Inaugural Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase brings more championship DNA to the Bay.
She won WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023 as an assistant to Becky Hammon with the Las Vegas Aces and is eager to unveil all her basketball knowledge in Golden State’s historic first 2025 season.
“I’ve been through the trenches in all different levels,” Nakase told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike during Friday’s Warriors-San Antonio Spurs game. “But more importantly, coming off back-to-back (Aces) championships, winning in our first two years, I think that’s pretty special.
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“More importantly, it’s the Becky Hammon Era. She was able to make people more comfortable, she coaches with her heart, and I’m just kind of lucky to have those experiences.”
Nakase’s made every second of her three-year stint in Las Vegas count. She learned much under Hammon and contributed to the Aces’ 87-29 record in that span.
But that is far from all for Nakase.
The Orange County native was a walk-on at UCLA, where she ended up excelling on and off the court between 1998 and 2003 before earning a degree in psychology. Nakase then played for the San Jose Spiders and San Diego Siege of the National Women's Basketball League.
WNBA
Nakase also played and coached in Germany; however, she truly made her mark with the Los Angeles Clippers, where she served as a coach on the team’s G-league and NBA squads between 2017 and 2022.
“Every year you reevaluate,” Nakase explained about her journey and approach to coaching the Valkyries. “You reflect and see what did work and what didn’t work… For the players on the Valkyries, really competitive, selfless and we work really hard; I think those are going to be key ingredients.”
With expansion teams come many questions, concerns and a need for development. The upside, though, is the abundance of opportunity.
The Valkyries' 2025 debut will be here soon enough, and Nakase already has her clipboard and speeches ready.
“With an expansion team, we’re probably going to be a little bit younger; so, I think we’re going to hang our hat on defense,” Nakase eagerly said about the Xs and Os. “Like, our defense is going to create our offense. It’s how we (Aces) won those championships, on the defensive end.
“Offensively, we want to space the floor, high-pace game, but we also want passing. I want that ball to be moving because that’s unguardable. I think holding the ball, iso, that is so easy to guard. I want that ball moving, but our defense is going to create our offense.”
Golden State doesn’t have a single player on its roster yet, but Nakase has started her head coaching career.
Chase Center in San Francisco, where the Valkyries will play games, and Oakland Arena, where the team will practice, are two gold-blooded basketball sanctuaries.
Nakase will fit in perfectly.
She is the person for the job, and her championship pedigree is a big reason why.