SAN FRANCISCO — Natalie Nakase says she has brought Veronica Burton over to the “dark side.”
“She’s cussing now,” Nakase said, the Golden State Valkyries openly potty-mouthed head coach. “She’s taking on a little me.”
Only a little, counters Burton.
“I don’t cuss that much,” Burton said with a chuckle. “Don’t believe her.”
That might be the only way that the head coach and her point guard are out of sync.
The Golden State Valkyries jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the WNBA Finals with a 68-64 win over Atlanta on Saturday afternoon, scoring seven unanswered points over the final 3:12 in a bruising affair. In holding Atlanta to eight points in the final quarter on 2-of-19 shooting, the Valkyries haven’t lost at Chase Center since Aug. 19 and have a chance to take a commanding lead when the two teams take the floor again on Monday evening.
Burton’s line wasn’t her best, with five points, four rebounds, three assists, a steal and two blocks, but she had a +9 differential in her 29 minutes on the floor. It was another Gabby Williams star turn on this day, finishing with 26 points, the only Golden State player in double figures on a day when defense dictated.
After taking a shot to the nose in the first quarter from Angel Reese that compelled Nakase to pull her out of the game for the rest of the quarter, Burton went back in to “run through the wall,” Nakase said.
“Probably like five of them,” Nakase said.
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Burton’s defense contributed to Atlanta’s 32.8 shooting for the game, and just 4-of-25 shooting from the 3-point line, including five missed 3-point attempts in the final two and a half minutes.
The Valkyries’ composure down the stretch has become their standard. Burton’s poise, in many ways, is Golden State’s poise. So despite a quiet offensive day, her fingerprints were everywhere in Golden State’s first-ever WNBA Finals win and her stability will be key to a title run.
Burton was the WNBA’s Most Improved Player a year ago, perhaps the most emblematic symbol and example of what was being built in San Francisco.
Cut from the roster after being drafted in Dallas, a role player in Connecticut, unprotected in the expansion draft, Burton has grown into a leader, a tone-setter and a critical part of what Golden State does on both sides of the ball.
In 2025, Burton had to take a bigger role as injuries and international players constantly shuffled the lineup. The team wasn’t nearly as deep as it is now. She played nearly 30 minutes a game, averaging 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds.
While her scoring numbers are a bit better this season (12.2 ppg) and her minutes played (28.6) are close to where she was a season ago, her burden has eased with the addition of Williams, the health of Tiffany Hayes and a lot more roster stability.
She is cemented into the starting lineup. But both she and Nakase have been willing to let her rest during games, to let backup Kaitlyn Chen disrupt with her aggression in the lane.
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“In terms of being a point guard and trying to dictate the offense and keep everybody on the same page, I think that’s the same,” Burton said. “I think our team is super deep, so at the end of the day, we have more weapons offensively.”
“If anything, that allows you to breathe a little bit and you don’t have to force anything because if it’s someone else’s night, you can continue to find them rather than force anything.”
Among Burton’s consistencies has been her defensive effort, earning her a spot on the WNBA’s All-Defensive team along with teammates Gabby Williams and Kiah Stokes.
And her leadership has gone viral. A social media clip leading her huddle teammate in a deep-breathing exercise during Golden State’s clinching win over Dallas in the first round made its way around the internet.
And she hit the defining shot of the semifinal round, a 3-pointer late in Game 2 against Las Vegas that propelled the Valkyries to a 2-0 series lead in the best-of-five.
It’s that poise that has an effect on the entire team.
“We are definitely prepared going overtime with the Aces, coming back from 16 [down] with Dallas, holding on to the lead in game two with the Aces,” Nakase said. “All of those moments are building our experience and more importantly our composure and clarity on what we should be running and how we should be executing.”
And that clarity begins with Burton, regardless of what the box score says.
“VB’s taking on everything in a great, faithful way,” said Valkyries teammate Kayla Thornton. “She’s grown tremendously.”
Burton’s father Steve, a longtime sports broadcaster in Boston, had his own viral moment on the eve of the Finals, posting a photo on X of Warriors guard Steph Curry wearing his daughter’s jersey during warmups for the Golden State Warriors preseason game on Friday night. He called the moment “surreal.”
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But Burton has been existentially calm about what’s happened to the Valkryies in their second season. While the basketball world has called it unexpected, Burton said after the Aces defeated Las Vegas in the semifinals that she and her teammates believed it was “realistic.”
Nakase sees Burton’s leadership growing by not being the only voice in the huddle.
“Gabby is also part of that leadership with the vocalness, and then obviously Tip and KT can say whatever they want. So she’s learning to lean on other people for leadership, but makes her words a little bit more efficient and direct and aggressive.”
And may once in a while with a side of profanity.
“That’s what I love,” Nakase said.
