Natalie Mitsue Nakase 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, Nakase was a head coach for both men's and women's professional teams. She 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.Nakase played in the NWBL for two seasons, playing with the San Jose Spiders in 2005 and the San Diego Siege in 2006. She was the league's first Asian-American player.A third-generation Japanese-American, she became the first Asian American to play in the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL). Nakase went into coaching, and served as a head coach of a women's team in Germany before becoming the first female head coach in Japan's top pro men's league.She became an NBA assistant for the Clippers in 2018, and joined the WNBA's Aces in 2022, when she became the first Asian American coach to win an WNBA title.
Nakase played in the NWBL for two seasons, playing with the San Jose Spiders in 2005 and the San Diego Siege in 2006. She was the league's first Asian-American player.
A third-generation Japanese-American, she became the first Asian American to play in the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL). Nakase went into coaching, and served as a head coach of a women's team in Germany before becoming the first female head coach in Japan's top pro men's league.
She became an NBA assistant for the Clippers in 2018, and joined the WNBA's Aces in 2022, when she became the first Asian American coach to win an WNBA title.