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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, it's been with unyielding confidence.
But in the wake of the Valkyries' ninth win of the season, Nakase got visibly emotional at her press conference when asked if she expected her team to be one of the top teams in the league.
Valkyries HC Natalie Nakase got emotional talking about what her players have done to get them to 9-7:
“I know what they’ve done for the past 3 months. They work their asses off… I’m just gonna be honest, I’m grateful to be their head coach. All coachable players.” pic.twitter.com/5rQjOUDuZP
— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) June 30, 2025
“I want to come off as humble as possible. But at the same time, I know what these players have done for [the past] three months,” Nakase started, choosing her words precisely. She had taken a long pause before answering the question, which was a bit uncharacteristic of her when she's at the podium.
“And it's that they work their asses off. They work extremely hard. It's so funny, I was talking to my coaching staff today, like, man we're lucky. They're screaming. They're communicating. Like, rarely am I saying, hey, we need more effort to practice. That's them, you know?” Nakase said.
“So we're lucky as coaches that we have players that are coachable, players that go hard every shootaround and every practice, even film session, they are locked in, they ask questions. So, you know, I'm just gonna be honest, I'm grateful to be their head coach. All coachable players.
The Valkyries are for real
Since starting 2-5 on the season, the Valkyries have gone 7-2 over the last nine games. During that stretch, the Valkyries have had an unbelievable 93.3 defensive rating, the best in the league. In that same timeframe, they've also had the second-best net rating, a +13.2 behind only the Minnesota Lynx.
Nakase's emphasized being the best defense in the league and they've certainly looked that way over the last month. Simultaneously, the offense has dug itself out of the pit it was in to start the season. The Valkyries had the second-lowest offensive rating in W in their first seven games, a measly 91.7. But over the 7-2 stretch, they are fifth in the league with a 105.6 offensive rating.
While the quality of opponents in each stretch is a factor behind the Valkyries' recent surge, what they've done internally deserves recognition. It says a lot about a team's chemistry and resolve to weather a 2-5 start, especially as a sowed-together expansion-drafted roster.
Later in her press conference, Nakase credited the “player-led” nature of her team as well as how inclusive the locker room has been since day one.
“Like I said from the jump. I want them to be themselves. So if that leadership is vocally, then it's go ahead. Be yourself vocally.” Nakase emphasized. “And what's great is everyone chimes in and everyone listens to each other. You know, if Tip [Hayes] is a little bit more by example, and she says things when she wants to say things, that's fine. ”
It's always hard to quantify chemistry. No stat directly tracks how close a team. How much a team likes each other. But sometimes, chemistry is quantified by winning. Not all the time. There are good teams that aren't tight, and there are bad teams that are really tight. But in those occasional overlaps, when a tight-knit team is winning, it makes for a uniquely fun team.
“It's everyone allowing each other to be themselves. It's not just, you could be yourself. We all enjoy the loudness. The quietness. we enjoy all types of personalities. And I think that's what's great, and that's why I think we consider ourselves a family right now.”
