First comes the playoff berth. Then the All-Star Game announcement. Now, the must-win.
After Monday’s postseason-clinching win over the Dallas Wings — an occasion residents of Ballhalla are calling “Clinchmas” — came the announcement that next July, the Bay Area will host the league’s summer showcase event. But what comes next might be the biggest game in the Golden State Valkyries’ short franchise history.
The Minnesota Lynx are coming to the Bay. The league’s first-place team is three games ahead of No. 2 Golden State, and is a the giant that the Valkyries have yet to slay.
Golden State is 0-8 against Minnesota all-time, and if the dreams of becoming a No. 1 seed are more than the manifestation of a subconscious wish, this is a game that must be won.
The reality is that any run at a championship will go through Minnesota, and Golden State needs tangible proof that they can beat the Lynx.
This season, Golden State is 0-2 against Minnesota, with an 87-84 loss in Minneapolis on June 4 and an 81-75 home defeat on June 19. Following their game Aug. 19, the two teams will play again on Aug. 24 at Target Center.
With 14 wins in their last 15 games, and Kiah Stokes and Janelle Salaun back in the lineup after a brief absence last week, the Valkyries are a team on a roll, and on paper, they should stay that way.
There are only two teams left on the Valkryies schedule with winning records — the Lynx and the New York Liberty (Aug. 27 in Brooklyn).
The opportunity before this team is a flashing violet neon sign.
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“Whatever we can do game by game, whether tonight or the next night, we need to make sure we are taking steps in the right direction,” Stokes said Monday. “We want to go far in the playoffs. We have to lock in, every possession matters. There are no days off anymore.”
Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase would have argued there weren’t any to begin with.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” Nakase said more than once after Monday’s game. “If we are going to have bigger goals this season, it’s going to be very uncomfortable and we’ve talked about that.”
“I’ve told them, ‘This is where we are right now. But I’m going to push you guys past your limits’ and everyone agreed. Everyone is like ‘Okay, let’s go.’”
Beyond their punishing defensive efficiency, the Valkyries have two very big things going for them — good health and depth.
Nakase has been intentional about distributing minutes across her roster throughout the season, with nine players averaging at least 15 minutes a game and no one averaging more than 30.
In an injury-plagued season across the league, the Valkyries have lost less than 10 total games to injury among its main two units.
“Health is not always promised,” Nakase said.
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The second unit is on track to be the most productive in league history, with Tiffany Hayes, in particular, defying the aging process. Hayes has scored in double figures in four of her last five games. After missing significant portions of last season with injury, the 36-year-old veteran is positioned to be a catalyst for Golden State’s postseason fortunes.
“She empties the tank every night,” Nakase said about Hayes. “Not only does she empty the tank, she fights, she dives on the floor, she crashes [the boards]. She also makes big shots. And you can tell she is having so much fun out there. When we play with joy, but at the same time we battle, good things happen.”
Good things need to happen for Golden State on Wednesday night. The Valkyries are in a position to strengthen their claim on home-court advantage for at least a couple of playoff rounds. And they are within sight of the No. 1 seed, a not far-fetched concept considering the rest of Minnesota’s schedule will be played against playoff-bound teams.
Minnesota represents the standard Golden State must meet, an elite standard.
