{"id":210961,"date":"2025-09-08T19:54:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T19:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/210961\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T19:54:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T19:54:11","slug":"natalie-nakase-staff-have-driven-golden-state-valkyries-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/210961\/","title":{"rendered":"Natalie Nakase, staff have driven Golden State Valkyries’ success"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cOne of the things that makes Natalie great is just her work ethic and her willingness to learn,\u201d Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon<\/a> told reporters about her former assistant before the Aces and the Valkyries matched up in June. \u201cShe\u2019s always asking questions. \u2026 She\u2019s a student of the game. She always wants to learn.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think that\u2019s a sign of not only a great leader, but a great coach, is that you\u2019re just always trying to learn more. I think that\u2019s really an attitude that Nat\u2019s always had and just a drive to get it right. But she\u2019s a really great worker, and I think that\u2019s one of her greatest skill sets.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before coming to Golden State, Nakase spent three seasons under Hammon, winning two WNBA championships. She had previously worked under both Doc Rivers<\/a> and Tyronn Lue<\/a> with the NBA\u2019s Los Angeles Clippers. Nakase had been offered opportunities to leave the Aces and become a WNBA head coach in the past, but she turned them down because she didn\u2019t think they were the right fit.<\/p>\n

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\"GoldenGolden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase talks to guard Tiffany Hayes during a game against the Minnesota Lynx at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on July 5, 2025. (Photo credit: John McClellan | The Next)<\/p>\n

On Oct. 10, 2024, Nakase was announced as the Valkyries\u2019 head coach<\/a>. She spoke at her introductory press conference about wanting to create a team built on grit, culture and hard work. Nakase knew her team would be defensive-oriented and knew the importance of building a strong culture quickly.<\/p>\n

She also promised she would deliver on owner Joe Lacob\u2019s promise of winning a championship within five years. She didn\u2019t feel overwhelmed by that idea. Instead, she\u2019d told him in her interview that she was ready to tackle that head-on.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Lacob] was like, \u2018Whoever gets this job, you got to win in five years,’\u201d Nakase told reporters after beating the Dallas Wings on Thursday. \u201cThat\u2019s the requirement, and that\u2019s when I said, \u2018Hey, sign me up.\u2019 That\u2019s the type of personality that I am. It\u2019s when you doubt me, or if you put a good challenge in front of me, I\u2019m gonna go after it 100%.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we got to talking, too, because that was obviously exciting for me to hear that\u2019s the type of pressure I\u2019m gonna have \u2026 he reminded me of my dad, in terms of, \u2018OK, I got this goal, I\u2019m gonna work my ass off, and I\u2019m gonna accomplish it.’\u201d<\/p>\n

When Nakase\u2019s first training camp arrived in April, many people questioned what the Valkyries would look like and how they\u2019d perform in their first year. In their first game<\/a>, they battled with the Los Angeles Sparks, trailing by 6 points going into the fourth quarter before Los Angeles pulled away to win by 17. That performance was what many expected the Valkyries to look like: competitive but not having enough talent to win consistently.<\/p>\n

However, that loss turned out to be an outlier<\/a>. Golden State has lost 19 games in its inaugural season, but only eight have been by 10 or more points.<\/p>\n

The Valkyries really opened people\u2019s eyes to how good they could be when they beat the Aces by 27 on June 7. In that game, Golden State and Nakase showed what kind of team they wanted to be: a stout defensive unit and an offense that shoots a lot of threes.<\/p>\n

\"GoldenGolden State Valkyries assistant coach Kasib Powell speaks with head coach Natalie Nakase during a game against the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on July 27, 2025. (Photo credit: Chris Poss | The Next)<\/p>\n

As the season has progressed, Nakase and her staff have showed an ability to develop players. Multiple Valkyries players are having the best seasons of their career in 2025. Forward Kayla Thornton<\/a> became Golden State\u2019s first WNBA All-Star<\/a>, putting up career bests across the board before an injury ended her season<\/a>. Guard Veronica Burton<\/a> is arguably the frontrunner for WNBA Most Improved Player after almost quadrupling her points per game<\/a> from last season.<\/p>\n

