Natalie Nakase On What It Means to Be the First Asian-American Head Coach in the WNBA

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Natalie Nakase is no stranger to winning. During her three-season tenure as assistant coach for the Las Vegas Aces, Nakase — alongside head coach Becky Hammon — led the team to back-to-back WNBA championships. And now, Nakase is heading to the Bay area to replicate her leadership style as the head coach of the newest WNBA team, the Golden State Valkyries.

Nakase is making history in coaching this team for the upcoming season, tipping off May 2025. For one, the league hasn’t added new franchise since 2008. But she’s also the first Asian-American to hold the title of head coach in the WNBA. “It feels surreal,” she tell PS. “I guess… because when I was young, I just played basketball because I loved it.” She and her father used to hoop together every day. The practice, and Nakase’s talent and drive, led her to play college ball at UCLA and in the National Women’s Basketball League. Since then, Nakase has coached several international and NBA teams (including the LA Clippers and their NBA G League team, Agua Caliente).

Despite those achievements, Nakase didn’t realized the impact she could make by simply by existing in this space as an Asian-American until she coached a men’s team in Japan. “There would be so many women after my games and even after our losses that they would just wait for me just to say hi or thank you,” Nakase says. “This one woman would come every single [game], and she was older than me and she would always give me a treat or something. That was just something they did in their culture. And finally, after the season [ended], she gave me a big hug and she was crying, and the translator told me that she said that I was her hero. Then I was crying because I would have never thought by just coaching basketball, something that I just love to do, that I can impact that many people.”

As she steps into an even more visible position as the head coach of the Valkyries, Nakase says she’s hyper-aware of the gravity that comes with the opportunity to provide this kind of representation.

“I’m going to obviously do the best I can and I think doing the best I can means winning championships.”

“Now moving forward, I’m like, ‘Okay, Nat this is the responsibility that you have,’ and so I’m not going to take this lightly. I’m going to obviously do the best I can — and I think doing the best I can means winning championships,” she says.

That’s something she’s done before (twice, with the Aces), and is confident about being able to do again. Yes, there will be challenges — but Nakase prefers to focus on the assets she’s working with. “I never actually think about hurdles,” Nakase says, adding that if/when the team gets to one, they’ll “jump over it.”

Beyond her own impressive history, the Valkyries are owned by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, who also own the NBA’s seven-time championship team, the Golden State Warriors. “I love the fact that we’re around a lot of winners, people who have won championships. I mean to me, then it’s like the blueprint is here, the fan base is here,” Nakase says.

Lacob has also invested in state-of-the-art facilities for the women’s team, including their own practice facility in Oakland (31,800 square feet of training and development space) and locker room at the Chase Center (6,800 square feet of amenities) where the Warriors also play. This is unheard of in the league, as many teams share practice space with NBA or college teams, rent out recreation centers, or practice in the same arena where games are held (so long as aren’t other conflicts, like concerts or events). “We have 24/7 access to 17 baskets. And they can play music. They can do … what I call shooting therapy, when they just want to get in there and be by themselves. We’ll have that, which is a huge advantage for our team,” Nakase says.

That said, she knows that WNBA championships aren’t handed out. “These players are not going to just walk in with championship qualities by all means. We’re going to have to prepare them. We’re going to have to work really hard and teach them a lot of things that maybe they don’t know from a prior team. So it’s a lot of rewiring their brains, working really hard, and honestly, I want to put them through as much adversity as I can from the beginning because that’s what playoff basketball is really about.”

Nakase couldn’t drop any names when asked about the expansion draft and a potential Valkyries roster, but she did say she’s looking for specific qualities: 1) a competitive mindset (“You have to love winning and then you have to hate losing.”), 2) selflessness, and 3) hard work. “We’re not going to be, right away, the New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces, Minnesota Lynx. We’re not there yet. So you have to work really hard just to attain what I’m going to teach,” Nakase says.

Her goal for each player is to see growth every day. But part of what allows players to grow ins’t just about skill and technique — environment is crucial, too. That’s something Nakase says was unmatched during her time with the Aces and in working with coach Hammon.

“That type of open heart comfort, making people feel like their authentic self just from day one,” Nakase says of the environment Hammon fostered. It’s the type of validating leadership she wants to replicate on her team. “Becky has one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever been around for a coach,” Nakase says. “I think that’s really what I’m going to take [from her and the Aces]. I’m going to lead with my heart at the Valkyries.”

Alexis Jones is the senior health and fitness editor at PS. Her passions and areas of expertise include women’s health and fitness, mental health, racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare, and chronic conditions. Prior to joining PS, she was the senior editor at Health magazine. Her other bylines can be found at Women’s Health, Prevention, Marie Claire, and more.