(AP) – The Golden State Valkyries have found their head coach with Natalie Nakase taking the job.
Nakase, who has spent the last three years as an assistant with the Las Vegas Aces, was hired Thursday by the expansion franchise that begins play in 2025.
“Being named the head coach of the Golden State Valkyries is a lifelong dream come true,” Nakase said. “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.”
Nakase helped the Aces to back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023. Prior to her time with the Aces, Nakase spent 11 seasons in various capacities with the Los Angeles Clippers, most recently as an assistant coach and player development coach in a dual role with the NBA team and their G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers.
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,” Golden State GM Ohemaa Nyanin said. “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.
Nakase said the interview process started around the Olympic break and as soon as her season in Las Vegas ended she moved to the Bay Area.
“I literally was in meetings two days ago with the Las Vegas Aces. So it was a quick change, after I found out,” she said. “It’s exciting. And obviously as soon as I heard the news, I mean, I was jumping for joy and was ready to go.”
Nakase was a little nervous about telling the Las Vegas staff and players, but said they couldn’t have been nicer.
“It was a bunch of hugs, tears, you know, and it couldn’t have been better for me,” she said. “Just because having that support, it meant a lot. You know, it’s completely different than not having a lot of support.”
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