The Valkyries are much better than I thought they'd be, and the credit goes to Natalie Nakase.
The first job of any coach at any level is to get her players to play hard -- and Golden State plays hard.
Second, a sense of identity is important, and Nakase has taken advantage of the situation to give the Valkyries a style that keeps them in games, at least for a while. The situation?
The Valkyries roster is full of complementary rotation players, which is what one would expect. They have no scorer, really, which is their biggest issue, but they also have depth. Nakase can keep rolling players out there who can do something, or on occasion a lot, and there's no real dropoff. Most W teams have some stars and after them, the deluge. (Kate Martin, for example, scored all of her 14 points in a burst against the Lynx. She's been bad up to that point, and was ordinary the rest of the way, but still -- she can do something at a WNBA level on occasion.)
In addition, those complementary rotation players are well aware of two things: 1) Expansion; and 2) a new CBA. Nakase has, it appears, either directly or indirectly, sold her roster on the idea that if they play hard and show they can play a role, they can land a better job next year. There are 400 minutes a night available next year with the two new teams, and someone has to play them. At the same time, the new CBA should make all salaries rise, so a good year in 2025 could result not only in more minutes but a big bump in pay.
So the Valkyries play hard every night, and if they could score, would be a threat to win some games. Even so, they play hard enough that even a team like Minnesota has to beat them -- and compare that to the Sun, who will simply lose. (There is a subtle but important difference between "having to beat a team," and "letting your talent win.")
The epitome of the Valkyries is Veronica Burton, who would be a WNBA starter if she could score. Against Minnesota, she played well enough offensively that she had to be paid attention to, and if her ability to score improves, she could be a starter again next year, on a better team with a bigger salary. All the Valkyries -- and indeed the franchise -- are playing for next year, but Natalie Nakase has managed to make that work for her and the team.
The Valkyries really don't want to make the playoffs (with the two expansion teams, the highest possible pick would be number seven), but they do want to put a good product on the floor, and so far they've done that. They're a fun team to watch, and not a fun team to play, a combination that's a credit to the coach.
