Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase goes from sideline to broadcast booth in ‘full-circle’ night
SAN FRANCISCO — On Monday night, Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase – the ultra-firey, pace-the-sideline, clap-until-your-hands-hurt competitor – swapped her usual spot near the scorer’s table for a headset and a monitor in the broadcast booth.
The intensity that typically ricochets from the bench funneled through a microphone instead as Nakase stepped into the broadcast booth for the Golden State Warriors’ matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers, offering analysis rather than play calls.
Nakase shared the telecast with women’s basketball icon Cheryl Miller, who said beforehand that her partner was “a natural” and already “running the show,” joking that she even gave Nakase permission to let a little sideline-style fire slip through the mic.
The assignment also carried personal weight.
Opposite the Warriors’ bench stood Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, Nakase’s longtime mentor. For one night, the coach known for her edge and emotion wasn’t diagramming plays for the longtime NBA coach. She was dissecting them, bringing the same competitive spark from the hardwood to the headset.
“It’s a full-circle moment,” Nakase said of Lue before Monday’s game. “I’ll get to learn again because I get to see him in action, so that’ll be fun. … I owe him a lot and he’s a huge reason why I wear this hat today.”
And once the ball went up, the gratitude and perspective came through in real time.
The 45-year-old coach layered the broadcast with personal insight, explaining to the viewers how Lue taught her the value of patience.
She broke down Steve Kerr’s pick and roll defense, praising the discipline behind the Warriors’ defensive rotations, and offered a coach’s eye view of what made the defense click.
When big man Al Horford swatted away a shot in the second quarter, Nakase cracked a joke about how the veteran still had a little bounce in his game, blending the humor with her appreciation for his longevity.
Nakase also made sure to get a laugh out of herself when the broadcast suddenly showed a picture of her back in her UCLA playing days. Miller pointed out that Nakase’s shorts looked more like sweatpants, to which she said, “You guys are embarrassing me.”
When the conversation switched to Stephen Curry’s absence, Nakase spoke like someone who knows the aches of waiting. She noted how she believed Curry was “dying to get out there,” then later in the game, drew a parallel to the Valkyries’ own stretch without All-Star Kayla Thonrton.
“She was our leader. She was our defensive stopper. So nothing can replace KT. We all had to do it collectively,” Nakase said on the broadcast. “Credit again, to my brilliant staff, but also to the players for being coachable. We coached them hard. They didn’t mind it. They didn’t mind me yelling at them, cursing at them, because they wanted to win. They wanted to win at any cost.”
For Valkyries’ fans, that perspective, and her visible presence on an NBA stage, felt like more than a one-night cameo. With ongoing WNBA collective bargaining negotiations casting uncertainty over next season and raising the possibility of a potential lockout, Nakase’s appearance offered a tangible reminder of what’s ahead: A franchise still building, still preparing and still pushing forward.
Even against the unsettled backdrop, Nakase isn’t operating as if anything is on pause. She said her staff is already deep into the offseason preparation.
“We just had our coaches retreat,” Nakase said. “I killed my coaches in the mornings. We had morning workouts. We did some on the stairs. We did some yoga. We did some beach walking, and then just enjoyed the sun. I gave them a little bit of relaxation, a little bit of Vitamin D. But we’re ready. We’re gearing up.”
Even from a different vantage point, Nakase’s presence resonated.
For one night, the roles were flipped. The former assistant studying her mentor from above instead of alongside him. The coach known for pacing the sideline was now narrating it. But the respect between them remains unchanged, the connection still evident in the way they spoke about each other.
“It’s always great to see Natalie,” Lue said before the game. “Her (broadcasting) the game is something different. But like I said, it is full-circle and it’s always great to see Natalie.”