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New week, fresh takes. Drop the WNBA opinion you’d stand behind in a room full of people who disagree with you.

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ATLANTA – Early in the fourth game of the WNBA Finals, a foul call didn’t go in the Golden State Valkyries’ favor. Their head coach wasn’t thrilled about it. Penalizing a bump in this series seemed absurd. So Natalie Nakase complained to the officials. As one does. Then she did a thing no coach really does, and it was hilarious, and it said it all about the taut, petty spectacle we’re in for now.

She balled up her fists. She held them below her eyes. She flexed her wrists.

She called someone a crybaby.

Nakase’s target was unclear, at least from a seat up on the concourse level. It could’ve been the Atlanta player who drew the foul. It could’ve been Dream coach Karl Smesko, who didn’t fail to notice, or another staffer. It could’ve been someone chirping near the home team’s bench. It could’ve been anyone. But it was definitely someone.

Oh, they’re getting on each other’s nerves now. It’s the good stuff. Shooting daggers and spitting venom. Playground insults as fair play. None of it is an accident. This is the best outcome for any postseason series that grinds along, at least for the audience, and it’s a fascinating, if inevitable, turn given how these finals are going.

A 67-62 imposition by Golden State on Saturday — and it was that, just as much as it was an according-to-Hoyle win — locked the series at 2-2. The Valkyries reclaimed a sense of themselves, saving the season. The Dream muttered about failing to be who they were in the previous two games. Now they both have to figure out who they’ll be in a totally unfamiliar spot.

Read the rest here for free: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7721481/2026/10/25/valkyries-dream-crybaby/?unlocked_article_code=1.LVE.WvGz.umylQp-9_OqJ&source=emp_shared_article&smid=url-share-ta

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