How did Valkyries' Natalie Nakase outduel Aces' Becky Hammon for Game 1 win? These 3 tactics

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Valkyries entered the WNBA semifinals winless against the Las Vegas Aces in 2026. But the Aces were insistent pregame that the prior record was of little significance. The teams hadn't met since June, and Aces guard Chelsea Gray said pregame that Golden State was a completely different outfit.

Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon doubled down on that idea. "The first mistake is believing that beating them 3-0 in the regular season matters," Hammon said. "It doesn't matter."

The Aces lost, and in defeat, they were proven correct. The Valkyries hardly resembled the team that had lost three times to Las Vegas during the regular season, switching up a losing game plan to take early control of the semifinals.

Although this is Golden State coach Natalie Nakase's first time leading a team in the semifinals, she spent three seasons on the bench in Las Vegas and reached at least the semis in each. That gave her an understanding of how to ready herself for the moment, and how her former mentor Hammon would prepare.

"High alert in terms of attention to detail," Nakase said when asked about what changes in the postseason. "When you have the same team over and over, you have to keep teams off rhythm."

A few tweaks to their base schemes helped Nakase and the Valkyries keep the Aces flustered.

Golden State was successful on the offensive glass throughout the season but modified its crashing principles Sunday, making a special effort for all five positions to hit the glass. Kiah Stokes had three offensive rebounds in the first three meetings against the Aces and more than doubled that total with seven. In the earlier matchups, she was only going for second efforts when she was directly underneath the basket; in the semifinals, Stokes chased offensive rebounds from the corners, making the Las Vegas bigs pay for leaving her open from 3-point range. When she was in the paint, she started boxing out early on Vegas guards' drives before the shot even went up.

Another adjustment the Valkyries made was not playing small. Golden State's second unit usually features Janelle Salaün as the center, giving the Valkyries an opportunity to spread the floor because of Salaün's long-range shooting.

The Aces, however, aren't easily beaten by the small lineups. Their guards are accustomed to defending up a position — Gray seemingly prefers to guard fours more than ones at this point of her career — and they regularly switch defensively, limiting the number 3s the opponent can get up.

Golden State decided to deliberately sacrifice its 3-point volume, staying with one true big on the court for the full 40 minutes. Instead of all five players spreading the floor, the Valkyries attacked the basket with their center. That allowed them to pick at Las Vegas' screen-and-roll defense. The Aces got lost on the back line on a couple of occasions, leading to easy finishes at the rim.

Nakase was also able to spring a surprise on her former boss. The backup center other than Salaün for most of the season has been Laeticia Amihere. For all of Amihere's athletic gifts and motor on the boards, she's a little undersized to deal with A'ja Wilson and at a strength disadvantage.

So Nakase went with the unexpected choice of Aminata Gueye, a French national who signed with Golden State for the remainder of the season on Sept. 20. The only tape Las Vegas had on Gueye with the Valkyries was four minutes of not much but missed layups in the regular-season finale and 10 minutes of garbage time in Game 1 of the first round. Even with the national team, she played only a handful of minutes at the World Cup.

But in her first meaningful action in violet, Gueye was more than the Aces bargained for. When Jackie Young attacked her in the paint, Gueye swatted the attempt away. When Gray tried to skip the ball to the right corner, Gueye was there for the interception. After a flub on a catch in the paint, Gueye recovered to finish a perfect pick-and-roll feed from her French teammate Gabby Williams and even converted the and-one.

"There's a connectivity between Gabby and Ami. … She picks up our stuff really quickly, and she's in there, obviously, to be a physical presence," Nakase said.

Hammon didn't have many counters Sunday beyond funneling even more of the offense through Wilson — never a bad idea, if defenses will allow it — and going to zone late when Las Vegas ran out of bodies. She'll have to be more creative for Game 2.

The victor of Game 1 in a best-of-five series goes on to win the series about 78 percent of the time. Hammon and the Aces have been part of that 22 percent multiple times in their three title seasons, including once against a Gabby Williams-led Storm team. Whatever tricks Nakase learned in Las Vegas, Hammon is still the reigning mastermind. She loves a puzzle, and each playoff series presents a new one.

Nakase struck first in this battle, but expect a swift comeback from Hammon. These are two of the best tacticians in the game. Even if Nakase has more pieces to play with, Hammon still has the ace in the hole.

Las Vegas Aces, Golden State Valkyries, WNBA