While all the Valkyries players have had a lot more opportunities this season, they all credit Nakase and her staff for their improvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery staff and every coach has their own style and their own system and their own culture and type of coaching,\u201d Burton told reporters. \u201cWith Coach Nat, I think she instills a lot of confidence, and from Day 1, she\u2019s just talked about not being afraid to make mistakes. She\u2019s not going to care, and she hangs her hat on the defensive end, and I think she really stands by that. And I think it\u2019s easy to say that sometimes, but she follows through with that all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Nakase has talked all season about empowering her players and supporting them no matter what. She feels the team has become more of a family as it\u2019s spent more time together, to the point where she has started to call some of the shots the Valkyries take \u201cfamily shots.\u201d These are shots where the players make the extra pass or find the hot hand and support each other by making the right play. She knew it would take time for the team to come together and feels it\u2019s become the closest over the last few weeks.<\/p>\n

A lot of the players have talked about how Nakase will tell them to keep shooting. She doesn\u2019t care if the ball goes in or not; she just wants them to take the right shots. Multiple times throughout the season, the reporters have suggested that certain players are in shooting slumps, but Nakase has corrected them, saying that people just miss shots.<\/p>\n

\"GoldenGolden State Valkyries assistant coach Kasib Powell holds a basketball before a game against the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on July 27, 2025. (Photo credit: Chris Poss | The Next)<\/p>\n

Guard Kate Martin<\/a>, who was in Las Vegas with Nakase<\/a> last season, feels Nakase is honest with the players and tells each of them what they need to hear in both good and bad moments.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a good coach, you have to be a good leader, and a good leader is somebody who brings everybody along with them,\u201d Martin told\u00a0The Next.\u00a0\u201cLet\u2019s say a good leader is somebody who isn\u2019t afraid to give you tough love and tell you how it is. That\u2019s how Nat is. When we need to hear something, she\u2019s gonna tell us because she wants us to grow and be our best.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I would say that\u2019s a very good coach, but also loving your players up and making sure they feel important and making sure that everyone on the team knows that they have a role and they have a purpose on the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the Valkyries have won more and more games and clinched a playoff spot<\/a> in the process, people have brought up Nakase\u2019s name for Coach of the Year. While she appreciates the thought, she believes the award should be for the staff of the year. She isn\u2019t developing all the players and doing all the scouts by herself, and she feels her assistants deserve just as much credit.<\/p>\n

Throughout the season, Nakase has consistently gushed about her assistant coaches. She feels they are the best in the league and the amount of work they have put in this season is unparalleled.<\/p>\n

Nakase\u2019s staff consists of assistant coaches Kasib Powell<\/a>, Sugar Rodgers<\/a> and Landon Tatum. She also has director of player development Sidney Parsons, head video coordinator Sidney Dobner and assistant video coordinator Daisy Feder. Nakase loves the passion, joy and honesty they all come to work with every day. She also believes all of her assistants want to be head coaches one day and gives them the opportunity to do things a head coach would do.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest things she\u2019s done is allow assistant coaches to address the teams after wins in the locker room if they did the scout for that game. This gives them a chance to speak in front of the team and in front of a camera, something assistants often don\u2019t get a lot of experience doing. Also, Nakase is constantly complimenting the scouting reports after games, and the players always say how prepared they feel. Above all, Nakase thinks the care her staff puts in sets them apart.<\/p>\n

