SAN FRANCISCO — To describe Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase as a “true student of the game,” as many of her colleagues have described her as, doesn't fully express the sheer depths of her singular, unparalleled obsession with basketball.
Need an example? At the team's open practice this week, in the middle of a rare five days of rest, a reporter asked the first-year coach about the team finally getting some time off between games.
“It's scary for [the players] because I watched a ton of film,” Nakase said, half joking but also one-hundred percent serious. “I went to old school training camp stuff. I dug deep into a lot of things. And so, I surprised them today. I'm like, ‘Hey guys, this is what happens when you give me two days off!'”
Another reporter followed up with Nakase with a question regarding what percentage of the time she spent watching film over the last 48 hours.
“90% of the time,” Nakase said bluntly. “When I was awake, it was like 90% of the time.”
“90%” is an unsurprising estimate.
According to Becky Hammon, Nakase spent “hundreds” of sleepless nights going through tape as her assistant coach with the Las Vegas Aces. Chicago Sky's Tyler Marsh joked that the two haven't chatted since both became head coaches, despite spending most of their waking hours working together on Hammon's staff because he knew she was laser-focused on coaching the Valkyries.
Some would call that obsession. Others would say passion. It's probably a mix of both.
However you want to describe it, that dedication is what impressed the Valkyries' owner Joe Lacob when he interviewed her during the expansion team's coaching search. According to Nakase's coaching staff, assistant coaches Kasib Powell and Landon Tatum, it's why she's one of the leading candidates for Coach of the Year.
Building the Valkyries from scratch
When Nakase assembled her coaching staff, no one really knew each other. Kasib Powell was coming from his player development stint with the Heat, Ta'Shauna “Sugar” Rodgers from Williams & Mary in the NCAA, and Landon Tatum from the Celtics' G-League affiliate.
But according to Valkyries assistant coach Landon Tatum, who worked with Nakase in the video room back in the day and kept in touch with her over the years, that unfamiliarity amongst the coaches did not last long.
“I think we've all gotten closer because, for the most part, when we all got here, none of us knew each other. There was a lot of chemistry that had to be built.” Smith told ClutchPoints. “But because of all our personalities, and there were a lot of similarities between what a lot of us had done prior, it made it easy for us all to get along, to be honest.”
Togetherness has been one of Nakase's biggest organizational emphases this season. Part of that is the nature of the job: long hours, long road trips, meetings all day. But there's also an intention behind the culture Nakase's built.
An inaugural season of not being competitive and building for the future, like everyone suggested, was never in the cards for Nakase because of who she is and the people she surrounded herself with.
“Her leadership style is she's a winner,” Powell told ClutchPoints. “She's the type of person where you either get on board with what she's got going on, as far as winning and her passion, or you get left behind.”
Basketball never stops for Natalie Nakase
Powell's been all across the known basketball world. Before getting the call from Nakase, Powell was working as a player development coach with the Miami Heat. And before that, he was a player. Powell's been through the rigors of fighting for a place in the NBA, and he's played overseas in Europe.
If there's anyone who knows how the world of professional basketball works, and the people whose careers and lives revolve around it, it's Powell. And for him, having seen her process up close this season, Nakase's dedication to the craft stands out.
“For her, basketball never stops,” Powell told Clutchpoints back in late June when asked what separates Nakase from the basketball world. Tatum characterized her as “basketball 24/7.” Both assistant coaches talked about how Nakase is always texting the team about new things she finds.
“I think for us, she challenges us as a staff to have our basketball minds on all day. I think that's something that's new, you know? But it's something we all love. And she's definitely done a good job leading us that way.”
Under Nakase, the Valkyries have broken the win total record for a first-year expansion franchise with more games to play, all while boasting one of the top defenses in the WNBA. And in just her first season as a head coach, Nakase has the Valkyries in the hunt for a playoff birth, with a roster built almost entirely through the expansion.
“It just makes us think [about] the game,” Powell said. “When we're in practice, when we're outside practice, when we're at home in our apartments, we're just always thinking the game, and that just comes from her love and passion for the game. She passes it on to us, and we carry the same thing.”
What has made Nakase's staff so effective?
One of the biggest takeaways this season from the Valkyries has been their scouting. It's something Nakase always emphasizes after wins. She always credits whoever did the scouting for putting her and the players in position to win.
And for good reason, the way Golden State plays, it feels like they have a clear understanding of their opponent's strengths and weaknesses. It's why they've held the likes of Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, and Kelsey Plum to uncharacteristically quiet performances at times.
And after the recent blowout win versus the Washington Mystics, Nakase was asked what's made her staff so effective at scouting this season.
“They're brilliant,” Nakase smiled right before she went down the list of everyone on the basketball operations staff. “They're very passionate about the game. [Y]ou have people who really care about their scout and take pride in it and dig deep into the tendencies that we're looking for in order to beat these teams.”
Nakase also cited her staff's ability to convey the scouting report with “clarity” and precision to the players, an underrated skill set that's kept the players in the know.
“I think that's what's making us be locked in at this point in time because we were all new. I didn't know any of these guys, and I didn't know any of the players other than Tip [Hayes] and Kate [Martin]. For us to collaborate at this pace is pretty impressive, so credit to my staff.”
Credit where credit is due
Nakase doesn't have to vocalize her appreciation for her staff. She could easily take credit for every little positive that contributed to a win. She is the architect behind the historic success of Golden State this season.
But it's really the opposite for the first-year head coach. Nakase rarely gives herself credit for the success of the Valkyries. In wins, she's all about the scouting of her assistant coaches and the prep work they did. In losses, it's only about how she needs to be better. She's consistently vocalizing what others do to help her succeed.
Even when asked if she thinks about the possibility of winning Coach of the Year, Nakase was brutally honest.
“Nobody cares about that, honestly,” Nakase said. “I'm just being deada**, our goal is to make the playoffs. That's our goal. But when I really start to think about it, it should be coaching staff of the year.”
Nakase, in very Nakase-fashion, did suggest the award be changed to a different title.
“I'm not doing the scouting on my own, I'm not doing the player development on my own, I'm not doing the film work, we have to do it individually with their players. I'm not doing this on my own. So it shouldn't be Coach of the Year. It should be ‘Coaching Staff of the Year,' and if that ends up, again, it doesn't matter. But it's a credit to my staff.”
Regardless of how the award race shakes out, there's a lot of credit to pass around the Valkyries organization. Nakase gives it to her players, her staff, and the front office. And taking a page out of Nakase's playbook of differing credit, her staff gives it right back to her.
“As a staff, as players, as a whole organization, we just follow her lead,” Powell said. “With winning, going through things at a high level, trying to get better every day, it all comes from her leadership. We all follow her leadership.”
I floated the question of Coach of the Year to Valkyries’ Natalie Nakase.
“Nobody cares about that. Honestly. I’m just being deadass our goal is to make the playoffs.”
She did suggest the award should be changed to a different title:
“It should be coaching staff of the year.” pic.twitter.com/4kVSiHy0A6
— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) August 27, 2025
