Though it ended in heartbreak, Natalie Nakase oversaw the most successful expansion team effort in WNBA history.
Natalie Nakase’s San Francisco treat ended with the proper recognition.
Nakase was named the WNBA’s Coach of the Year for the 2025 season for her work at the helm of the Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday, capping off the most successful expansion season in the W’s history. Nakase earned 53 of 72 votes, outpacing the 15 earned by runner-up Karl Smesko (Atlanta), as well as Becky Hammon (Las Vegas) and Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota) who had two each.
“I never aimed for this type of award, and my dad taught me that early on, that it’s all about winning,” Nakase said upon accepting the title, per Janie McCauley of the Associated Press. “That’s why I took this job, because [Valkyries principal owner] Joe [Lacob] was like, ‘If you take this job we’ve got to win a championship in five years.’ That’s the goal, so I just wanted to start with that. But what this does, is it reflects on (our) whole organization. It starts at the top.”
She became the original coach of the Valkyries last fall after three seasons as an assistant under Hammon in Las Vegas. When she took the job, no expansion team had ever reached the WNBA postseason and the most successful debut group was the 1998 Detroit Shock, which posted a 17-13 mark under Nancy Lieberman.
But, working with a batch of veterans obtained in December’s expansion draft, Nakase kept the team rolling through several snags, the effort culminating in a 23-21 record and eighth and final seed on the WNBA playoff bracket. Under her watch, Kayla Thornton earned her first All-Star bid while Veronica Burton was named the W’s Most Improved Player this week.
Historical Season for Nakase, Valkyries
Backed by a healthily-reckless crowd that routinely packed Chase Center, which came to be known by the nickname of “Ballhalla,” the Valkyries’ maiden voyage goes down as the most successful in league history.
“The word I continue to use is methodical,” Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin said of Nakase, per Marcus Thompson III of The Athletic. “She sees the game differently than everybody else sees the game. So she knows when a player is tired, when she can push them for a couple more minutes. They’re looking at her, and she’s looking right back at them.”
Nakase’s first ride with the Valkyries ended in heartbreak shortly after she accepted the title on Wednesday: forced to move the first playoff tour to San Jose after a scheduling conflict in San Francisco, the Valkyries lost a late double-figure lead in a 75-74 loss to the league-leading Minnesota Lynx. While heartbreak no doubt lingered over the squad, the team earned a grateful send-off from its well-traveling fanbase and words from inspiration from Nakase.
“I said, ‘Get your f—– heads up.’ They were down, and I said, ‘I want everyone’s eye contact. I wanna feel every single person right now. Your emotions, your heart, I want everything,'” Nakase said, per Logan Struck of Valkyries on SI. “They all looked up, and I just told them how proud I was. To have that place rocking tonight, to have that Ballhalla mentality, to be able to go toe to toe with the number one team, I was so proud.”
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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