The external expectations for the Golden State Valkyries coming into the 2025 season were low since the expansion franchise didn’t boast many household names on their roster. However, through 12 games of the season, they’ve been extremely competitive and have a 6-6 record a quarter of the way into their inaugural season, thanks in large part to a commitment on the defensive end.
Their most recent win came on Thursday night over the Indiana Fever as they took down Caitlin Clark and company in an 88-77 win in a raucous Chase Center. Golden State gave Clark fits with their defensive pressure, forcing her into her worst shooting game of the season. The Fever star scored just 11 points and went 3-of-14 from the field, missing all seven of her 3-point attempts.
After the game, Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase gave a matter-of-fact answer about the team’s success with Clark.
“I mean, you guys saw what we’re doing. We were being disruptive. We know she doesn’t like physicality,” Nakase said. “We know she wants to get to that left stepback — I watched her at Iowa, she loves that left stepback, it’s almost like a layup for her. So we were just making sure she wasn’t getting into rhythm and then that she was seeing multiple bodies.”
The “she doesn’t like physicality” quote will certainly draw attention, but it’s applicable to most guards in basketball. It’s no secret that teams have been trying to be physical with Clark ever since she first arrived — to the point that it was a leading topic of conversation on sports talk shows for much of last summer. However, the challenge is executing that game plan for 40 minutes.
Teams are always trying to pressure Clark, but having the team-wide commitment to that plan and the personnel to execute it throughout the game is not something most teams can pull off. The Valkyries were relentless in their efforts to make the star guard uncomfortable and not let her get to her preferred spots. They sat on her stepback to the left and showed different looks from all angles to keep her from feeling comfortable.
From the moment she took the job, Nakase has talked about wanting to build a defensive identity for the Valkyries in this first season, and Thursday’s performance against the Fever was a tremendous proof of concept for what they’ve already established.
They’ll meet again on July 9 in Indiana, and Clark will undoubtedly have seen these remarks and should have plenty of motivation to make a statement of her own. That’ll be the real test for whether the Valkyries have the blueprint for slowing down the star, or if this was as much an off night from Clark as a defensive masterclass from Golden State.
