WNBA’s new Golden State Valkyries name their inaugural head coach
The WNBA is welcoming their 13th team to the league for the 2025 season. On Oct. 10, the new franchise announced their first ever head coach.
On Oct. 5 2023, the WNBA announced their 13th franchise, the Golden State Valkyries. The Valkyries will be affiliated with the Golden State Warriors and operate under the ownership of Joe Lacob and Peter Guber. The Chase Center will host the Valkyries’ home games and the Warriors’ Oakland facility will be the team’s new HQ.
This is the first new franchise to join the W since 2008.
“The Bay Area is the perfect market for a WNBA team, and we are thrilled this opportunity has finally come to fruition,” Lacob said.
As the new franchise prepares for the WNBA Draft (the Valkyries have the No. 1 overall pick) and W’s 2025 season, the Valkyries announced Natalie Nakase as their head coach on Oct. 10. Nakase has become the first female Asian-American head coach in WNBA history.
Nakase has been the assistant coach for the Las Vegas Aces for the past three seasons where she was a part of the Aces’ back-to-back championship run in 2022 and 2023. Before joining the Aces’ coaching staff, Nakase spent 10 seasons with her hometown team, the Los Angeles Clippers and their G League team.
Prior to her coaching career, Nakase attended and played basketball for UCLA (1998-2003). Nakase started as a walk-on and soon became the Bruins’ starting point guard and a three-time team captain.
After graduating, Nakase played two seasons in the National Women’s Basketball League (NWBL) for the San Jose Spiders and San Diego Siege as well as one season in Germany. In 2008, she suffered a career-ending knee injury but that didn’t stop Nakase from pursuing a career in basketball. After the injury, she started her coaching career with the Wolfenbüttel Wildcats Baskets (2008-2010).
“In 2015, it was my third year working in the NBA for the Clippers. I was watching the finals and the Golden State Warriors win a championship under new leadership, new ownership [Lacob and Guber]…I’m like “Look how happy they are.’ They’re not just winning. Look at the joy they have,” shared. “I remember telling myself ‘I want to work for Golden State’… Nine years later, I’m sitting here in Golden State. I’m living proof that when you work really hard and stay focused on your goal, big dreams do come true.”
Nakase added that it’s the franchise’s goal to win a championship within the next five years.
The Valkyries aren’t the only expansion team coming to the W. In May 2024, the W announced that a Toronto-based team will join the league in 2026. Then on Sept. 18, Portland was revealed as the 15th team. The Portland franchise will join the WNBA in 2026 as well.
