The mighty, miserly Golden State Valkyries won their first WNBA title on Saturday night with a point guard Dallas had given up on and cast aside, a starting forward who had been waived five times and a late-blooming All-Star once passed over by every team in the league.
asserted
who → win → league
That made them a fitting match for their coach.
asserted
them → make → coach
Natalie Nakase has pieced together a basketball life on making small openings count, turning a walk-on place at UCLA into a scholarship and an unsolicited scouting report into a coaching job in Japan’s top men’s league.
asserted
openings → piece → league
The Valkyries’ nerve-shredding 68-63 fightback over the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 did more than make them the fastest expansion team in major North American professional sports history to win a championship – as 45-1 preseason longshots in their second season of existence.
asserted
them → shred → existence
It was proof of concept for an organization that gave overlooked players the resources, responsibility and trust to become champions – and enlisted a leader whose own circuitous journey had taught her what those things could unlock.
uncertain
things → give → what
“We have unconditional love that’s fucking unbreakable, guys,” a keyed-up Nakase said during the trophy ceremony at a Chase Center that remained packed to the rafters, where Golden State’s 53rd home game had delivered their 53rd sellout crowd on a night that will be long remembered in the Bay Area as Ballhallaween.
asserted
that → have → Ballhallaween
“This is for all the people that have been underrated, misunderstood,” she said.
asserted
she → underrate → people
“This is for all y’all, because this is proof: if you put all your heart and all your soul, you fucking win championships!”
asserted
you → put → championships
Golden State had built a place where players could expect investment, opportunity and the trust of their coach – and were expected to give something back.
uncertain
players → build → something
Nakase’s declaration of love came with demanding basketball obligations: defend, compete and accept whatever role helped the team win.
asserted
team → come → obligations
Veronica Burton, their starting point guard, had been waived by Dallas two years earlier, returning home to work out at the West Suburban YMCA in Newton, Massachusetts, with her high school coach while waiting for another chance.
asserted
Burton → waive → chance
Connecticut signed her, then left her unprotected in the expansion draft.
asserted
Connecticut → sign → draft
With Golden State, she became the league’s most improved player.
asserted
she → become → State
Kaila Charles had been cut five times in five seasons.
asserted
Charles → cut → seasons
Back at her parents’ home, training with her brother and mulling her professional future, she was preparing to visit Trinidad for her grandmother’s 94th birthday when the Valkyries offered a seven-day hardship contract.
asserted
Valkyries → train → contract
Now she was starting in the WNBA finals.
asserted
she → start → finals
Kayla Thornton went undrafted, was shown the door by two different teams and spent years establishing herself as a dependable supporting player before becoming a first-time All-Star with Golden State at 32.
asserted
Thornton → go → 32
Cecilia Zandalasini had started only six WNBA games before joining Golden State and starting 44 across the team’s first two seasons.
asserted
Zandalasini → start → seasons
Kaitlyn Chen, a relatively unheralded third-round draft pick, found a role backing up Burton and as the bench’s chief vibes officer.
asserted
Chen → find → officer
Tiffany Hayes, a former sixth woman of the year, had played more WNBA games without winning a title than anyone else in history – until Saturday night.
asserted
Hayes → play → night
These were careers transformed by opportunity – by a team willing to explore what its players could become.
uncertain
players → transform → team
Gabby Williams, the newly minted WNBA finals MVP and Golden State’s closest thing to an incandescent star, put it another way.
asserted
Williams → mint → it
“All it took was good people,” Williams said.
asserted
Williams → take → ?
“All we heard last year was we don’t have no stars.
asserted
we → hear → stars
We don’t have no talent.
asserted
We → have → talent
We got good people.
asserted
We → get → people
We got good people.
asserted
We → get → people
We got winners.
asserted
We → get → winners
We got people who are ready to put their bodies on the floor to win a game.
asserted
who → get → game
Nakase understood what it meant to have more to offer than others could see.
uncertain
others → understand → more
She had spent much of her own career proving it.
asserted
She → spend → it
A 5ft 2in point guard from a basketball-obsessed Japanese-American family in southern California, she turned down a scholarship to UC Irvine to walk on at UCLA, her dream school.
asserted
she → obsess → UCLA
A torn ACL delayed her start, but she earned a scholarship there anyway, became a starter and captained the Bruins for three seasons.
asserted
she → tear → seasons
She never did make a WNBA roster.
asserted
She → make → roster
Phoenix cut her in 2007, before another knee injury while playing in Germany spelled the end of her playing career.
asserted
injury → cut → career
She began coaching the Wolfenbüttel Wildcats of the Damen-Basketball-Bundesliga before moving to Japan, where she initially found a foothold watching Tokyo Apache practices.
asserted
she → begin → foothold
A scouting report she prepared earned her a volunteer assistant’s job under former NBA coach Bob Hill, before she eventually became the first woman to lead a team in Japan’s top professional men’s league when she took charge of the Saitama Broncos.
asserted
she → prepare → Broncos
Then came a return to California and an internship in the Los Angeles Clippers’ video department.
asserted
return → come → department
She spent a decade in the organization, working through video, development and coaching roles before Becky Hammon brought her to Las Vegas in 2022.
asserted
Hammon → spend → 2022
Two championships as a bench coach followed, giving her a front-row seat for one of basketball’s great dynasties.
asserted
championships → follow → dynasties
…and 66 more, not listed.
The Aporia
