Coach of the Year Natalie Nakase Led Valkyries to Unprecedented Success in First Season
WNBA Golden State Valkyries

Coach of the Year Natalie Nakase Led Valkyries to Unprecedented Success in First Season

Published on September 17, 2025 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Golden State Valkyries News Release


In her first season as a WNBA head coach, Natalie Nakase made league history by leading the expansion Golden State Valkyries to the playoffs in their inaugural season. Nakase was awarded Coach of the Year honors for her transformative culture-setting impact. Nakase brought championship DNA to the Valkyries, serving as a lead assistant for multiple title teams with the Las Vegas Aces. In building a team from scratch, she approached this season as an opportunity to establish a winning mentality and ideal playing style with her new players.

"We are a brand-new team, it's going to take time, so I'm allowing our girls space to process the season day by day," Nakase said in a preseason interview with ESPN. "I'm trying to get them to get the mindset of, let's just get 1% better every single day, just be in control of what we can control."

Coach Nakase navigated early trials and tribulations effectively, bouncing back from a 17-point opening night loss to the Los Angeles Sparks to win the second game of the season over the Washington Mystics, followed by a nine-point revenge victory over the Sparks just a week later. The Valkyries overcame a four-game losing streak by winning seven of their next nine games, including three straight, which led to Nakase's first Coach of the Month award in just her second month. Golden State had another four-game winning streak from Aug. 9 through Aug. 15. Their longest win streak of the season, a five-gamer from Aug. 24 - Sep. 4, came at the most opportune time, sending the Valkyries to the playoffs for the first time for an expansion franchise in their inaugural season.

Nakase established a clear identity of volume 3-point shooting and lockdown defense, which was positively reflected in the team's statistics. The Valkyries led the WNBA in made 3-pointers per game (9.7 3PM) and were the league's third-best defense (99.8 DEFRTG). Furthermore, Nakase's size in the frontcourt in many of her lineup combinations helped the Valkyries lead the league in giving up the fewest paint points (29.0 OPP PTS PAINT) and rank fourth in rebounds per game (35.3 RPG).

Individually, virtually every player up and down the roster had a career-year under Nakase, headlined by first-time All-Star Kayla Thornton and 2025 Most Improved Player Veronica Burton. Thornton went from averaging 5.5 points per game in 2024 to a team-high 14.0 points per contest in 2025. This season, Burton became the first player in WNBA history to increase her averages by at least five points, two rebounds and two assists per game from one season to the next (3.1 PPG, 1.4 RPG and 1.9 APG in 2024, 11.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 6.0 APG in 2025).

"She's [Nakase] going to allow us to do what we need to do," Thornton told SLAM Magazine. "That plays a big part - part of my success and how we're doing now comes from her giving us that leeway."

"She [Nakase] gets the best out of you by telling you what you need to hear," Veteran guard Tiffany Hayes said. "She knows how to push each player to get the best out of them. I love that about her."

Nakase also dealt with the most roster turnover in the league, as the Valkyries made a league-high 30 transactions, including several key rotation players departing for EuroBasket and losing their lone All-Star halfway through the season. Despite all these obstacles and the improbability of immediate success, the WNBA's 2025 Coach of the Year rose above and reached unprecedented heights.

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