OAKLAND – There is a different air about the Golden State Valkyries, fresh off their inaugural season in the WNBA.
Sure, the trademark competitive fire that head coach Natalie Nakase instilled in year one remains the same. And yes, they’ve returned most of the roster that made last season special. But unlike the fervor and edge that filled every part of the Valkyries’ introduction to the Bay a year ago, there’s a calmness emanating from the team as they enter a pivotal year two. A significant part of that stems from Nakase’s energy in the first week of training camp.
“[Nakase] is kind of relaxed. She’s more calm,” Kayla Thornton said. “Then we have a great veteran group coming back that kind of knows what the style of play is that we’re doing. Now, it’s about teaching the new ones, but she is kind of more calm and [collected]. And not so much pressure trying to, you know… how it was last year. But now, we’re already in it, and now we have expectations to do better.”
That’s the burden of the Valkyries entering this season– the expectation to surpass their historic first year.
Joe Lacob’s (and Nakase’s) expectation of winning a championship in their first five seasons remains the north star for this franchise. And the arrival of All-WNBA forward Gabby Williams raises the bar for what would be considered a success this season, even if she was the only big addition in free agency.
And yet, instead of restlessness, there is calm. That’s the right approach in the face of ambitious goals. But it’s one thing to say you are relaxed; people claim they aren’t stressing the heat all the time. It’s another thing when it’s based on mentality, and a team-wide one at that.
“I honestly don’t even think our expectations are based off of last year,” Veronica Burton said earlier this week. “Last year was incredible. Smashed a lot of expectations. But we have new ones for this year. We always want to compete for a championship. That’s the goal. That’s the reason why we’re in here. And so it’s not even based off last year. It’s just based on us competing, being professional athletes, and wanting to win.”
“Just move on,” Nakase said, echoing her star point guard. “That was last year, right? You know where I am. I’m always present with where my feet are. So nothing carries over from last year. It’s a brand new year. It’s a brand new league.”
Valkyries’ strong first week of training camp
The Valkyries were missing a good portion of their projected rotation in this first week of training camp as players completed their international offseason commitments. But that didn’t stop Golden State from putting together a strong four days of practice ahead of their only preseason game. If anything, the competition got too intense for the ever fiery Nakase’s taste.
“We had probably our best practice today in terms of competitiveness and just organization, but that competitiveness actually took a step too high for me,” Nakase remarked Friday afternoon. “There were bodies flying, and so we had to tone it down. I can only imagine what they’re going to do tomorrow in the preseason. And so I am really hoping their competitiveness turns into smart competitiveness, and we walk away healthy.”
“Health” has been the keyword for Nakase throughout Golden State’s first week back. The Valkyries were plagued with injuries last season, headlined by Thornton’s season-ending knee injury midway through the year. But of all the storylines from the Valkyries’ training camp thus far, Thornton’s imminent return is by far the biggest one. And most encouraging.
The Valkyries listed Thornton as probable for their Saturday preseason game. In all likelihood Thornton appears poised to make her return to the court in front of a raucous fanbase, even if it’s only for a couple of minutes.
“It’s gonna be day by day,” Nakase said of Thornton’s health. “I’m giving KT the space to let me know how her body feels every single day. She hasn’t played for a really long time, and so I want to check in. We talked about checking in with each other, but I’m gonna let her you know… if she wants to play, then she can play. But I need to- I want her to say, I feel great today, coach. Or, I feel 100%. I want to hear it from her first.”
The medical staff will have final priority on Thornton’s availability, but the forward has boldly declared she’s back. We’ll see how she and the rest of the Valkyries look in their first preseason game against the Seattle Storm.
OAKLAND – There is a different air about the Golden State Valkyries, fresh off their inaugural season in the WNBA. Sure, the trademark competitive fire that head coach Natalie Nakase instilled in year one remains the same. And yes, they’ve returned most of the roster that made last season special.