The Golden State Valkyries hire Las Vegas Aces assistant Natalie Nakase as their first female head coach

The Golden State Valkyries have found their head coach, Natalie Nakase.

Nakase, who spent the last three years as an assistant with the Las Vegas Aces, was hired Thursday by the expansion franchise, which begins play in 2025.

“Being named head coach of the Golden State Valkyries is a lifelong dream come true,” said Nakase. “I am grateful to Joe Lacob, Ohemaa Nyanin and the Golden State front office for entrusting me with this responsibility. We strive to build a winning culture of courage, hard work and competitiveness. We will strive to improve, compete and ultimately bring home a championship for our fans and this organization.”

Nakase helped the Aces to back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023. Prior to her time with the Aces, Nakase spent 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers in various roles, most recently as an assistant coach and player development coach in a dual role with the NBA team and his G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers.

She started coaching in the women's professional basketball league in 2008 and served as head coach for the Wolfenbüttel Wildcats for two seasons (2008-10). She then served as an assistant coach for the Tokyo Apache in the Men's Professional Basketball Japan League for one season (2010–11), followed by serving as head coach for the Saitama Broncos from 2011–12, becoming the first woman to serve as head coach head coach of the league.

“Natalie is the perfect candidate to lead the Valkyries as our head coach,” said Golden State GM Ohemaa Nyanin. “She embodies all the characteristics of what we look for in a head coach and has extensive expertise in professional basketball.” Her journey is representative of the courage and perseverance our team will demonstrate toward our ultimate goal “To win championships, to achieve.”

The Los Angeles native was a reserve player at UCLA and served as team captain for three seasons. She played professionally in the NWBL for two years with the San Jose Spiders and San Diego Siege.

Nakase said the interview process began around the Olympic break and moved to the Bay Area immediately after her season ended in Las Vegas.

“I was literally in meetings with the Las Vegas Aces two days ago. So it was a quick change once I found out,” she said. “It's exciting. And of course when I heard the news I jumped for joy and was ready to go.”

Nakase was a little nervous when he told the Las Vegas staff and players, but said they couldn't have been nicer.

“It was a lot of hugs and tears, you know, and it couldn't have been better for me,” she said. “Just because it was really meaningful to have that support. You know, it’s completely different than not having a lot of support.”

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball