The Golden State Valkyries marched into State Farm Arena on Saturday and snatched Game 4 from the Atlanta Dream 67-62. Despite blockbuster performances from Gabby Williams, Veronica Burton, Tiffany Hayes, and Kiah Stokes, who made WNBA Finals history for most blocks in a series, Kaila Charles was one of the most impactful players on the floor for all 29 minutes she was on it.
Saturday marked Charles' first time starting in the 2026 playoffs—after suffering a brutal 97-71 blowout loss in Game 3, Coach Natalie Nakase opted to slot Charles and Hayes into the starting lineup for Cecilia Zanadalasini and Kayla Thornton. Given the nature of a seven-game series, this Game 4 was as close to a must-win as you can get without the phrase being literal, and still, Nakase trusted her team to make the change in stride.
"No one cares who starts....Egoless players are vital," said Nakase after the game. The Valkyries are lauded for their depth, but on Saturday, the lineup was practically cut to seven (nine players did check in for Golden State, but Kaitlyn Chen and Janelle Salaün playes 2 and 3 minutes, respectively).
Charles finished with five points, five rebounds, and an assist, and was a +14 (trailing only Zandalasini with a +20). There were times on Saturday, and during the Valkyries' entire playoff run, really, where it seemed that the guard was everywhere on the floor: grabbing offensive rebounds over Angel Reese; diving on the floor for loose balls; even playing some light mind games, resulting in an early technical foul for Naz Hillmon and general discombobulation for Reese and the Dream. Despite being in the Finals for the first time in her six-year career, Charles has been the epitome of composure in the face of adversity for Golden State.
kaila charles and rhyne howard 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/zrqpU457E6
— emma 🇫🇷 (@mjnecklace23) October 20, 2026
So far in the postseason, Charles is averaging 6.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. She's shooting the three well enough (34.6%) that her presence on the perimeter forces opposing defenses out of the paint, and her ability to drive aggresively and kick the ball out affords players like Williams and Burton clean looks from deep. The guard might not have been on many teams' scouting reports for the Valkyries, but she's shown that she should've been with 14, 10, and nine point performances against the Wings and Dream.
Given how the lineup change panned out for the Valkyries, Charles may get another shot at starting in Game 5 tonight. As Nakase said ahead of Game 2 on the 19th, "Her motor, her energy was unmatched...Everyone saw that, and everyone's like, 'We all wanna be like Kai.'"
"If we just take a little dose of Kai and pour it down our throats, I think we're gonna feel that."
Add us as a preferred source on Google