SAN FRANCISCO – The greats always stress that to achieve something worthwhile, it all begins with sacrifice. For Natalie Nakase, the sacrifice is at the heart of the Golden State Valkyries' success this season. Ahead of the Valkyries' match with the Las Vegas Aces, Nakase expressed her pride in the fact that her players have bought into the standards she's set for them in her and the team's quest to win.

“I think it goes down to the sacrifice that these girls make in terms of decisions,” Nakase told reporters when asked about how the team can overcome the inherent fatigue of the WNBA season. “Do I go out to dinner with my friends on the road? 
Do I just stay in and, you know, do what ice bath in the hotel?' These are choices that our girls are making, that they're sacrificing.”

Golden State is fresh off a month of two grueling road trips. They began the first half of July with six games in 12 days before getting a small reprieve at the all-star break. But after the short break, the Valkyries faced another six-game road gauntlet, this time in only 10 days. The WNBA schedule's not a cakewalk for anyone, but the past month for Golden State has been an especially arduous test for the new franchise.

In her pre-game media availability, Valkyries' Veronica Burton shared some insight on her and her teammates' preparation in between games to stay amid lightning-fast turnarounds.

“Now more than ever. I think recovery is a huge thing, especially when we are on the road traveling,” Burton said. Our sleep schedule looks different. Getting into the cold tub as much as possible, eating right, kind of rebooting, that's the best for all of us.”

Advice to other expansion teams: Create a culture of resilience

The Valkyries' culture of self-sacrifice, in the pursuit of greatness, doesn't come from just Nakase's encouragement. It also stems from how Golden State assembled its team and the players they chose. Later in Nakase's pre-game press conference, a reporter asked what advice she'd give to the two new expansion teams joining the WNBA next season.

“I've learned, and I told them all of this on the road trip, that I can only coach people who always want to win no matter what the score is,” Nakase expressed.

“I needed players that wanted to be pushed through the worst moments of a game time or through the lowest points of adversity. and I have those players. And if I don't, then they're not going to do well with me, because I'm going to keep going at them. [And] keep going at them until I get some type of improvement or some type of fight back… You got to have that culture, and then you've got to pick the players that fit that culture.”

If there's one thing the Valkyries aren't lacking in, it's fight. Whether that sustains them through the rest of this Cinderella season remains to be seen. But the fight Golden State brings to every game is undeniable. And it stems from a group of players who are all willing to make the “right decisions,” as Nakase puts it.

“I've been trying to push them in terms of, if y'all want to win, if you guys want to win games, you're going to have to take some time out of your social time. 
You're going to have to sacrifice. And it's a choice. And I think from that last road trip, from how resilient we were, I think they've been making the right decisions.”