Head coach Natalie Nakase of the Golden State Valkyries is already setting a team motto for the new franchise. “How I create my team culture is choosing 12 players that have a very competitive mindset, who work extremely hard,” Nakase said in a video shared on the Valkyries’ Instagram.
“The baseline is just being a great human being, you don’t always just think about yourself but you think about your teammates constantly. That’s pretty much going to be my motto is team over self with anything on or off the court.”
The Valkyries officially announced Nakase as their first head coach earlier this week. She spent the last three years as an assistant coach with the Las Vegas Aces, where the team won back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023.
The expansion team recognized that Nakase was the right choice to lead the Valkyries in their first season. “Core qualities that I see Natalie bringing to the Valkyries are the foundations of what our culture will be,” said Ohemaa Nyanin, the general manager of the Valkyries.
“She brings a quality of empathy, the foundations of being able to meet people where they’re at. She brings so much joy to all those that surround her. She’s the best.”
Before her three years in Las Vegas, Nakase worked for 11 seasons in different positions with the Los Angeles Clippers. Her last job with the NBA team was as an assistant coach and player development coach. Nakase started her coaching career in 2008 with the Women’s Professional Basketball German League.
She first became a head coach for the Wolfenbuttel Wildcats for two seasons. From 2010 to 2011, she was an assistant coach for the Tokyo Apache in the Men’s Professional Basketball Japan League. In 2011, she became head coach for the Saitama Broncos, making her the first woman to hold that position in the league.
“She exemplifies every character trait in what we were looking for in a head coach and possesses deep expertise across professional basketball,” Nyanin said. “Her journey is representative of the grit and perseverance that our team will embody to achieve our ultimate goal of winning championships.”
Nakase’s interview process with the Valkyries started around the Olympic break. After the season ended with the Aces, she moved to the Bay Area for a permanent position.
