WNBA FINALS: DREAM VS. VALKYRIES

October 29, 2026

Natalie Nakase

Golden State Valkyries

Game 6: Postgame

Atlanta Dream 80, Golden State Valkyries 69

Q. Did that first quarter surprise you, and what do you think happened there that put you guys into a hole?

NATALIE NAKASE: Just more frustrated me really. Unacceptable, our poor start. It was just more frustration.

Q. So much has been made about the odd start time, and obviously for you guys it, was even earlier. It was a 9:30 body clock. Do you feel that that had any factor in the way things started?

NATALIE NAKASE: No. That had nothing to do with it. We played at one o'clock last week. No.

Q. VB and Gabby were just in here and VB mentioned L.A. was one of the few players that came in ready to go today. How do you reckon with that, with a championship potentially on the line and I know that you guys emphasized that, you know, before today's game?

NATALIE NAKASE: L.A.'s been itching, and she's been so good in film sessions, just adding her two cents inside, and just she's been super vocal. We definitely like her ability to pressure the ball in a different way.

So yeah, she was ready to, you know, play those minutes, and I thought she had great fight. She had fresh legs, and I loved every minute that she was out there.

Q. Kiah Stokes has been very pivotal for how the series has gone, 20 minutes for her today. What dictates how much she's in the game and how much she's not?

NATALIE NAKASE: I just think her legs were not moving as well as L.A.'s, and so that was just the decision that we made.

Q. Do you have an update on Tiffany?

NATALIE NAKASE: No, but she looked good to me again. Yeah, she looked fine.

Q. When it comes to the slow starts, I guess how do you reset that in the moment? Who are you leaning on on the court to try and reset that? Obviously you guys come back in the second half, in the fourth quarter specifically, but who is driving that?

NATALIE NAKASE: Yeah, me. Starts with me. And then V, obviously, is usually our vocal leader and then Gabby will always put their two cents in. Everyone is kind of always authentically themselves, which is nice. But no, it starts with me and then V usually like echos.

Q. This was a tough one, but being the competitor you are and having a Game 7 at home and being in the WNBA Finals, how do you feel about possibly trying to win it in that type of scenario?

NATALIE NAKASE: I'm set right now with where my feet are, I want to go back and look at the film and find solutions and where my message was not delivered correctly on the preparation in terms of pregame. So I just have to not think about that exact game time. I want to be present. Check in on my girls. I want to check in on Tiff, and on everyone and give them some space right now to rest and recover but probably have some reflection moments on plane ride home, yeah.

Q. It seemed like the Dream were pleased with the pace they were able to play at today. What has allowed them in the games they have won to dictate the pace and in the games you've won you have been able to dictate it?

NATALIE NAKASE: I can't speak for them but other than we knew that they were going to be desperate. You know, like I said, I put that on me of like, what did I not say, what did I not get to my team of the sense of urgency that we knew they were going to play? We knew they were going to play desperate. We knew they were going to play like their life depends on it. For us not to match that is disappointing and frustrating.

So, yeah, I need to make sure my team is prepared.

Q. The players mentioned that you mentioned it, the sense of urgency, Kiah last game talked not wanting to go back to Ballhalla. It seems like everyone has the requisite mindset but what happens when you get into the actual game and you're not able to execute on that?

NATALIE NAKASE: I'm just trying to explain to you that we are all right now not happy with how it started. So I want to go back, give them their time right now to get their bodies right, get their mental right, get their nutrition right. Let them just sit in it and then when I get on the plane, I'll have these conversations. So I don't have the answers for you guys now this second.

But for me, I need clarity. I need some information.

Q. Seemed like Allisha Gray was more like herself and Rhyne Howard has also been a difficult player to stop. Can you talk specifically about those two and what you'll have to do against them on Saturday?

NATALIE NAKASE: Yeah, pick up ball pressure. Things that we can control, we controlled it in the second half. So just picking up the ball, pressuring them, getting them out of rhythm, things that we've been doing all series and moments. So I've just got to make sure, again, what -- was my message foggy? If it was foggy, then I need to be very clear.

Q. Gabby mentioned needing to set the tone with physicality. How key is that going to be going into Game 7?

NATALIE NAKASE: Again, this is the Finals. Physicality is supposed to be ramped up. This is win or die. This is do or die. This is it. And so you want to have that type of, again, two defensive teams. You want to have that physicality. You want to have that fight. You want to lay it all out there. That's what the Finals is about is just an empty-the-tank mentality, and shoot, we didn't do that tonight.

Q. You mentioned and Gabby mentioned ball pressure being an issue. Did they do something different to make it more challenging for you guys or how do you turn that on?

NATALIE NAKASE: No. We just didn't do it. See how frustrating that is? It's frustrating when we just didn't do it. So I have to be very clear. I want to hear what they thought I said, yeah.