Tiffany Hayes is more than just Valkyries' feel-good story. She's key to a WNBA Finals comeback

Golden State Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes goes for a layup against the Dream in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Wednesday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. (Santiago Mejia/S.F. Chronicle) ATLANTA – Tiffany Hayes called this city home for 10 years. She was drafted by the Atlanta Dream in 2012, played in a WNBA Finals with them in 2013, and wore the Dream uniform until 2022. Then, after one year with the Connecticut Sun, she decided to retire from the WNBA."It's the end," Hayes said in 2023.Reader, it was not. And now, with the Golden State Valkyries down 2-1 in the WNBA Finals, they need more of 37-year-old Hayes if they are going to get back in the series."We've got to stay together, we've got to not get flustered," Hayes said after Wednesday's Game 3 loss. "It's us that has to make some adjustments."In consecutive losses, Hayes has been one of the few bright spots, with her ability to penetrate the lane and force Atlanta's defense to collapse. The Valkyries have had back-to-back abysmal shooting performances, but Hayes – playing significant minutes off the bench – is shooting close to 50% in those games. It was in large part Hayes' presence in the third quarter of Game 3 that temporarily slowed the Dream's momentum.After 14 years in the league, Hayes is still searching for her first championship."She's a fighter … I don't think there's someone who really wants this (more)," Natalie Nakase said earlier in the series. "She wants this. And I'm going to put a little more energy into the film because I want to win this for Tip. (Her) type of fight is unmatched."Hayes has been unsentimental about her past in Atlanta, downplaying the connection."I've faced them in years before, too," she said before the series began. "It's definitely a different feel, being in the Finals. But at the end of the day this is another team we're trying to get past. So I'm just focused on whatever we need to do to do that."Dream starting forward Naz Hillmon was a rookie in Hayes' final year with the team. "Tip's a great player and she continues to show why she should be a part of this league," Hillmon said. "She's been a huge spark this year, so it's crazy to see where she was four years ago and now seeing the work she's continued to put in. I remember her being really tenacious and super fast. I feel like she's kicked it up this year and gotten even faster."Hayes won two NCAA championships at UConn and was the Dream's second-round pick in 2012. When she decided to retire a decade later, Hayes said her body was getting worn down from playing year-round, both in the WNBA and overseas, in places like Israel, Spain and Turkey. She also wanted to devote more time to her family and to her other interests, which included fashion design and social activism."I knew I had a lot in the tank left, but it was just me choosing to give myself a bit more time for friends and family and other things," Hayes said. "The W wasn't going to give me the positive vibes in my life that I wanted at the time, so I just decided to step away."But retirement only lasted five months. The Aces convinced her to come out of retirement to try to help them defend their first championship. Hayes was named the league's Sixth Woman of the Year, but the team was ousted in the semifinals."They gave me the opportunity to be myself, to do what I wanted off the court and be myself on the court," she said of the Aces. "I'm forever grateful for the opportunity. It really gave me some hope back for playing the game in the W."In Las Vegas, she forged a bond with Nakase, the assistant coach Hayes viewed as "hard nosed.""She never really smiled, was always so serious," Hayes said of the Aces' version of Nakase. "She definitely knew what she was doing but there was never any room for playing around. I was like, ‘Oh, she's the strict one.'"Nakase learned to lean on the experienced veteran."Just seeing how much she loves basketball and seeing a different type of lightness that she had in Vegas," Nakase said. "You could tell she was in a culture that really cares and she thrives in it. What I loved when I first met Tip was her flexibility. She said, ‘I don't need to start. You want me to come off the bench. I'm good with whatever minutes.' This was a team player. That sparked my attention. We just connected. I wanted to pick her brain."When Nakase was offered the Valkyries head-coaching job, she turned to Hayes."I was like, ‘you want to come with me?'" Nakase said. "I was nervous taking this job and getting Tip on board gave me such a comfort level that I needed going into the Bay. So I'm just really grateful and thankful and why I want to put a ton of energy back to Tip, because she decided to move her life away from Vegas."Hayes has enjoyed seeing Nakase evolve as a head coach."She's grown into an all-around head coach," Hayes said. "She still has that seriousness but she also wants you to sleep good, eat good, know that you're hanging out with the right crowd. Seeing her grow and develop, it's been really cool to watch."Hayes' veteran presence has been critical to the Valkyries' rapid progress in their first two years."She doesn't take anything for granted," Gabby Williams said. "Coming out of retirement and going on this path shows you how much she wants it and how happy she is to be here every day. To play alongside someone like that brings everyone up. "She brings a level of leadership that none of us have. We're just really lucky to have her."Nakase described Hayes' decision to come to the Bay Area expansion team as a "leap of faith." Hayes agrees."Definitely," Hayes said. "With Las Vegas I had a great season, had just won Sixth Woman of the Year, felt like I fit pretty well with the team. But I wanted to take a leap of faith and grow with an organization and challenge myself to be a bigger leader and to really have to step out of my comfort zone."I've proven something to myself. I always want to grow as a human, as well as a basketball player. Coming into something that was unknown, something that you only feel is the right thing but you have no idea, following a leader like Coach Nat. And now having an organization you can only dream of playing for."It has been a dream season for the Valkyries. But now the team is in a dire situation, and looking for answers.More Tip Hayes is a good place to start.SubscribeThere’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Tiffany Hayes is more than just Valkyries' feel-good story. She's key to a WNBA Finals comeback.