Natalie Nakase Is Preparing Valkyries for ‘Ruthless Atlanta Team’ in Must-Win Game 6
Game 5 of the WNBA Finals was the Atlanta Dream’s worst showing of the season. They scored a season-low 55 points, shot just 29% from the field, and turned the ball over 17 times, which led to 21 points for the Golden State Valkyries. It was another tough game for Angel Reese and Allisha Gray, and the bench contributed just four points.
The Dream have no time to stew over this loss, though. They will have to play Game 6 early on Thursday. If they don’t come out ready to play a better game, it will be the end of their championship dreams. The Valkyries can close out the series with one more win, but the Dream can force a Game 7 if they bounce back and take Game 6.
Natalie Nakase expects the Dream to come out ready to fight and get revenge for two brutal losses.
“We did our job here, but now it’s about getting our rest and recovery because we have to level up,” Nakase said after Game 5, per a video on the Valkyries’ YouTube channel. “That’s going to be a very ruthless Atlanta team that really wants it just as much. You can never count them out.”
The Dream cannot afford to be anything other than “ruthless” with the championship on the line. They dictated the energy and effort in Games 2 and 3 and must figure out how to do that again.
The Valkyries Are on the Brink of WNBA History—Again
Last year, the Valkyries became the fastest expansion team to make the playoffs, punching a ticket to the postseason in their first year. Just a year later, they are one win away from also becoming the fastest expansion team to win a championship.
The Seattle Storm currently hold the record. They won a championship in 2004, their fifth season since joining the WNBA for the 2000 campaign. The Detroit Shock were also pretty fast, winning a title in their sixth season. Other teams, took much, much longer. The Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever didn’t win a title until their thirteenth season in the W, and the Chicago Sky needed 16 seasons to reach the top. The Washington Mystics, one of the first expansion teams in 1998, didn’t win a title until 2019.
Atlanta is still chasing its first title, and three other expansion teams—the Miami Sol, Orlando Miracle, and the original Portland Fire—never won a title before they folded.
Winning a championship in year two—without a single player who made an All-WNBA team this year—would be a massive accomplishment for the Valkyries.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.