Natalie Nakase Articles - Page 2

If the Golden State Valkyries needed any more validation for their historic success in their inaugural season in the WNBA, look no further than one of the next expansion franchise’s latest front-office moves. The Portland Fire officially named the Valkyries’ Vice President of Basketball Operations, Vanja Černivec, as its general manager. “I am honored to […]

While the Dallas Wings are still in rebuild mode as the second-worst team in the WNBA, they have Paige Bueckers, one of the most prolific rookies in WNBA history. And after her historic 44-point game against the Los Angeles Sparks, it’s obvious that Bueckers can singlehandedly win the Wings a game if opponents don’t take […]

Golden State Valkyries’ Veronica Burton knows what it’s like to be on the fringes of the WNBA. The Dallas Wings waived her at the start of the 2024 WNBA season, leaving her without a team just two years after the team selected her seventh overall in the 2022 WNBA draft. Burton eventually worked her way […]

There’s no denying the Golden State Valkyries fought hard in their 98-91 loss to the Phoenix Mercury. With only eight players available due to Tiffany Hayes and Cecilia Zandalasini’s late injury scratches, the remaining Valkyries stepped up and tested the Mercury through the majority of the game. Veronica Burton continued her Most Improved Player campaign […]

Just days after Natalie Nakase made her case for Veronica Burton for the Most Improved Player Award, the Golden State Valkyries guard showed exactly why she’s a frontrunner to win it. Burton collected a career high 30 points on 10-of-13 shooting, along with seven rebounds and seven assists, in the Valkyries’ 88-83 win over the […]

SAN FRANCISCO – The Golden State Valkyries secured a comfortable 74-57 win over the Connecticut Sun to advance to 16-15 on the season. After a subpar first half of 3-point shooting, the Valkyries nailed 10 threes in the second half to take care of business in their final game before another short road trip. Tiffany […]

SAN FRANCISCO – There’s been no Golden State Valkyrie more consistent than Veronica Burton. The Valkyries’ point guard has started all 31 games this season, providing the expansion team with steady play on both ends of the floor. And after a statement game in which she held Los Angeles Sparks’ Kelsey Plum to only four […]

SAN FRANCISCO – It’s no secret the Golden State Valkyries miss Kayla Thornton. After losing Thornton, the first All-Star in Valkyries history, to a season-ending knee injury, the team missed everything she brought to the organization. From her two-way excellence as the team’s connector, to her personality off the court and the joy she brought […]

If you’ve been around the Golden State Valkyries, you’ll notice the team uses the words “connection” and “chemistry” quite frequently. Words like “together,” “communication,” and “culture,” are also staples in the team’s vocabulary. These words show up whenever Natalie Nakase is making a point to highlight the importance of every single one of the 12 […]

SAN FRANCISCO – The greats always stress that to achieve something worthwhile, it all begins with sacrifice. For Natalie Nakase, the sacrifice is at the heart of the Golden State Valkyries’ success this season. Ahead of the Valkyries’ match with the Las Vegas Aces, Nakase expressed her pride in the fact that her players have […]

SAN FRANCISCO – The Golden State Valkyries’ loss to the Las Vegas Aces did not feel as close as the 78-72 final score indicated. The Valkyries’ offense faltered once again, shooting 39.7% from the field and 18.2% from beyond the arc, their third-worst 3-point shooting performance of the season. Here are three takeaways from a […]

Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase only half remembers her experience playing in one of the oldest statewide Asian-American high school tournaments in California, the North South Tournament. “It was like 30 years ago,” Nakase laughed when asked if she recalls any fond memories from when she was invited to play in an All-Star-style […]

Somehow, someway, in their fourth game in seven days, Golden State Valkyries found a way to win on the road for the second game in a row. The Valkyries won an ugly 68-67 game against the Washington Mystics to get back to a .500 record on the season. And more importantly, they moved back into […]

