Golden State Valkyries name former Aces assistant as first head coach

The Golden State Valkyries, one of three new franchises in the WNBA, named Natalie Nakase as the team’s first head coach during a news conference Thursday.

Nakase comes from the Las Vegas Aces, where she was an assistant under Becky Hammon for the past three seasons and was part of the team that won back-to-back WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023. She now becomes the first female Asian-American coach in WNBA history.

Nakase remembers watching the Golden State Warriors, who also own the Valkyries, win the 2015 NBA Finals and thinking how much fun the team was having under its ownership. She wanted to work for Golden State, and now she’ll get the chance to lead the WNBA team in its inaugural season.

‘Thank you for this opportunity, and thank you for entrusting me in leading the Golden State Valkyries,’ Nakase said in her introductory press conference. ‘I really appreciate it, and I understand the expectations here.’

Nakase said during her interview process, she spoke with owner Joe Lacob about the expectations for the job. Lacob told her in the next five years the team will have to win a championship and the team will be provided with its own practice facility and locker room in Chase Center.

‘I remember just sitting there thinking, (Lacob) is setting me up for success, right? Like I can’t fail in this situation, because he’s just providing me with so many great resources.

‘I’m gonna pour all my energy and my heart and my soul into this organization, and I just can’t wait to build a championship team because that’s what the fan base here deserves,’ she said.

Who is Natalie Nakase?

A Southern California native, Nakase was a walk-on player at UCLA and worked her way to becoming the team’s starting point guard for three seasons.

Nakase played two seasons in the National Women’s Basketball League with the San Jose Spiders and San Diego Siege, followed by one season playing in Germany. After a career-ending knee injury, she stayed in Germany to coach from 2008-10 and then coached a professional men’s team in Japan from 2010-11. The next season, she took over as coach of the Saitama Broncos midway through the year to become the first female head coach in league history.

Afterward, Nakase spent 11 seasons in several roles with the Los Angeles Clippers. She was an assistant for the team’s G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers, and later became the player development/assistant coach for the Clippers for three seasons. She joined the Aces staff in 2022.

The Valkyries were awarded a franchise in 2023 and will start playing next season. Golden State is the first expansion WNBA franchise since the Atlanta Dream in 2008 and will have a violet, black, and white color scheme. The team will play its home games at the Chase Center in San Francisco, home of the Warriors.

Nakase is currently the only member of the team. She next will hire her assistant coaches. The team will add its first players during the expansion draft on Dec. 6, when they can select from available players designated by each of the 12 teams.