalie Nakase is making a point to highlight the importance of every single one of the 12 players on her roster. It's Temi Fagbenle prescribing a “sixth-woman” background of the team as the reason for the strength in numbers culture. or role players Kate Martin and Kaitlyn Chen holding the “next woman up” close to their hearts.
Connectivity is ingrained into the Valkyries' veins. It's in their DNA. In wins, in losses, no matter the outcome, the Valkyries pride themselves on being closer as a team than any other in the WNBA.
Moreover, it's not just talk. The team's numerous quotes about connectivity have given rise to countless examples on the hardwood.
The Valkyries' offense and defense do not rely on the brilliance of any one player. It's a death by a thousand papercuts style of play. And that style, that chemistry, has put them in a prime position to contend for the playoffs, in their inaugural season in the WNBA, at that.
If you take away all of the numbers and statistics, there's no denying the Valkyries have the utmost faith in themselves and their ability to win and reach the playoffs. It's a faith built on the connectivity and chemistry they've nurtured from the first day of training camp.
But will it be enough? Can connectivity and chemistry take Golden State to the postseason?
Valkyries bet on chemistry?
It wasn't a surprise when the Valkyries doubled down on everything they've preached for the last three months by not making any moves at the August 6th trade deadline. In the best way possible, the Valkyries chose the path of least resistance at the NBA trade deadline. Or rather, the path of most clarity; the path that aligns the best with everything the team has preached this season.
“This is our first season together, and so we’re not making any decisions based on anything too far in the future or too immediate right now in the present,” Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin told Marisa Ingemi of the SF Chronicle following the team’s practice at Chase Center on Friday.
“We’re trying to continue to remain flexible with whatever transpires throughout the season, and we looked at everything [trade-wise]. We had conversations and feel pretty confident with how we landed.”
How could you make a splashy win-now trade if you believe chemistry is at the heart of this team's success? And on the other end of the trade deadline spectrum, there's no way anyone could take the Valkyries' commitment to winning no matter what if they hard-sold and tried to tank out the rest of the season for a higher draft pick.
“This is the most connected 12 players we have had,” Nakase said at the same Friday practice, in response to a question about the organization's faith in this group of players. Simple, straightforward, and justified. No one should doubt the decision to stand pat at the trade deadline, given the team's success, the culture they've established, and what was realistically possible.
However, that doesn't change the fact that the Valkyries are one or two missteps away from their playoff dreams fading into a puff of smoke.
Where the Valkyries stand in the WNBA playoff picture
Only 3.5 games separate the fifth seed and the 10th seed in the WNBA standings. The Valkyries sit squarely in the eighth and final spot in the playoffs and all around them, teams are rising and falling in the blink of an eye.
The door is wide open for the Valkyries. They just have to solve whatever funk they seem to be in, which is hard to pinpoint from the outside looking in.
The offense, which has had its highs and lows all season long, is at one of its lows once again. In the loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday, the Valkyries recorded a season low of nine assists, an uncharacteristic outing for a team that emphasizes ball movement.
At Friday's open practice, starting center Fagbenle talked about the Valkyries' recent offensive struggles.
“We're doing better in our half-court sets, which is good. But I think we need to have a good balance of transition [and] quick-paced flow and half-court sets. So just finding that balance is our next step,” Fagbenle said. “Just continuing with our communication, connectedness, and our toughness.”
Finding that balance without their north star, Kayla Thornton, has been a work in progress. Aside from the instant connectivity and communication Thornton brought, the Valkyries are missing the consistent offense she had. There might not be an answer to that problem this season, barring a significant leap from someone on the roster.
The way forward for Valkyries
But based on everything the Valkyries have telegraphed, from the trade deadline, the culture, the quotes about their culture, Golden State feels like they are betting on the same thing that got them to this point: their chemistry and their foundation.
It's fitting that those two things are the wildcards up their sleeves because this was a team strung together just three months earlier. Earlier this season, Nakase was in awe of how close the team got in such a short amount of time.
She emphasized often how that was a hurdle working against them in some of their early-season issues. But with just 15 games left in the season, that chemistry flash-forged in fire is what the Valkyries are banking on.
Is that a reckless thing to bet on, the power of friendship and camaraderie? Perhaps.
But after watching this team all season long, I've come to believe that a team with a singular vision and a singular purpose can overachieve. It's a thought process that sounds like something out of a sports movie.
And maybe it's a bit naive, especially in the context of the powerhouses of the WNBA. However, there are those rare moments in sports when the intangibles of chemistry can overcome raw-talent deficiencies.
The Valkyries, if nothing else, have a singular vision and a singular purpose, all in the quest of one thing: Winning.
Are the Valkyries that kind of Cinderella team of destiny? Maybe, maybe not. But if there's one thing that's for certain, they've earned the runway to strive for that sports movie ending. Above all, they've earned the opportunity they've created for themselves, at least for this season. Now it's only a matter of seizing it.
