One of first people Natalie Nakase heard from after being named head coach of the Golden State Valkyries was the Warriors' Head Coach Steve Kerr. "On Day 1 of my press conference, (Steve Kerr) texted me. He goes, 'Nat, if you need anything... you're always welcome," Nakase told USA Today Sports Thursday. "Why wouldn’t I pick his brain. He won four championships. I would be a fool not to utilize Steve (Kerr)."
Nakase, who worked with the Los Angeles Clippers for 10 seasons before joining the Las Vegas Aces as an assistant coach, certainly knows a thing or two about the kind of athletes she wants on her team.
"They have to play like their life depends on it," she said. "What excites me about building a team from scratch is that we get to intentionally pick our players. I’m not inheriting anything."
Golden State Valkyries players will need a specific type of mindset
Nakase also said she doesn't just want talented athletes — she wants athletes who approach the game with a certain way of thinking. "It’s not just a skillset we are looking for. I’m looking for ultra competitive. I’m looking for that player that is diving on the floor and getting the rebound," she explained.
"High character. I’m looking are they picking their teammates up or are they high-fiving their teammates? Just putting the team before self at all times. Never satisfied mindset."
Nakase wants tough players because she was a tough player
The publication also makes it clear that Nakase is only demanding of her athletes what she brought to the table as a basketball player herself. Though she wasn't recruited by a lot of schools, Nakase was offered a full scholarship to UC Irvine — but she turned it down for a chance at a walk-on spot at UCLA. She started at the school for three seasons.
She then played in the National Women’s Basketball League, which played games during the WNBA offseason, for the San Jose Spiders in 2005 and the San Diego Siege in 2006.
Nakase adds that she's learned a lot from the coaches she's worked with. "Tyron Lue taught me that you have to be able to communicate with every single player," she told USA Today Sports. "The best thing (Becky Hammon) taught me was to coach with an open heart. She has such a big heart. When you have a conversation with her, you feel like you can lean into her and tell her anything because of the way she approaches everything. Having an open heart is huge, that’s why we had quick buy-in with the Las Vegas Aces."
You can read the interview interview with USA Today Sports here.