3 Things Natalie Nakase must do to prove she was the right choice as the Valkyries’ head coach
When the Golden State Valkyries announced their choice for the team’s first head coach, it seemed like the perfect choice. Natalie Nakase has experience as a player, suiting up for the San Jose Spiders and San Diego Siege of the NWBL after playing for UCLA in college, and won two WNBA championships as an assistant coach on the Las Vegas Aces.
Nakase was easily one of the best candidates out there and someone who would have caught a lot of attention after a 2024 season that saw several coaches lose their positions. By hiring her in early October, the Valkyries already had one big part of their franchise secured.
And yet, Nakase still has to prove that she was indeed the right choice. Fortunately, there are a few things she can do to achieve that early in the 2025 season.
3. Build a culture
The good thing about being the first coach on a team is that you are free to shape it however you would like. The bad thing: building a team’s culture from scratch can be difficult. Creating a culture the Valkyries can rely on, and market to free agents or trade targets is one of the most important things Natalie Nakase will have to do early in her stint with the Valkyries. It is what will define the Valkyries’ identity in the first few years of their existence.
Nakase obviously already has a clear idea of what kind of culture she wants to build. She recently told USA Today that she expects players “to play like their life depends on it.”
So, if Nakase can go through with her vision, the Valkyries will be a team that plays hard and will not give up easily.
2. Play a fun, modern system
So far, the Valkyries do not have a star yet. Unless they sign or trade for a big name before the start of the season, that means everything will have to be a team effort. Watching great team basketball is always fun but it is not necessarily easy to build a system that has no focal point.
So, the Valkyries will have to play rather differently than most teams in the league. The players currently on the roster suggest that the Valkyries will be able to play a fun, modern style of basketball. With the exception of Monique Billings and Temi Fagbenle, pretty much everyone on the roster can knock down threes and every single player the Valkyries selected can defend.
The Valkyries may not win much in their first season, but if Nakase can have her team play a modern style that is fun to watch even if it does not always translate to wins, fans will immediately love her. Plus, it will be easy to integrate one or two stars into a system that is built around defending well and spacing the floor.
1. Win some games early
No one expects the Valkyries to be much of a threat right away, but all sports fans want to see their team win at least a little bit, even if they know that losing is the best thing for the team’s future. Women’s basketball fans are already hyped for the Valkyries and Natalie Nakase.
The one thing that could increase that hype is if the Valkyries opened the season with some wins. Their first three games are against the Los Angeles Sparks and the Washington Mystics. Both teams are rebuilding and still trying to figure out how to play around their young stars. The Valkyries could realistically win those games. If they do, it will not only make fans incredibly happy but also show right away that Nakase was the right hire for the newest team in the W.