The WNBA expansion Golden State Valkyries have hired Natalie Nakase as the first head coach in franchise history, the team announced.
This will be the first WNBA head coaching job for Nakase, 44, who had been an assistant with the Las Vegas Aces since 2022 and helped the team to back-to-back championships.
General manager Ohemaa Nyanin cast a wide net in her coaching search. Collegiate and international names were considered before landing on Nakase.
Prior to joining the Aces, Nakase held various roles with the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, including assistant coach and player development coach with their G League affiliate. She started coaching in Germany with the Wolfenbuttel Wildcats in 2008 before moving on to be an assistant with the Tokyo Apache in the Men’s Professional Basketball Japan League.
Nakase played college ball at UCLA after earning a spot on the team as a walk-on and served as team captain for three seasons.
There was no timeline for Nyanin to find the first coach in franchise history. It was an important hire, as she told Marisa Ingemi of the San Francisco Chronicle in July that the person chosen would “dictate the type of game we play.”
That is now Nakase’s responsibility.
Following WNBA free agency, the Valkyries will head to December’s expansion draft with a head coach and an idea of what type of players they will seek out. Each WNBA team will be able to protect six players from their roster; the rest will be eligible to be selected by the Valkyries.
After the expansion draft, the Valkyries will then be able to add to their roster at the WNBA Draft in April before the 2025 season tips off.
