By Tiffany Williams –
Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase has been named the 2025 State Street Investment Management SPY WNBA Coach of the Year, the league announced Wednesday.
Nakase took 53 of 72 votes from a national media panel, beating out Atlanta’s Karl Smesko (15 votes). Las Vegas’ Becky Hammon and Minnesota’s Cheryl Reeve tied for third with two votes apiece.
In her first season as a WNBA head coach, Nakase turned an expansion team into a playoff contender. Golden State finished 23-21, the most wins ever by a first-year franchise, and became the first expansion squad to make the playoffs in Year One.
The Valkyries recovered from a rough 2-5 start to rip off a 7-2 run in June, earning Nakase Coach of the Month honors. Down the stretch, she guided the team to winning streaks of four and five games to lock up a postseason berth.
Her blueprint? Defense and the deep ball. Golden State held opponents to a league-low 76.3 points per game and 40.5% shooting, while drilling a WNBA-best 9.7 threes per game.
Nakase’s players flourished under her system. Guard Veronica Burton won Most Improved Player, and forward Kayla Thornton earned her first All-Star nod.
The hire already looks like a franchise-defining move. Golden State plucked Nakase in October 2024 after she spent three years as an assistant with Las Vegas, helping the Aces win back-to-back titles. Before that, she logged a decade with the Los Angeles Clippers, finishing as an NBA assistant coach.