Natalie Nakase Reveals the Family Lessons Behind Her Valkyries Coaching Style

Natalie Nakase's older sister, Nicole, recently reminded the Golden State Valkyries coach how she was raised. Nakase passed that conversation along Wednesday. Golden State hosts the Atlanta Dream in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday.

Nakase, forward Gabby Williams, and point guard Veronica Burton met with reporters by video conference. Game 1 is set for 3:30 p.m. ET at Chase Center in San Francisco, with NBC and Peacock carrying it.

Golden State hired Nakase in October 2024. Before that, she was the lead assistant on Becky Hammon's staff with the Las Vegas Aces, and she worked in the Los Angeles Clippers organization from 2017 to 2022. At UCLA, she went from walk-on to a three-year starter and captain.

She was named the 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year after the expansion Valkyries went 23-21 and reached the playoffs in their first season. This year, Golden State went 32-12 and earned the No. 2 seed.

Nakase sees herself, Williams, and Burton as similar.

"Before I answer that, I just want to say thanks to Gabby and V," Nakase said. "That wouldn't be possible if you guys weren't coachable, so it does start with you guys. And it does start with you guys actually loving hard work and loving to empty the tank. And so I think, again, everything has been intentional for us. I think it only works with you two leading and the fact that we are very similar, all three of us are very similar. So it starts there. It starts with you guys."

Her sister's recent observation led Nakase back to the way basketball was woven into her childhood.

"And then the question on my purpose, it's funny, my sister, my older sister Nicole was just kind of telling me like, this is how you were raised," Nakase continued. "This is all me, my dad, and my two older sisters. This is all we do. That's all we did when we were a kid is play basketball. So I think my dad instilled this type of passion just because it was his passion. And I wanted to hang out with my dad. And I wanted to hang out with my two older sisters. And so it just became an everything. We played basketball every single day. It's just what we did."

Nakase said those lessons eventually shaped how she sees coaching.

"And so I think when you get to know yourself and work really, really hard, then you realize, like, as you go through life struggles, like, coaching is never about you, and it should never be about you," Nakase added. "It's all about like pouring yourself into others and building their confidence and building their weaknesses into strengths and making them also understand it's okay to have weaknesses. So that was all instilled from my dad. My dad called me out a lot when I was a kid. I could still hear him. It's actually coming now from my sisters and my mom."

She also credited her father with intentionally putting adversity in front of her.

"I had an incredible dad," Nakase detailed. "I had an iconic dad who instilled a lot in me, not just the basketball wise, but just kind of like hard lessons, life lessons. He loved to throw adversity my way. I was like the worst player on every team. Put me in an older team, put me in women's leagues. Now you suck, good luck. So it was just kind of like things like my dad instilled in me, and now I'm just trying to pour into the players what my dad taught me."

Williams is in her ninth WNBA season after Chicago drafted her fourth overall in 2018. She played for Los Angeles and Seattle before signing with Golden State in April.

Williams said Nakase built belief in a roster of players who were not protected or were cut elsewhere.

"For me, the biggest thing has just been like how far you can go when you just work hard, honestly," Williams said. "I think that's the thing that, that's a culmination of a lot of things in the phrase I just said there. But it's mostly the way that we empty the tank and the way that we go hard has actually given us all a lot of confidence. Obviously, Nat has taken an expansion team where a lot of us weren't protected, were cut, where we've had the kind of weird stories in the league. And she's believed in all of us, but she's believed in all of us just based off of our effort as well."

Williams said that lesson has stood out even after nearly a decade in the league.

"And so just I think that's the thing I've learned as far as being almost 10 years in this league," Williams continued. "But still, that's something I've never seen before is just how far I can go when I empty the tank, how far V can go, how far my teammates can go. And just seeing one through 12, I'll be really confident just because we all practice and play really hard."

Dallas drafted Burton seventh overall in 2022 and waived her in 2024. She joined Golden State for its inaugural season in 2025 and won the 2025 Most Improved Player award after averaging career highs of 11.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.0 assists. She signed a three-year deal with the Valkyries on April 11.

Burton said Nakase invests time in learning what each player needs, which she does not think a lot of coaches do at the professional level.

"I think even more this year than last year, I think I've been able to learn from that," Burton said. "Obviously, as a point guard, I think I learned a lot from her just in terms of what she sees and her leadership and like how she leads. I think her ability to connect and understand what each player needs is really unique, especially at the professional level. I just don't think a lot of coaches necessarily invest that time into that."

"And so I think that's been really special to see," Burton added. "And then just, again, I think everyone sees the passion and like attention to detail that she puts into things. You see it every single day, but I think behind the scenes, getting to really see all the time that she like genuinely puts into everything, that's what I've learned, that it just doesn't slow up, even with the success, even with the struggles, whatever it may be, like that routine remains the same."

After the Valkyries closed out the Aces on Oct. 9 in Las Vegas, Nakase told reporters her team had emptied the tank, according to the Valkyries' game recap. The 87-77 overtime win finished a 3-0 semifinal sweep. Golden State outscored Las Vegas 16-6 in the extra period and went 8-of-8 at the free-throw line.

A week earlier, Nakase fell to her hands and knees near the bench late in Golden State's 77-73 Game 3 win over the Dallas Wings. She finished that game and coached Game 1 of the semifinals two days later. The Valkyries controlled the glass in that win.

Game 2 is Monday at 8 p.m. ET at Chase Center on USA and Peacock. Games 3 and 4 are Oct. 21 and Oct. 24 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.