Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin couldn\u2019t remember the exact game. The opponent, the date, was less important than the profundity it delivered, and the peace that came with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a gritty win,\u201d she said. Most of Golden State\u2019s 23 wins, a WNBA record for an expansion franchise, could be described as gritty. But this one, especially. Because Nyanin, like the rest of her team, could sense the urgency. The need for a win, the pressure of the playoffs<\/a>, the adversity of injuries, the grind of a season. The Valkyries felt a different kind of weight, and coach Natalie Nakase turned up the heat, to get her players to dig deeper.<\/p>\n When Golden State gutted out the win, it produced an especially euphoric Valkyries locker room after the game. The music blasted. The players danced. And Nakase did what was most unexpected. The fire-breathing coach, the notorious grinder, the woman with a farmer\u2019s work ethic and a sailor\u2019s tongue, she stretched a smile across her face and danced with her team.<\/p>\n \u201cShe saw that they needed to see her that way,\u201d Nyanin said, beaming as she remembered the visual, \u201cand let loose for like 15 seconds. It was a great 15 seconds. They saw it. They were so happy. \u2026 And then she locked in and gave another prolific postgame speech.\u201d<\/p>\n For Nyanin, it was confirmation. She hired Nakase because she believed she was the right coach. As they put the team together, it was clear she had made a good decision. As the Valkyries took off, surprisingly competitive and headed towards a historic season, all doubt was gone about how well they nailed this hire.<\/p>\n But a difference exists between landing the perfect coach for their situation and landing an elite coach. Nakase kept proving, convincingly, she could handle the unique task of an expansion roster under the pressure of Golden State expectations. But the locker room scene Nyanin witnessed validated what they hoped they spotted last summer when they hired Nakase \u2014 a special coach, a leader who had all the tools to deliver a championship.<\/p>\n Nakase, now the Associated Press WNBA Coach of the Year, has people in Golden State feeling like they found a gem. Much of this season has been a subtle flex of her depth. A gradual unveiling of her complete package.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s terrific,\u201d Valkyries owner Joe Lacob said. \u201cShe\u2019s got a great, I think, feel for the game. \u2026 She\u2019s got a great feel for what she needs to do and for motivating players.\u201d<\/p>\n In our first season, she set the standard. Natalie Nakase is the Associated Press Coach of the Year after guiding the Valkyries to the playoffs in year one. pic.twitter.com\/tagHwHO0bM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) September 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Sunday presents another monster challenge for Nakase to declare her worthiness. The Valkyries open the first round of the playoffs against the best team in the league. Minnesota is a particularly tough matchup for them. The Lynx blasted Golden State by 20 points Thursday, dropping the Valkyries to the eight seed. With the convincing win, Minnesota essentially declared its desire to play Golden State in the first round, or at least its lack of concern about the Valkyries as a foe. The Lynx had nothing to play for and could\u2019ve rested. Instead, they played all of their stars and handled Golden State, locking in the expansion franchise for the first round.<\/p>\n Even if that wasn\u2019t Minnesota\u2019s intention, it\u2019s a safe bet that\u2019s how Nakase took it.<\/p>\n \u201cHer competitive fire,\u201d assistant coach Kasib Powell said with widened eyes as he shook his head. \u201cShe loves basketball. All she wants to do is get us better. It never stops. We\u2019re constantly talking, texting. If you can\u2019t match her competitive fire, then you\u2019ll get left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n Lacob launched the franchise under the same high bar he instilled when he bought the Golden State Warriors \u2014 a championship in five years. It\u2019s a pressure that permeates the organization, one that requires operating like the best to become the best. Lacob expects everything to reflect a championship pedigree, and the Valkyries work with that Warriors\u2019 aura hovering over them.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a challenge Nyanin embraces, loves even. It matches her own perspective.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no comfort. There is zero complacency,\u201d Nyanin said. \u201cI like the hard work and the sacrifice. Like, we talk about it amongst ourselves and our families, more specifically. \u2026 It\u2019s all eat, sleep, breathe, Valkyries.\u201d<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not just about the number of hours logged and Red Bulls downed. Championships demand competitiveness and competence.<\/p>\n What Nyanin saw in Nakase\u2019s locker room groovin\u2019 was a coach who had the capacity to understand what was required and the capability to execute. It was a portrait of why they believe they found more than just their first coach.<\/p>\n The hours are the easy part for Nakase. She\u2019s built her career on her willingness to put in the work. She even makes her family watch film. Her insatiable appetite for information, her addiction to basketball, is how she always makes a good first impression on those with whom she works.<\/p>\n Nakase is always prepared. Obsessively prepared.<\/p>\n It\u2019s what Nyanin noticed immediately when she began interviewing for the head coaching job. It\u2019s what blew Lacob away in their first meeting, just over a year ago in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew right there,\u201d said Lacob, who interviewed Nakase over brunch at a restaurant in the Wynn hotel. \u201cI\u2019m sold. Done deal. I loved her. \u2026 I love her story<\/a>. I love her style. I love her intensity. She\u2019s fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n Powell, the lead assistant, had the same reaction. The first staff meeting was a Zoom call Nakase put together. His new boss\u2019 grasp of the game, the amount of work she\u2019d already put in. New gigs are typically exciting. But he found a new level after that Zoom call.<\/p>\n That level of preparedness is part of the staff\u2019s ethos. Assistant coaches feel it when it\u2019s their turn to scout the opponent.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re up all night,\u201d Powell said. \u201cIf you\u2019re presenting her with your scout or whatever it is, if it\u2019s thin, if it\u2019s not thorough, if she doesn\u2019t like it \u2014 she\u2019s going to let you know. You gotta bring it.\u201d<\/p>\n Her personality infused the Valkyries\u2019 play. Without a superstar to play through, and not especially athletic, Golden State made the playoffs by leaning into the intangibles. Playing hard. Executing the scheme. Spreading teams out with its offense and staying connected on defense. And the Valkyries held the rope. Despite losing streaks. Despite injuries and lineup changes. They didn\u2019t relent. That\u2019s a Nakase team.<\/p>\n But what\u2019s not so visible on the surface is the complexity behind the gritted-teeth approach. The Valkyries\u2019 defense has evolved. Their scheme can fluctuate on the fly. They\u2019re a good defensive team because of their depth and strategy.<\/p>\n Some of that creativity is evident on offense, too, even though they don\u2019t have the top-end talent. Once teams started keying in on Veronica Burton, the breakout star<\/a> who became their best playmaker once Kayla Thornton went down<\/a>, Nakase had to get creative to generate good looks.<\/p>\n Scoring gets tough for the Valkyries. It often comes down to Nakase, on the fly, pressing the right buttons. When to go with three guards. When to turn to Kate Martin, a floor-stretching shooter. When to go big and dump the ball inside. When to give Burton a rest.<\/p>\n In their postseason-clinching win over Dallas on Sept. 4, Nakase made the call to break the rotation and rest Burton to start the fourth quarter. It gave rookie guard Carla Leite a longer rope, and she was in a groove, and Burton was fresh down the stretch, making the game-sealing basket on a tough drive.<\/p>\n The moment that sealed our historic postseason appearance. @Veronicaab22<\/a> took it herself, and the team\u2019s reaction says it all.@Waymo<\/a> | Drive of the Game pic.twitter.com\/eE5PVM82Vi<\/a><\/p>\n