‘I couldn’t even feel my legs. You just keep going.’ – How Veronica Burton dug deep to deliver the Valkyries a WNBA title

Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images‘I couldn’t even feel my legs. You just keep going.’ – How Veronica Burton dug deep to deliver the Valkyries a WNBA title appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.SAN FRANCISCO – Veronica Burton never needed a championship to prove she possessed the heart of a champion. Because even when she was on the outskirts of the WNBA, Burton was at her local YMCA tightening her shoelaces, stretching her legs, and getting to work. Even when the league seemed to tell her she could be nothing more than a role player, Burton stayed the course, clawing, scratching, chewing, and willing her way back in, becoming not only the Golden State Valkyries’ fearless floor general but also their heart and soul.But now Burton has the hardware. Now she has the bragging rights, the ring, the banner. So as the purple and gold confetti fell from the heavens and as Elle Duncan called her name to the thunderous applause of the 18,000 fans on their feet in Ballhalla, nothing could stop the tears from flowing down Burton’s face.“I’m just so blessed. This is insane,” Burton said, cheers drowning out her waterworks as the celebrations of the Valkyries 68-63 Game 7 victory over the Atlanta Dream were just beginning.Watch sports LIVE with fuboTV (free trial)And then Duncan dropped the question of the night, harkening back to a video Burton’s sister Kayla took of her working out at the YMCA in the aftermath of getting waived by the Dallas Wings.“What would you go back and tell that Veronica from two years ago that was working out at the Y?” Duncan asked Burton, who’s pondering of that question brought time to a standstill.Because a million things could have raced through Burton’s mind as she ruminated on Duncan’s question: The work it took to reach the mountaintop. The family, friends, teammates, and coaches that poured into her to make her believe. Maybe even the secret things only Burton is privy to that would explain why she is the embodiment of Valkyries basketball.However, to the thousands of Valkyries fans in the building, and hundreds of thousands watching at home and in the bars and right outside Chase Center, what came to mind was simple and singular.Recollections of Burton sacrificing her body time and time again, whether it was her diving on the floor to hawk down a loose ball or standing in the way of a freight train to prevent an opponent from laying the ball in. Flashbacks of Burton nailing clutch shot after clutch shot – from the layup in traffic over Paige Bueckers to clinch Golden State’s historic first playoff berth over a year ago to all of the big-time, cold-blooded 3-pointers to knock off the Wings, Aces and Dream in its magical run to become the 2026 WNBA Champions.And of course, the recent sight of Burton gutting her way through pain and fatigue in Game 7 to rise through the arms of outstretched defenders and bury tough runner after tough runner, keeping the Valkyries afloat until Gabby Williams could take them home.But back to Burton weighing Duncan’s all-encompassing question about what she would say to the Veronica Burton who had yet to find herself? What would she say to the Veronica Burton who still had thousands and thousands of hours of hard, bone-breaking work to slog through? The Veronica Burton, who still had an ocean of doubts to conquer?“I would tell her it’s all worth it. Like it’s not over. Don’t let anyone put a limit on you. Or who you are. We didn’t put a limit on us all year,” Burton said, voice cracking, as she felt her native Bostonian spirit and the voice of her childhood hero Kevin Garnett rise in her chest. “When you work, and you put your head down, and you grind, anything is possible.”How Veronica Burton’s family guides who she isKelley L Cox-Imagn ImagesAn hour or so after the trophy ceremony, after the Valkyries had showered each other in champagne and beer, with maybe a few swigs of the hard stuff in between, Burton said that her tears surprised herself.“It’s crazy. I actually am not typically a very emotional person,” Burton said with violet goggles on her forehead in a media scrum after taking pictures with her family gathered around the trophy. “So I didn’t expect to cry, but just all of the… I think just soaking it all in. I don’t know if I necessarily knew when this would happen, if it would happen, but just trusting the process. And to do it with the people I love the most. To do it with my family here – Just gratitude. It’s a blessing.”Still, while the emotional tidal wave of winning a WNBA Championship contributed to sweeping Burton off her feet, it’s easy to deduce that the dam broke on her emotions because she was exhausted.