SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase was back on the bench and and well enough to coach her team to a 71-60 Game 1 win in the WNBA semifinals Sunday against Las Vegas after she went down on the sideline two days earlier in the first-round clincher with what she described as exhaustion.
“Just exhaustion,” she said. “I ate and drank right after and felt better.”
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The 46-year-old Nakase said she was examined by a doctor during Saturday's off day ahead of the series opener Sunday and insists she will be “proactive” with both her health and mental health. The players encouraged her to take time for recovery, something she constantly stresses to them.
“I'm good. I had a little exhaustion obviously,” she said. “I think I talked to you guys about what I have to learn from my father. He was an extremely hard-working man. I followed in his footsteps and I thrive in that. But he told me, ‘Natalie,’ this was about 10 years ago when I never knew what I was going to do with my career and he just said, ‘do not let your career ever get involved if your mental health or your health gets complicated.’ So, when that happened, it definitely was like a wake-up call for me but I got checked through the doctors. Obviously everything looks good.”
On Sunday, Nakase sat on the bench for stretches when she's usually on her feet for the majority of a game. Assistants Kasib Powell and Landon Tatum rotated with her because she said she “couldn't vocalize” everything.
“I was all right, I wasn't my best but luckily I have an amazing staff,” she said.
She plans to something her dad didn't and “be proactive,” such as considering wearing a heart monitor and taking other steps to deal with her extreme work ethic. She already wears a tracking ring to monitor some health statistics.
“Information for me is really important,” she said. “I just want to be proactive, be smart. I understand this job for me I love it, sometimes I love it too much to a point I overwork. I just want to make sure I'm being smart.”
That might mean “no extra, extra, extra film” and sticking to the timeline on a given day.
“It's taking the time and organizing my mornings,” she said with changing game times and schedules. “... Everything's a little bit different with my routine.”
Nakase didn't address the team after the 77-73 win Friday night against the Dallas Wings at Chase Center, when her team rallied from a 16-point deficit.
With 1:40 remaining in the game, she was on the sideline near the Valkyries' bench and lowered to the floor with her head and hands on the court. Nakase was helped up by athletic trainer Katelin Knox. The coach finished the game but exited the floor immediately following the final buzzer escorted by a member of her staff as her team celebrated at midcourt.
The best-of-five matchup with the defending WNBA champion Aces features Nakase coaching against Becky Hammon, who had Nakase on her staff as an assistant coach from 2022-24 — when the team won consecutive titles in 2022 and '23.
Hammon called Nakase a “little mighty mouse work horse, there's no doubt about that.”
“The stress this time of year is real, the pressure, you don't get a lot of sleep, you're not eating as well as your probably should, there's a lot of factors that go into that,” Hammon said. “It was kind of scary actually to watch. That little sucker popped right back up though, popped right back up onto that marker and kept it pushing. She's tough.”
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