SAN FRANCISCO– When old teammates reunite on opposite ends of the floor, the fire of competition usually levels up. Iron sharpens iron, practice one-on-ones take a public stage, and there’s a little bit of animosity that flares up.
But for Kaitlyn Chen, whose 15 points helped the Golden State Valkyries to a 91-80 victory over her old UConn teammates Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, and the Dallas Wings, this wasn’t a game she had marked on her calendar, she said after the win.
No, what fueled her hook shot layups wasn’t the desire to school her fellow Huskies; what guided her lightning-quick crossovers and blow-by drives wasn’t the urge to show why she was just as important in UConn’s title run. What guided her to one of the best games of her career, and through her journey to this moment, was her unconscious and infectious penchant to have fun and play with joy whenever she steps onto the court.
“She has fun while she plays,” star forward Gabby Williams, who had 25 points in her own right, said of Chen after the game.
“She has fun, and in those intense moments, for me especially, I’m like that too, I have to have fun, I have to smile, have to be up with my teammates in order for me to be at my best. And so when I’m playing alongside someone who’s celebrating her teammates and celebrating herself, that’s fun to celebrate too. Because she’s always, even when she’s not on the court, you hear on the bench, she’s always talking during timeouts. It lifts your energy up, and you feel looser when you play.”
With the Valkyries trailing by 12 toward the end of the first quarter, it was Chen off the bench who steadied the Golden State offense. Chen, who finished with a team-high +26 plus/minus on the night, was integral to the Valkyries’ massive 33-10 run from the 1:11 mark in the first to the 47.2 second mark at the end of the half, a stretch that included a dominant 19-0 run.
In a season-high 25 minutes, Chen finished with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, giving Williams and the Valkyries the secondary scorer they needed to fend off the Wings.
How Kaitlyn Chen dismantled the Wings
Chen’s 15 points came primarily through her attacking the Dallas guards and getting downhill. Whether it was freezing them with a one-two crossover or straight-up blowing by her defender, Chen was creating dribble penetration all night, which strained the Dallas defense.
“She just kept going, kept going, and I was like, ‘Kaitlyn, just be ready to rim read,’ thinking they’re gonna bring over a low man,” Natalie Nakase said. “But she sometimes took off early, sometimes took off at the last second. Just her ability to finish either hand, she’s lethal when she goes straight [to the basket]. But she had no fear.”
It’s one thing to beat your defender off the dribble, something Chen was able to do last year, but it’s another thing to finish over the big rotating over to swat your shot. That’s something Chen developed in the offseason in Athletes Unlimited and her time overseas: those hookshots, reverses, and floaters off one foot. Sneaky, clever ways of finishing at the rim, which were on full display against Dallas.
“She’s just confident, and she affects the game in so many different ways,” Buecker said post-game. “Tonight, it was getting downhill, getting penetration, getting to the rim. She has one of the best layup packages I’ve ever seen.”
The court is Kaitlyn Chen’s playground
Chen is the last person who will compliment herself or hype up her own achievements, which is why Williams did that for her in their joint post-game presser. And at the end of the day, Chen is one of the hardest-working individuals on the Golden State, a team literally built on hard-working individuals.
“Kaitlyn has fun because she prepares so much,” Nakase said. “The behind-the-scenes, the preparation from reading a scout to watching film, to holding herself at a high level, to working extremely hard every day, whether it’s practice off day or a game.”
“So, when she steps on the court, it’s like her playground. She just goes out there, she knows the scout report in and out, and she’s been communicating with the other point guards in terms of what we’re going to run. So when she’s prepared, you see that the court is her playground. That’s why she has a ton of fun.”
It’s that same preparation that earned Chen a spot on the Valkyries after they waived her. It’s the same preparation that helped her take a leap this season and become a key rotation piece. And it’s the same preparation that will guide her to a long career in the WNBA.
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