Nakase named Golden State Valkyries head coach ahead of 2025 season

Nakase named Golden State Valkyries head coach ahead of 2025 season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Golden State Valkyries officially have a leader.

Natalie Nakase was named head coach of the WNBA’s newest team, the organization announced on Thursday.

Nakase, 41, played two seasons with the San Jose Spiders (2005) and San Diego Siege (2006) in the NWBL (National Women’s Basketball League) where she was the league’s first Asian-American player.

She then began an internship in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2012 before eventually becoming the team’s video coordinator before serving as Los Angeles’ assistant coach for the 2014 Summer League tournament, becoming the first woman to sit on the bench as an NBA assistant.

Nakase then served as the assistant coach for the Clippers’ G-League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers, for the 2017-18 season before she was promoted to player development assistant coach for the NBA Clippers the following season.

Finally, Nakase joined the WNBA as an assistant to Las Vegas Aces’s head coach, Becky Hammon in 2022, winning a title with the organization that same year.

The WNBA will hold an expansion draft on Dec. 6, where the Valkyries will begin building their roster by selecting one player from each of the 12 existing teams’ list of non-protected players.

Golden State then will begin its inaugural season in the spring of 2025.