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Why the Golden State Valkyries passed on Kelsey Plum | Kaitlyn Chen's rise | WNBA Today

WNBA on CLNS

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WNBA reporter Noa Dalzell brings on Golden State Valkyries beat reporter Kenzo Fukada to discuss the Valkyries' hot first half of the season. Noa and Kenzo discuss Gabby Williams' play, Veronica Burton's continued high-level play, Kaitlyn Chen's breakthrough season off the bench, and much more.

0:00 - Welcome in Guest
1:43 - What has been key on to Valkyries success?
3:42 - Kiah Stokes impact on Valkyries this season
5:56 - Looking at Valkyries rotations this season
10:03 - Prizepicks
11:23 - Should Valkyries have traded for Kelsey Plum?
15:00 - Thoughts on Juste Jocyte
19:47 - Kaitlyn Chen's breakthrough season
24:25 - Big season from Janelle Salaun
26:31 - What’s ideal pathway for Valkyries to make a title run?
31:23 - Wrapping up!

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WNBA Today on CLNS is a brand-new, WNBA-focused channel headlined by WNBA (and Celtics) reporter Noa Dalzell. WNBA Today will include both long and short-form videos discussing the latest news and developments in the WNBA. Noa, one of 72 WNBA media members with an awards vote, interviews players, coaches, and analysts. We'll go live when major news breaks, have postseason and offseason coverage, press conferences and share our thoughts on the latest developments in the W!

20 Comments

@MediaMaverick_ 2 months ago

Kenzo is good. We are lucky to have several good reporters follow/analyze the Valkyries.

@RobinD-r8e 2 months ago (edited)

The GSV don’t have any toxic personalities which is fabulous.

@PierreRondeau-qp8wq 2 months ago (edited)

Great pod/ really interesting discsussion on the Valkyries between Noa &Kenzo!
So true about having a ton of good players&being Celts esque.Seems like every game w/o Williams on tv they're either right there or win.Aslo shoot a ton of 3's to help make up for those low overall shooting %'s.
And a different player steps up all the time-Zandalsini was great when they went toe to toe w/ the Lynx.And they were running offense though Hayes in the 4th at times against PHX.
Hopefully they don't shorten the bench in the playoffs too much like traditionally done.
Would be kind of changing their identity as a team.(even though it's admittedly tough on/puts a lot of pressure on Nakase)

@xxwooway 2 months ago

I'd love the first round to be at Ballhalla against the Fever.

@kjcarlock6427 2 months ago

New to your pod Noa, I def enjoyed my visit, thank you. In fact, based on that, here's my sub! Kenzo man, been watching you out here in the Bay and I appreciate your way. Nice work in general and def on this pod. OK - The Valks amaze me, but the following axiom works, Defense travels. I love a team that gives effort defensively and the addition of Gabby is mind blowing, she is a freaking terror defensively. Her hands are almost always in the passing lanes, wow. As for development, sometimes Jannelle Salaun ( sah-lon, not sah-loon) shows freaky skills and maybe she develops. Tall, rangy, she has a some crazy athleticism (and an NBA brother) and when she drives and takes contact, she takes long Euro steps and wraps the ball the like running back to avoid fumbling, and then extends to deliver a layup thru the contact. Let alone her shot making with a hand in her face. IF, big IF, if she can develop she might be a killer. Realistically, it feels like the Valks are one, maybe two, players away from "really" contending for a title, but damn in year 2, wow let's goooo. Peace - KJ in the Bay

@gr8bkset-524 2 months ago

They'll need to avoid the Mystics. It looked like the Mystics figured GSV out by pounding the ball inside and drawing fouls, Phoenix and Toronto did the same except they didn't have Mabery and Morrow like they will Tuesday.

@LPay-jy8mx 2 months ago

Kenzo y- wow, ou rock! Thanks for bringing him on, I appreciated your conversation and his insights were interesting and top notch! Bring him back!

@tomcoolidge8138 2 months ago

Loved this episode and such great insight from Kenzo! Valkyries have been my favorite team to watch this year

@lynnzoubok 2 months ago

Nice to see some coverage nod the WNBA. Good show.

