Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase will be an assistant coach with Team USA’s women’s basketball team during an upcoming FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico, per the team. It is common for Team USA to send alternate players and coaches to qualifying tournaments in an effort to solidify depth. It will be the first time Nakase will be on Team USA’s staff for a tournament. She was a part of the team’s training camp late last year.
Nakase’s star has risen quickly in the coaching ranks. The Anaheim native is coming off winning the WNBA’s Coach of the Year Award in her first season as head coach for the Valkyries. She led the expansion team to a 23-21 record and a spot in the WNBA playoffs.
While Nakase did not become a household coaching name until last season, she had already built an impressive resume. In 2012, she became the first woman to be a head coach in Japan’s top men’s basketball league. Following the season, she returned to the United States to join the Los Angeles Clippers organization. She steadily climbed the franchise’s player development ranks over the next nine years before becoming a top assistant with the Las Vegas Aces, where she won a WNBA title.