In any given game, Kaila Charles might bring the ball up the floor, crash the offensive glass, start a fast break off a defensive rebound and then find herself defending the opposing team’s tallest player.
That is life as one of the Valkyries’ “tweeners.”
Charles, Kayla Thornton and Janelle Salaun have become the backbone of Golden State’s positionless approach, a trio that slides between the three, four and five depending on the matchup. They’re often undersized, but their ability to defend multiple positions, switch seamlessly and contribute offensively has become one of the defining characteristics of the Valkyries.
“Versatility is probably one of the keys to the ‘tweeners’ group to show that they could not just be one person, one role, they could be multiple roles within a role,” Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase said. “… They’re challenged by people that are either bigger than them, faster than them, slower than them, like they take on that challenge, and being able to be ready to fight within any type of game plan. I’m truly lucky to have players like that.”
Each player fills the role differently.
Charles has averaged 5.9 points per game while carving out a niche as a defensive specialist off the bench who can also space the floor as a three-point shooter. Thornton is a more traditional power forward who has regularly been asked to play even bigger. Salaun has shifted between being a perimeter shooter and battling centers in the paint.
“What’s similar with all three of us is we are like tweeners and we can play multiple positions,” Charles said. “I don’t think it’s anything that we’re not capable of, especially like overseas, I’ve guarded the four and the five, and I’m sure Ja has, KT has been playing three, four all her career. So, I think it’s just the testament to like our versatility, and that we can slide different places and still have big impacts on the team.”
All three are doing it in different roles than they held a season ago.
Salaun was a starter and instant offense last season. Now she comes off the bench while taking on more physical defensive assignments. Thornton’s scoring has dipped as she’s spent more time battling bigger players inside. Charles, who arrived as a hardship signing last August, has established herself as a reliable rebounder and defender in a clearly defined role.
The tradeoff has helped create matchup problems for opponents.
Against bigger teams such as Atlanta and New York, Golden State has countered size with mobility, switching nearly everything defensively while forcing opposing frontcourts to defend quicker players in space.
“We might be small, but on the flip side, we can switch a lot, we can guard everywhere, we can run the bigger athletes that we have to guard, and it just works for our advantage,” Charles said. “So, I think it just makes us a more deadly team, where we have so many people that can bring the ball up, can shoot, can pass, can do all that.”
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Nakase has leaned fully into that philosophy at times, deploying all three together in small-ball lineups while Laeticia Amihere went through a stretch of DNPs.
The numbers suggest it has worked. Thornton, Salaun and Charles are plus-8 together in 95 minutes. Thornton and Charles are plus-47 together, while Thornton and Salaun are plus-49. Salaun and Charles are plus-21.
“We always just try to keep them just upright,” Thornton said. “We are a little out of position, but we’re really not, we’re just a little smaller, but it doesn’t matter.”
Salaun, in particular, has adapted well to the shift. She is scoring more, shooting more and turning the ball over less than she did last season, despite playing five fewer minutes per game and coming off the bench. Her rebounding has dipped slightly, though that comes while regularly wrestling with bigger post players.
Golden State still relies on her perimeter shooting, but Nakase has been equally impressed by her willingness to embrace the physical demands of her new role.
“We knew that she would do whatever it takes to win, and so that type of fight, tenacity, I mean, that’s not easy,” Nakase said. “You have to be in really good shape, you have to know how to utilize your length and your size and the timing of rebounding – it’s rebounding to me, is the art, and I think she’s mastering it.”
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The addition of Gabby Williams has made the Valkyries a more dynamic offensive team, but their identity has been built just as much by players willing to sacrifice traditional roles.
For Charles, Thornton and Salaun, that has meant fewer shots, different assignments and, in Salaun’s case, a move to the bench. The payoff has been a lineup capable of matching up with almost anyone, even when the matchup doesn’t look favorable.
“It’s really fun, and that’s what wins the championships,” Charles said. “That’s what wins the games, and that’s what keeps us in it with these big teams that have maybe bigger players, so when we’re playing defense, we can stop anybody, so it’s a matter of just being connected and locked in and focused every game.”