@kmclb 2 months ago (edited)

As a GSV fan, I for one was very relieved we didn't trade for KP. Do we have offensive gaps? We do. Will we win the chip this year? Probably not. But I think we'll get farther this year than last, and then we have a whole regular-length (not 30-second like it was this year) off-season to land the clutch scorer we need. But I would have been really sad to see us trade away one of our key pieces to get KP.

@ericasanders3410 2 months ago

Just like we highlight the Valks struggles against the Lynx and Aces, it’s worth noting that in 2 years the Fever have only beaten the Valks once and that was the 2nd night of a back-to-back on the road. The actual results should outweigh which team has the higher name recognition.

@slade7612 2 months ago

Chen has her limitations, but you can see she’ll run through a wall for Coach Nakase. Speaking of Coach Nakase, after 2 seasons, put herself up with the very best. Just like Coach Staley and Auriemma and Coach Reeve, can tap into the human side of basketball and make players play their very best.

@waynelevin8408 2 months ago

I'm glad they didn't trade for KP. I love the depth of this team, and I think GS would have had to give up a big part of their depth, and/or future for the probably short term rental.

@BrianAndresMusic 2 months ago (edited)

This team for sure could use Plum but the Valkyries may have had to disrupt the chemistry of this team too much to get her. I understand that. What I dont understand is the disastrous draft this year, which has never been adequately explained in my opinion, and the lack of playing time from Jocyte this year. Nonetheless, they're having a great season, and are a legitimate title contender, and I think we'll be able to say that for many seasons to come.

@jboy2621 2 months ago

GSV is the strongest team for the rest of the season.

@KtS-g3g 2 months ago (edited)

I need kenzo to get a better mic

@Silentmass4751 2 months ago

Kaitlyn was playing that way at Princeton; the only difference is that her confidence caught up with her skill set.

@russperry3000 2 months ago

And 17 people care……

@MBP-s9o1z 2 months ago (edited)

Kenzo, Nathan Canilao and Joseph Dycus are frequently wrong but never in doubt. Dudes love to gas themselves up bragging about how many pod hits they do. They use a mocking, condescending tone to describe the talent on the roster (no inherent athleticism: fact check untrue), coaching decisions, and the cap table. Now they’re taking victory laps and gassing themselves up.

In late May, Kenzo wrote: "Valkyries were by far the most difficult team in the league to project; the Schrödinger’s Cat of the W." Fact check untrue. Crash out mode after the Rupert, Martin news; Quarter Season: trade needed to be made. Gave GSV a B- at Quarter a Season when their Total Net Rating was top third. No faith in Kiah Stokes, wanted Cam Brink trade

Emergency Episode: Rupert out for szn, Kate Martin cut
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVh2TdrhXbA&list=PLKZpMek82aMw

Quarter Season:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9SjIrdKoIg

@rayrayz 2 months ago

I don't think what Coach Nakase and her coaching staff has done with the Valkyries is some kinda 'precedence/blueprint'' for the 2 xpansion teams this year and the 3 coming up

she has a rare and unique way of reaching her players and pulling out maximum effort and🫀, 'emptying the tank' like she always says in her post gamers, a player can't thrive in that environment if she doesn't buy in 💯%, anybody they draft or sign or trade for has to completely understand that and should be vetted

and Kaitlyn Chen is the perfect xample: countless players are bigger and stronger and more talented BUT here she is thriving and constantly improving under Coach Nakase (I can't help but think there's a correlation/common denominator between her and Coach Geno at UConn, cuz what did he see in her being a graduate transfer from Yale when he can have just about any blue-chip highly recruited player every year, and Kaitlyn's fingerprints are just as all over that Naty as Paige, Azzi, and Sarah Strong)

that's why I can never find myself rooting AGAINST the Valkyries regardless of who they're playing, and I thoroughly njoy watching other teams in the W but there's 'something special' about any team Natalie Nakase coaches 👏🏼👍🏼🙏🏼🙌🏼💯💯💯💯💯
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