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Golden State Valkyries choose head coach
The Golden State Valkyries named Natalie Nakase as the franchise's first head coach. The WNBA expansion team announced Thursday that it had hired Nakase to lead the Valkyries in their first season in 2025.
SAN FRANCISCO - The Golden State Valkyries named Natalie Nakase as the franchise's first head coach.
The WNBA expansion team announced Thursday that it had hired Nakase to lead the Valkyries in their first season in 2025.
Nakase has been an assistant coach for the Las Vegas Aces for the past three years, during which she helped the team secure consecutive WNBA Championships in 2022 and 2023.
Nakase brings 16 years of professional basketball coaching experience to the role, including 10 years in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Nakase will report to Valkyries General Manager Ohemaa Nyanin, and begins her tenure with the team on October 21.
"Being named the head coach of the Golden State Valkyries is a lifelong dream come true," said Nakase. "I am thankful to Joe Lacob, Ohemaa Nyanin and the Golden State front office for entrusting me with this responsibility. We are committed to building a winning culture of grit, hard work, and competitiveness. We will strive to improve, compete, and ultimately bring home a championship for our fans and this organization."
First assistant coach Natalie Nakase of the Las Vegas Aces looks on in the third quarter of the 2023 Commissioner's Cup Championship game against the New York Liberty at Michelob ULTRA Arena on August 15, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Mi …
Nathan Chan, whose daughters were featured in a 2020 Warriors commercial, said basketball is a big part of their lives. The girls play as part of a tight knit Asian league, the San Jose Zebra Youth Foundation, and Chan said Nakase sets an example for them.
"Seeing somebody coach at the highest level that looks somewhat like you, I think is very motivational," said Chan.
Danica Lim, a teen who’s been playing basketball since the second grade, said Nakase is gaining fans among the next generation.
"I think she has a good community and group of fans that will support her," Lim, a player for the San Jose Zebras, said. "She kind of has a heavy role to carry just because she is the first Asian American to be a coach for the WNBA.
It’s position Nakase said she won’t take lightly. "Thank you for this opportunity, and thank you for entrusting me in leading the Golden State Valkyries," she said.
She got her coaching start in 2008 with the Women’s Professional Basketball German League, serving as head coach for the Wolfenbuttel Wildcats for two seasons (2008-10). She then served as an assistant coach for the Tokyo Apache for one season (2010-11) in the Men’s Professional Basketball Japan League, followed by acting as head coach for the Saitama Broncos from 2011-12, making her the first woman to serve as head coach in the league.
"Natalie is the perfect candidate to lead the Valkyries as our head coach," said Nyanin. "She exemplifies every character trait in what we were looking for in a head coach and possesses deep expertise across professional basketball. Her journey is representative of the grit and perseverance that our team will embody to achieve our ultimate goal of winning championships."
The Los Angeles native was a walk-on at UCLA, serving as a team captain for three seasons. She played professionally for two years in the NWBL with the San Jose Spiders and San Diego Siege.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.