Natalie Nakase

Legendary card · No. 1769

Natalie Mitsue Nakase ( nə-KAH-say; born April 18, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Golden State Valkyries of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). After retiring as a player, she was a head coach for both men's and women's professional teams. Nakase was later an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). She then won two WNBA championships as an assistant coach for the Las Vegas Aces in 2022 and 2023. In 2025, she was named the WNBA Coach of the Year in her first season with the Valkyries. Nakase grew up in Orange County, California, where she was honored as the county's high school player of the year. She played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, receiving honorable mention as an all-conference player in the Pacific-10 in 2002. A third-generation Japanese American, she became the first Asian American to play in the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL...

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