Golden State Valkyries announce Natalie Nakase as franchise’s first head coach

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“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.”

The Valkyries shared the news on X with the caption, “That’s our Head Coach! Welcome, Natalie Nakase🏀”

Nakase spent the last three seasons (2022-2024) as first assistant coach with the Aces, working alongside head coach Becky Hammon, playing a huge role in guiding the squad to back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023. During her time with the team, Las Vegas topped the WNBA’s defensive rating charts in 2023, with a rating of 97.7. The defending champions went 87-29 over the last three seasons, including a 19-6 mark in the playoffs.

Prior to working with the Aces, Nakase began her coaching career in 2008 with the Women’s Professional Basketball German League, and served as the head coach for the Wolfenbuttel Wildcats from 2008 to 2010. Nakase then served as an assistant coach for the Tokyo Apache during the 2010-2011 season in the Men’s Professional Basketball Japan League. Following this, she acted as head coach for the Saitama Broncos from 2011-12, making her the first woman to serve as head coach in the league.

From 2018 to 2020, Nakase was the assistant coach for the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, working under veteran NBA coach Doc Rivers. She was also a player development coach in a dual role with the NBA team and their G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers.

As a player, Nakase became a starter at UCLA after walking on as a freshman in 1998. She then played two seasons in the now-defunct National Women’s Basketball League (NWBL), playing for the San Jose Spiders and San Diego Siege. Nakase also competed for one season in Germany, where she suffered a career-ending knee injury in 2008.

“Natalie is the perfect candidate to lead the Valkyries as our head coach,” said Valkyries general manager Ohemaa 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.”

Nakase joins Nyanin and president Jess Smith in Golden State’s leadership group. The Valkyries will have their expansion draft to fill their inaugural roster spots on Friday, Dec. 6. This will be the league’s first expansion draft in 16 years and will be broadcast on ESPN.

Starting in 2025, the Valkyries will play their home games at the Chase Center in San Francisco. The organization’s headquarters will be in Oakland.

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