Golden State Valkyries Head Coach Calls Veronica Burton “The Dream Point Guard”

With just three games left in their 2025 regular season, the Golden State Valkyries have officially clinched a playoff spot in their debut year. One of the factors that have contributed to this impressive debut is the synergy between the team's head coach and floor general.

In an interview with Danny Emerman of The San Francisco Standard, coach Natalie Nakase made sure to give Valkyries point guard Veronica Burton her flowers. Nakase, who is making her debut as a WNBA head coach this season, did not hesitate to use superlatives in describing Burton.

"She has been the dream point guard for me,” Nakase said in the interview. “I couldn’t ask for a better point guard.”

While it's no surprise that Nakase is hyping up her own point guard, the 45-year-old mentor is no easy woman to please, given her wealth of coaching experience in places like Germany, Japan, and the NBA. She also coached the likes of Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum during the Las Vegas Aces' back-to-back title runs, so it's safe to say that Nakase knows what she's talking about.

The Valkyries coach went on to cite some of Burton's strongest qualities on the court. "She’s picking apart the defenses really well,” Nakase said. “Getting assists is not easy in this league. And then obviously doing it while taking care of the ball."

Burton, who is playing in her fourth year in the league after stints with the Dallas Wings and Connecticut Sun, currently leads Golden State in assists with 5.9 dimes per game. As Emerman highlighted in his piece, the 5-foot-9 guard out of Northwestern also happens to be fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio among all rotation players.

For a 2025 expansion team to try to make waves in WNBA, a stabilizing force on the court was always going to be a prerequisite. The stats show that Burton has played this role well for the Valkyries, whose 23-18 record is good enough for sixth place in the standings.

To Golden State's credit, they are currently ahead of the Seattle Storm (22-20) and Indiana Fever (21-20) in the tight race for the postseason. The road to glory won't come any easier for the Valkyries once the playoffs begin, but by all indications, they're all set in terms of the connection between their coach and their primary point guard.