The Golden State Valkyries celebrated their WNBA Finals win with the requisite championship parade on Wednesday, an opportunity for the fanbase to continue celebrating the franchise’s historic win. The Valkyries became the first team in league history to win a title in only the second year of its existence. And for head coach Natalie Nakase, the Valkyries’ trademark defense is a great representation of the team’s identity.

“The reason why defense is our identity is because these women are gritty,” Nakase said to assembled fans during the parade. “They’re nasty. They’re aggressive. And it’s part of the bay. We intentionally picked all of these players because they have that. They like it rough, they like it tough.”

Amid expected reactions from the crowd and the Valkyries’ players, Natalie Nakase jokingly made it clear that she was referring to the game of basketball.

“No, but like the basketball, guys, the basketball,” Nakase remarked. “I’m being serious.”

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Nakase is serious in that the Valkyries were the best defensive team in the WNBA by the metrics. They were first in opponents points per game (75.1) and first in defensive rating (100.6). The end of season honors reflected that with Gabby Williams being named to the All-Defensive First Team and Veronica Burton and Kiah Stokes named to the All-Defensive Second Team.

The Valkyries outlasted the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA Finals, holding on to win Game 7 behind Williams’ second half explosion. While the team did it on defense, holding the Dream to only 63 points, Williams offensive outburst also played a crucial role as she scored 28 of her 30 points after halftime.