Natalie Nakase Says Her Father Would Give Her 'the Head Nod of Approval' After Valkyries' Title

Natalie Nakase won a WNBA championship as a head coach Saturday night, two seasons after the Golden State Valkyries hired her as the franchise's first coach.

Golden State beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center. Gabby Williams scored 30 points and was named Finals MVP in front of a sellout crowd of 18,064.

Nakase credited her father for the way she coaches.

"He would give me the head nod of approval," Nakase said. "My dad wouldn't say anything. The head nod just means he's proud of me. He's the reason why I'm built the way I am. I am crazy. I am obsessive. I am a workaholic. But it's more just pouring into people, believing in people, helping people, that's all come from my dad."

"These guys are coachable and they wanted it and they worked for it and they stayed disciplined," Nakase continued. "It's them, it's Kiah Stokes, it's Gabby William[s], it's V, it's them. My dad just built me a certain way, I was able to pour into them. These guys are family and family is forever."

Golden State hired Nakase in October 2024, making her the first Asian American head coach in WNBA history. She had spent three seasons as an assistant with the Las Vegas Aces under Becky Hammon, winning titles in 2022 and 2023, and 10 seasons before that with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Valkyries owner Joe Lacob told The Associated Press last year that he decided on Nakase within two hours of her formal interview. On Saturday, Nakase said Lacob had told whoever took the job that the team needed to win a title within five years.

In 2025, the Valkyries went 23-21 and became the first expansion team to reach the playoffs in its inaugural season. Nakase was named Coach of the Year.

This season, Golden State went 32-12 and entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed. The Valkyries swept the defending champion Aces in the semifinals, then won Games 1, 4, 5, and 7 against Atlanta.

Stokes said the road was where the Valkyries had to lean on each other, without the Ballhalla crowd behind them.

"Very long road trip, one of our first ones, that's when it really started to come together as a team and did a lot of team bonding, so to speak," Stokes said. "I feel like we were very intentional about hanging out with each other and just getting to know each other, especially on the road. You really have to -- you don't have Ballhalla behind you, so you have to focus on each other. I would say our first two-week road trip is when we really [came together]."

Stokes won three titles with the Aces, including two while Nakase was on Hammon's staff. Saturday's title was her fourth.

Nakase wanted to know her players beyond basketball, partly so she would know when to push them.

"We did intentional dinners and just having certain games, we did games with open, honest questions and things like that," Nakase explained. "We just wanted to get to know each other on a different level, other than basketball. Basketball was the last thing we wanted to talk about."

"I love to learn about people, so I can push their buttons and go crazy when I have to, and it's them," Nakase added. "It's them giving me their time. They could hang out with their friends or other people but we all committed to each other on that road trip."

Williams was in her first season with Golden State after stops in Chicago and Seattle.

"We made the joke, can't wait to go home, but it was sad it was over," Williams said. "That was the greenest flag, that was a fun trip. We would have nights, no one would want the night to end. It was like, that was -- I knew we had something special on that trip."

Nakase took responsibility for Golden State's slow start in Thursday's 80-69 loss in Game 6, when Atlanta led 32-15 after the first quarter.

For Game 7, she moved Williams onto Naz Hillmon. Hillmon finished with 3 points on 1-of-5 shooting, and Williams scored 28 of her 30 points in the second half.

Veronica Burton had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists and made two free throws with 5.1 seconds left to seal the game. Burton was the league's Most Improved Player in 2025.

Stokes had 8 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

Nakase received 53 of 72 votes for 2025 Coach of the Year. Dream coach Karl Smesko finished second with 15.