Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase is expected to coach Sunday after feeling exhausted and lightheaded and collapsing late in Golden State's Game 3 win.
Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase fell to her hands and knees near the team's bench with 1:40 left in Friday night's 77-73 Game 3 win over the Dallas Wings at Chase Center in San Francisco. The Valkyries told ESPN's Kendra Andrews that Nakase had been feeling exhausted and lightheaded when she collapsed for a brief period and that she was feeling fine after the game.
Nakase is expected to coach Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals against the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, the team said.
The incident came during a Wings timeout. Nakase was speaking to an official when she went down. Athletic trainer Katelin Knox helped her up, and Nakase, who appeared dazed, returned to the bench and led the team's huddle, according to ESPN.
Gabby Williams hit a go-ahead 17-foot jumper with 1:17 remaining.
With 13.1 seconds left and Golden State ahead by one, Williams jumped back inbounds to corral her own miss. The play was originally ruled Dallas' ball. Nakase challenged the call and won, The Associated Press reported.
Nakase Finished the Game
Nakase finished the game. After the final horn, a member of her staff escorted her off the floor while the Valkyries celebrated at midcourt.
Assistant coach Kasib Powell handled the postgame news conference, where Nakase typically speaks. The staff was still working through what had happened, and Powell said the team would learn more as it went.
"Natalie's fine," Powell said. "Obviously, it's a quick turnaround, we play again on Sunday. She wouldn't miss it for anything.
"It's still new to us," Powell added. "We're just trying to figure it out. We just know that we [saw] her afterward and she was fine, laughing, in great spirits. We'll figure out more as we go, but I think she's totally fine. She's talking. She's laughing in the back. We look forward to preparing and getting ready for Sunday."
Williams finished with 19 points. She scored 17 of them in the second half, including 11 in the fourth quarter, according to ESPN. Tiffany Hayes added 18 points off the bench, and Veronica Burton had 16 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. Kiah Stokes grabbed 13 rebounds, and Kaila Charles hit a tying 3-pointer with 6:51 left.
Williams said she and her teammates tried to step up on their own.
"She's OK. She's fine," Williams said. "We just tried to step up ourselves. We're just happy that she's OK."
Hayes said she did not see Nakase go down. She said the coach was right back at it afterward, down to winning the challenge.
Powell said the Valkyries kept their composure "and just rally around each other and her."
"Didn't miss a beat," Powell explained. "We were locked in as that happened, when she went to the sidelines she drew the next play up, she was in the huddle getting on them about getting a stop, so she didn't skip a beat at all."
Valkyries Complete Historic Comeback
Dallas led by as many as 16 points midway through the third quarter. ESPN reported that the comeback was the fifth-largest in a winner-take-all game in WNBA playoff history. It was the largest since the Aces rallied from 16 down against the Connecticut Sun in Game 5 of the 2020 semifinals.
Arike Ogunbowale scored 30 points for Dallas. Two nights earlier, she set a WNBA playoff scoring record with 45 points in the Wings' overtime win in Game 2 in Dallas. Golden State won the series opener 104-80 at home on Sept. 27.
The Valkyries are in their second season. They finished 32-12 as the No. 2 seed, and Friday's win was the first playoff series victory in franchise history. In 2025, their expansion season, they reached the playoffs and lost to the Minnesota Lynx in the first round.
Golden State hired Nakase in October 2024. She had been the lead assistant on Becky Hammon's staff in Las Vegas after working in the Los Angeles Clippers organization from 2017 to 2022. Nakase was named the 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year.
Golden State Turns to Las Vegas
The Aces won all three regular-season meetings with Golden State. Las Vegas eliminated the Indiana Fever on Thursday with a 94-83 win in Game 3 of its first-round series.
Game 1 of the best-of-five semifinals tips off Sunday at 4 p.m. ET at Chase Center on NBC and Peacock. Game 2 is Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET at Chase Center on NBCSN and Peacock.