“Honestly, I’m really hungry,” Burton said after her 10-point, 10-rebound, five-assist Game 7 performance. “I haven’t eaten anything since like 2 p.m. So that’s what I feel the most. But again, like the will, like there was… You would have to drag me off the court at this point to get me off there. Like, this is it. This is what I work for. So yeah, it’s adrenaline. I was tired in the first quarter, but after that, you know, I couldn’t even feel my legs. You just keep going.”But beyond just her adrenaline, beyond her indomitable will, what kept Burton going was her family.Veronica pointed to how her father, Steve Burton, a longtime sports anchor and reporter for WBZ in the Boston, Massachusetts area, and her mother, Ginni Burton, an All-American swimmer at Northwestern and a participant in the US Olympic Swimming trials, were the basis for the work ethic and confidence she prides herself on.“It’s a blessing. It’s incredible,” Burton smiled when asked what her father means to her. “The confidence that (my dad) instills in me. He was up both my parents up early with me in the mornings growing up. Like they invested so much time, energy, everything into me. So to have them here, I think that’s when I really started crying. Just my embrace with him. Like he picks me up when I’m down. He’s hard on me. He tells me the hard truths, but it couldn’t have been a better moment.”Veronica Burton’s love for Natalie Nakase and overcoming painKelley L Cox-Imagn ImagesBut if there’s any relationship Burton has that is foundational to what the Valkyries have achieved, it’s the bond she has with Natalie Nakase, the first coach in the WNBA who Burton said took a chance on her and believed in her.“I can’t say enough good things about her,” Burton said of Nakase, who explained that their first words to each other after the buzzer sounded and the team stormed the court were something between a mix of curse words and I-love-you’s, as the point guard told Nakase that she is the best coach in the world.“Her selflessness, she one of the most humble people I know. Her love, how much she loves this, how much she wants this, and she pours into not just me but everyone. And I can’t thank her enough for bringing me here, for believing in me when I’m struggling, when I’m playing great, no matter what. Her belief in me doesn’t waver.” Need proof of that belief? Burton shared that Nakase sent her a highlight reels of her best plays from Games 4, 5, and 6 to inject her with physical proof of what she’s capable of doing. And the loving, cherry on top? Nakase told Burton to watch the reels with her favorite gospel song, “Gratitude” by Brandon Lake, on in the background.“I wouldn’t want to do this with any other point guard,” a joyous Nakase said when asked what Burton means to her, having previously declared she is the best point guard in the WNBA. “A player who’s been waived, her type of resilience, her type of fight, and her coming into camp of like, ‘No, I’m gonna show you, I want to lead this team, I want to do it with you,'” Nakase said. “But more importantly, she led her way. You guys know I wanted her to say, ‘Hey, motherf—–, do this, hey, do that.’ She’s like, ‘No, I’m gonna do it my way.’ So credit to her for just sticking behind who she is. Like, she didn’t let me change her, nor do I want to. And so I just really appreciate her just staying to her true values, and I think that’s important.”The heart of a champion beating loudly in Burton’s chest never needed the hardware to prove it existed. Because if you took notice of the way she scrapped, if you listened to the way her people talked about her, if you witnessed the way she worked through pain and fatigue and adversity, you’d know that winning a championship would give her just the fancy gold-plated label.Because Burton was always a champion. Knock her to the ground, she will always, always get back up. It’s just in her DNA.“You pray for these moments. I prayed so much for this moment,” Burton said, shaking her head when asked how she summoned the strength to push through the pain. “Not necessarily even to just win, but to see it all pan out, to trust the process of it. So yeah, there’s pain. It’s part of it; it’s a physical game; it’s a dogfight. Both teams want it. And yeah, it’s physical. You take hits. By the grace of God, I’m healthy. I lift weights for that reason. I drink my protein shakes for that reason. So you just got to get back up. This was it, you know? I can rest afterwards—”Burton stopped for a beat, realizing there is no afterwards after winning a Game 7 in the WNBA Finals.“I can get my rest now. You just got to get back up,” Burton grinned, basking in the glory. Related: UCLA women’s basketball congratulates Natalie Nakase on Valkyries’ WNBA championship winRelated: Inside how Gabby Williams summoned an all-time heater to lift Valkyries to WNBA Finals Game 7 victory