\"GoldenGolden State Valkyries assistant coach Landon Tatum speaks with forward Cecilia Zandalasini before a game against the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on July 27, 2025. (Photo credit: Chris Poss | The Next)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing about my coaching staff is they have the biggest hearts, in terms of how they care about people in general \u2014 not just the players, but just the people in our whole organization,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cI think when you have big hearts and you put the organization and team first, then there\u2019s more acceptance. There\u2019s more care, there\u2019s more authenticity, because they know \u2014 regardless of how they perform or if they make a mistake\u2014 that our coaching staff will always be there for them, and I think that\u2019s key.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Nakase\u2019s system has played a role in why the Valkyries have shown so much growth this year, the biggest reason is probably the amount of work the coaching staff puts into making them better. Nakase always has a plan for getting players work both in and outside of practice. She makes sure players who play very little or not all in games still get work in, so they don\u2019t lose rhythm.<\/p>\n

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The staff has also been very good at quickly acclimating new players to the Valkyries\u2019 system. Rookie forward Janelle Salaun<\/a> missed all of training camp, but she was a starter by the second game of the season and has developed into one of the Valkyries\u2019 most important players<\/a>. Center Iliana Rupert<\/a> didn\u2019t play with the Valkyries<\/a> for the first half of the season while getting ready for EuroBasket<\/a>, but she has shot 45% from three<\/a> in 19 games. Guard\/forward Kaila Charles<\/a> was signed to a seven-day hardship contract<\/a> when forward Monique Billings<\/a> got hurt. In her 16 games, she has put up career highs in minutes, points and rebounds per game<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All of this is to say whenever new players have joined the Valkyries, they have been able to make an immediate impact thanks to the work Nakase and her staff put in. The staff comes in early and stay late, watches a lot of film with players, and rebounds for them whenever needed. They don\u2019t get much sleep, but the passion they have for the players and the character of the players make up for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put in a lot of work,\u201d Powell told\u00a0The Next.\u00a0\u201cWe all are passionate about the work that we are putting into [the team]. So it just raises the level of everybody because you know that everybody\u2019s putting everything into every scout, every practice or every whatever it is. \u2026 It\u2019s a lot of work, but we love it. That\u2019s what we\u2019re here for. That\u2019s what we got brought in here for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GoldenGolden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase prepares to high-five guard Kate Martin before a game against the Minnesota Lynx at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on July 5, 2025. (Photo credit: John McClellan | The Next)<\/p>\n

Nakase has found quick success in Golden State thanks to her personality and style of coaching. The biggest thing she says she\u2019s learned about herself through this first season is that she is intense when she coaches. Her intensity comes from her father, who always pushed her to be her best. He passed away in 2021, but she still talks to him in tough times.<\/p>\n

Nakase credits her father for a lot of who she is today. He cursed a lot, so Nakase swears when she needs to in front of the team. After the Valkyries clinched a playoff spot on Thursday, someone asked what her father would say if he was there. Her response was he\u2019d say, \u201cGo win the next fucking game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The success Nakase has found with the Valkyries has come because the players trust her enough that she can be herself around them. That has led the Valkyries to unprecedented success for a WNBA expansion team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so grateful to have players like them, because I could be myself,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cI\u2019m just really grateful to have a group that allows me to be myself. Every day I don\u2019t hold back. Every day I go at them; every day I can tell them the truth of when they\u2019re messing up. I\u2019m just really grateful to have players that want to be coached hard. They don\u2019t take things personal, and they fight every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cOne of the things that makes Natalie great is just her work ethic and her willingness to learn,\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":210962,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[115615,8041,2473,34225,115616,43951,10482,115617,15539,115618,3457,17271,71568,62,115619,67,132,68,43950,232,88623],"class_list":{"0":"post-210961","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-coach-of-the-year","9":"tag-coaching","10":"tag-golden-state-valkyries","11":"tag-head-coach","12":"tag-iliana-rupert","13":"tag-janelle-salaun","14":"tag-kaila-charles","15":"tag-kasib-powell","16":"tag-kate-martin","17":"tag-landon-tatum","18":"tag-leadership","19":"tag-natalie-nakase","20":"tag-player-development","21":"tag-sports","22":"tag-sugar-rodgers","23":"tag-united-states","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-veronica-burton","27":"tag-wnba","28":"tag-wnba-expansion-teams"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}