Who is Natalie Nakase? Valkyries coach has Golden State one win from the WNBA title

Why Natalie Nakase is trending

Natalie Nakase is trending because the Golden State Valkyries head coach has her team one win from the WNBA championship, and stories about her practice methods are circulating as the Finals play out. Golden State beat the Atlanta Dream 68-64 on Saturday and leads the best-of series 1-0 heading into Game 2 on Monday at 8 p.m. ET at Chase Center. What is known is that Nakase, listed at 5-foot-2, has built a reputation for an intense, detail-obsessed coaching style, including playing recordings of machine guns and bombs at a September practice to get her players used to loud, hostile environments. What is not known yet is how Game 2 will go or whether Golden State can close out the series at home. What happens next is Monday's game at Chase Center, with the Valkyries looking to extend their lead.

The practice that got attention

During a September scrimmage, Nakase asked for music to get her players used to loud arenas, center Kiah Stokes told ESPN. Instead of Nakase's usual playlist of Adele, Rihanna or Taylor Swift, the speakers played the sounds of machine guns and bombs. Stokes said her first reaction was, "This is not happening. She's literally playing war music." Nakase got the idea after watching Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla do something similar at NBA training camp and called it genius. Stokes said it forced the team to communicate louder, which was part of the point. Nakase described her mindset to ESPN plainly: "We're here to win or die."

Nakase's staff describes her as fiery, texting at 4 a.m. and thinking about the next game even during postgame handshake lines. Guard Tiffany Hayes told ESPN, "A basketball sicko, that sounds about right," adding, "She is the head of our snake."

An expansion team built in two years

Golden State was the WNBA's newest expansion franchise just 18 months ago, assembled from players left unprotected by other teams, without a superstar or real outside expectations. This season the Valkyries had the league's top-ranked defense, its best bench production and a strong home-court advantage. Those traits carried them to the 68-64 win over Atlanta on Saturday that put them up 1-0 in the Finals.

Golden State reached the Finals by beating the defending champion Las Vegas Aces 87-77 in overtime on the road this month, completing a sweep, according to the San Francisco Standard. General manager Ohemaa Nyanin and team president Jess Smith have worked alongside Nakase since the franchise's start in early 2024, when the roster and the team's identity did not exist yet. The Valkyries opened their Oakland training facility in February 2025.

Her path to Golden State

Before Golden State hired her as its first head coach in October 2024, Nakase was an assistant under Becky Hammon with the Las Vegas Aces for two WNBA championships. Hammon calls her "mighty mouse." Nakase has described her coaching style as a direct extension of how she played: "It's how I played, and now it's what I coach."

Facts per ESPN, The San Francisco Standard. Opinion is the taproom's.