This post was updated Oct. 10 at 1:41 p.m.
The Golden State Valkyries have hired Natalie Nakase as their first head coach, the WNBA expansion franchise announced Thursday morning.
Nakase, a member of UCLA women’s basketball from 1998 to 2003, will spearhead the Valkyries after serving as the Las Vegas Aces’ assistant coach since February 2022.
After forming a partnership with the Golden State Warriors earlier this year, the Valkyries were announced as the WNBA’s 13th team Oct. 5, 2023, and are set to begin play in 2025.
“I’m just really excited and with the legacy of winning and the championships, that’s where I want to be,” Nakase said. “This is a place where I’ve always strived to be because I’ve always wanted to be the best.”
Working under six-time WNBA All-Star Becky Hammon, Nakase assisted the Aces to back-to-back championships. Prior to her tenure in Sin City, Nakase worked as an intern and video coordinator for the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers. During the 2014 Summer League, she took on the team’s assistant coach post, becoming the first woman to sit on the bench as an NBA assistant.
Nakase joined the Bruins as a walk-on in 1999 but was forced to redshirt her first season in Westwood after undergoing surgery to repair torn ligaments in her left knee.
She started in 58 consecutive games throughout her final two seasons and was ranked seventh on UCLA’s all-time single-season assist list following her final season, in which she averaged 7.9 points per game. During her two final seasons as a Bruin, she put up 228 and 122 points, respectively.
The point guard ultimately made her way up to the team’s starting lineup and served as captain through her final three seasons.
After graduating, Nakase played professional basketball in the now-extinct National Women’s Basketball League for the San Jose Spiders and the San Diego Siege. She spent a year with the Spiders before joining the Siege, after which she relocated to Germany, where she suffered a career-ending knee injury related to her prior surgery.
Since kickstarting her coaching career in Germany, Nakase has accumulated 16 years of coaching experience and two WNBA titles.
Nakase is not the only former Bruin to lead a WNBA team. She’ll join Noelle Quinn – head coach of the Seattle Storm – in the league. The two never overlapped in their time as Bruins, but both played as point guards.
