Good piece in SF Chronicle today from Bruce Jenkins: What Valkyries' first-year run to the WNBA playoffs owes to Natalie Nakase
Gift Link

Love this quote:

Quote:

---

It turned out to be one of the most creative rosters ever assembled by an expansion team in any sport. And it took the coaching of Nakase, deeply respected for her longtime work as an assistant, to make it a playoff-bound collective: joyous, deeply respectful of one another, devoted to ball movement and sworn to relentless defensive pressure. All of it accomplished with Thornton, their leading scorer and rebounder, out for the season since late July.

---

BearBloke and I are at Ballhalla, where it's halftime and the immense, noisy crowd are happy: Valks 36, Mynx 31.

P.S. The game's on Bay Area broadcast TV. 46-41, Valks.

Per usual, Marisa Ingemi has a good piece up on the Valkyries' success: Here's a gift link. How Valkyries built a WNBA contender from the ground up: 'A perfect storm'

Quote:

---

...The Valkyries' rise is more than a feel-good story, but a blueprint that could reshape how the WNBA thinks about expansion. In a league where new teams typically endure years of growing pains, Golden State built an immediate contender through unconventional roster moves, an international reach and a front office unafraid to ignore outside skepticism. Their success has set expectations sky-high for the next wave of teams preparing to join the league....

---

Thank you for sharing. It's a remarkable story. Likely a case study used in a graduate business program somewhere or perhaps even at the Haas School of Business.

Are you traveling down to the SAP Center on Wednesday?

Go Valkyries!!

My daughter and I will be SAP on Wednesday...go Valks!

Woodacre said:

---

My daughter and I will be SAP on Wednesday...go Valks!

---

Excellent; please holler for me and BearBloke among the sold-out crowd.

By the way, Veronica Burton has been named Most Improved Player by the WNBA and A.P. sportswriters; I expect Natalie Nakase to be Coach of the Year.

BearBint said:

---

CalWSportsFan said:

---

Nice tribute video to Ms. Burton. Good stuff. Go Valkyries. (also looking forward to seeing the Bears on the court soon!) and yes I'll be at SAP cheering them on.

---

V-A-A-A-L-ky-ries! Please scream for BearBint and me.

---

Her background is a bit Curryesque: Where the hell did this player come from? Is it this particular team/moment that called forth her skills?

Oh rest assured, I'll be very loud. Meanwhile, I appreciate Nakase so much. She got fined for her post-game comments regarding officiating (apparently not the first time this season) and joins her some of her WNBA coaching colleagues on that score. Her reaction to the fine:

Quote:

---

"I said what I said...I'm always going to fight for my team when I feel that. The calls were the calls, and I got fined. So, you know, throwing in that donation, or whatever it is. So I paid for it, and I'm going to donate that. I heard it was a tax write-off...I'm always owning up to being present. So I moved on. We've already, you know, talked about the new game plan, offensively and defensively."

---

Coach Natalie Nakase has won the WNBA Coach of the Year!!!

Go Valkyries!!


Natalie Nakase wins COY, led expansion Valkyries to playoffs - ESPN