The Golden State Valkyries have chosen Natalie Nakase as their head coach.
Nakase, who has been an assistant with the Las Vegas Aces for the last three years, was hired on Thursday by the new team that will begin playing 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 bring home a championship for our fans and this organization.”
Nakase played a key role in helping the Aces win back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023. Before joining the Aces, she spent 11 seasons in various roles with the Los Angeles Clippers, where she was an assistant coach and player development coach, working with both the NBA team and their G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers.
Her coaching career began in 2008 in the Women’s Professional Basketball German League, where she was the head coach of the Wolfenbuttel Wildcats for two seasons (2008-10).
After that, she was an assistant coach for the Tokyo Apache for one season (2010-11) in the Men’s Professional Basketball Japan League, and then she became the head coach of the Saitama Broncos from 2011-12, making her the first woman to hold that position in the league.
“Natalie is the perfect candidate to lead the Valkyries as our head coach,” said Golden State GM Ohemaa Nyanin. “She exemplifies every character trait we were looking for and has deep knowledge of professional basketball. Her journey shows the grit and perseverance that our team will embody to reach our goal of winning championships.”
A native of Los Angeles, Nakase was a walk-on at UCLA and served as team captain for three seasons. She also played professionally for two years in the NWBL with the San Jose Spiders and San Diego Siege.
Nakase mentioned that the interview process began around the time of the Olympic break, and as soon as her season in Las Vegas ended, she moved to the Bay Area.