SAN FRANCISCO– “Devastating” was the word the Golden State Valkyries all brought up in the wake of all-star Kayla Thornton’s season-ending knee injury. Ahead of the Valkyries’ rematch with the Dallas Wings, head coach Natalie Nakase made an official statement on losing Thornton to a right knee injury. Valkyries Natalie Nakase’s official statement on Kayla […]

SAN FRANCISCO– The Golden State Valkyries were handed devastating injury news ahead of their rematch with the Dallas Wings. The team announced hours before the game that all-star Kayla Thornton will be out for the remainder of the season. Thornton suffered an injury to her right knee earlier this week in practice and underwent successful […]

It’s been a rough two weeks for the Golden State Valkyries. Golden State fell to the Seattle Storm 67-58 for their fifth loss in six games. In their final game before the All-Star break, it was yet another game the Valkyries couldn’t close correctly. Trailing 56-54 with 4:48 left in the fourth, the Valkyries were […]

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – After the Golden State Valkyries fell 78-77 to Alyssa Thomas’s game-winning free throw, Natalie Nakase told everyone in the press room to put the word “consistency” into each of their headlines. Nakase was once again referring to, in her opinion, the officiating discrepancy. Specifically, the shooting foul was assessed to Cecilia […]

The Golden State Valkyries have caught the eyes of the WNBA this season for their ability to shut down the league’s brightest stars. Whether it’s been slowing down Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Nneka Ogwumike, or Sabrina Ionescu, the Valkyries’ defensive identity has been the key to their unexpected success. But in Las Vegas, A’ja Wilson […]

It’s no easy feat to contain Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston to a combined 16 points on 6-of-20 from the field. But that’s exactly what the Golden State Valkyries did to snap a two-game losing streak with their 80-61 win over the Indiana Fever. The Valkyries’ balanced defensive game plan in the paint and on […]

After suffering a 90-81 loss to the Atlanta Dream, the Golden State Valkyries took a lot of personal responsibility for their collapse late in the fourth quarter. Kayla Thornton cited their season-high 21 turnovers. Monique Billings emphasized their lack of consistency. Natalie Nakase reflected on her shortcomings as a head coach, pointing to how she’s […]

There were bound to be heated emotions in a matchup between the top two defenses in the WNBA, the Golden State Valkyries and the Minnesota Lynx. For the Valkyries, it came from head coach Natalie Nakase. The first-year head coach collected the first technical foul of her coaching career midway through the third quarter of […]

After every Golden State Valkyries win, head coach Natalie Nakase always credits her players before saying anything else. And after every loss, Nakase’s always willing to take accountability for how the team played instead of throwing her players under the bus. She acknowledges herself last, and even that is rare. So after an impressive month […]

OAKLAND – The Golden State Valkyries have come under heavy fire for how they handled the release of fan-favorite Julie Vanloo. Vanloo reportedly skipped the EuroBasket championship celebrations in Belgium to fly 18 hours to San Francisco, only to find out the team waived her moments after she touched down at SFO. The situation with […]

SAN FRANCISCO– Natalie Nakase has never wavered about her belief in her players. From the minute the first-year head coach stepped into training camp, all the way to their dominant 84-57 win over the Seattle Storm, Nakase has been steadfast in her belief that the Valkyries can win. And whenever Nakase has vocalized that belief, […]

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The Golden State Valkyries‘ 83-78 win over the Chicago Sky was a slog, to put it lightly. While the Valkyries overcame a slow start to the game, thanks to the efforts of Kayla Thornton and her career-high 29 points, their fatigue seemed to hover over their heads from start to finish. […]

Few people expected the Golden State Valkyries to be competitive in their first season in the WNBA. But at 7-6, with five wins in their last six games, the Valkyries have caught the attention of basketball legend Lisa Leslie. On her podcast, Between the Lines, Leslie called Golden State her “dark horse” team in the […]

Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase always has her players’ backs, whether on or off the court. After the Valkyries cruised to an easy 87-63 win over the Connecticut Sun, veteran players Kayla Thornton and Tiffany Hayes made a joint statement concerning the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations between the WNBA players’ union and the […]

The WNBA annually features a revolving door of head coaches, but the 2025 season marked a complete changing of the guard. Eight new faces took over struggling franchises, with the Atlanta Dream’s Karl Smesko, Chicago Sky’s Tyler Marsh, Connecticut Sun’s Rachid Meziane, Dallas Wings’ Chris Koclanes, Golden State Valkyries’ Natalie Nakase, Indiana Fever’s Stephanie White, […]

SAN FRANCISCO — Ten games into the WNBA season, it’s clear that Kayla Thornton has established herself as the Golden State Valkyries’ de facto X-factor. With her third double-double in a row, Thornton’s career-high 22 points alongside 12 rebounds fueled the Valkyries to a 76-70 win over the red-hot Seattle Storm. Thornton’s versatility on both […]

SAN FRANCISCO — It’s fitting for Natalie Nakase that the Golden State Valkyries’ best performance of their inaugural season came against the Las Vegas Aces and Becky Hammon. The former Aces assistant coach, who helped Hammon and the team to back-to-back WNBA titles, secured a signature 95-68 upset win in front of a raucous Chase […]

Every team needs an identity if it wants to win games, especially a brand-new expansion franchise looking to establish itself in the WNBA. For Natalie Nakase and the Golden State Valkyries, that identity has been defense. While the shooting has been streaky and the turnovers have been a problem, their hard-nosed, hustling defensive identity is […]

The purest emotion of an expansion team going through its first season in the WNBA is optimism, and the Golden State Valkyries are no different. From the historic support of the Bay Area fanbase to the established culture of commitment in all facets of the organization, there are plenty of green flags pointing to a […]

The Golden State Valkyries were one or two plays away from upsetting the New York Liberty. Trailing 78-77 with 42.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter of the two teams’ second meeting this week, head coach Natalie Nakase called a timeout to set up a set baseline out-of-bounds play. It was a smart timeout considering […]

Before the season began, the Golden State Valkyries fans weren’t happy about how the team handled their 2025 WNBA draft. It began with confusion around the Valkyries waiving Shyanne Sellers in training camp. That confusion then escalated into anger when No. 5 overall pick Justė Jocytė chose to prioritize her national team duties for EuroBasket […]

Minutes after securing her first career win as a head coach, Golden State Valkyries’ Natalie Nakase strolled into the press conference decked out in a fuzzy black robe. The Valkyries beat the Washington Mystics 76-74. Natalie Nakase’s retelling of the locker room celebration after the franchise’s first win: https://t.co/9Tj2FDUEPI pic.twitter.com/WFf9VGRz3d — Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) May […]

While the Golden State Valkyries’ inaugural game was ruined by an 84-67 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks, it was still a monumental night for the new team. With improvements to be made for the Valkyries, there’s no denying the support that showed up for the contest, as even Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers […]

Although Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase was encouraged on Friday, the team still lost 84-67 to the Los Angeles Sparks. Following the game, it was a historic one for the franchise. This was its first game, not to mention the first game in front of their fanbase. Nakase explained via Kenzo Fukuda of […]

While the Golden State Valkyries‘ 84-67 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks dampened the vibe of the team’s historic WNBA debut, head coach Natalie Nakase believes it wasn’t as negative as the 17-point margin of defeat indicates. The Valkyries were neck and neck with the Sparks for most of the night. Tiffany Hayes muscled her […]

While the Chase Center crowd was loud all night long for the Golden State Valkyries’ WNBA debut, the fans somehow got even louder when UConn’s national champion Kaitlyn Chen checked into the game, even though the team ultimately lost 83-82. It was an unbelievable sight for Paige Bueckers’ former teammate. Especially for a third-round draft […]