For the second consecutive season, Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase has been the most impressive coach in the WNBA.
Coach of the Year is one of the most peculiar awards in sports. The award is typically given to a coach who exceeded external expectations, and due to the media’s limited inside-access to teams and locker rooms, it’s sometimes difficult to discern exactly who to credit and who to blame for a team’s performance.
Still, it’s our job to try.
Last year, Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase was the near-universal winner of the WNBA’s Coach of the Year award. Normally, that would mean she probably wouldn’t win it again, at least for a few years.
But after much consideration, I’m once again voting for Nakase, who has turned the Valkyries from a fringe playoff team in Year 1 to one of the most dominant teams in the WNBA.
The Valkyries have maximized their roster and have the second-best record in the WNBA at 31-12. They also have the best point differential in the league, outscoring opponents by an average of 7.2 points per game (which even outpaces the Minnesota Lynx’s +6.9 net rating).
A lot of their success has been powered by their defense — the Valkyries have by far the best defensive rating in the WNBA at 99.4. (For reference, the second-best defensive rating in the WNBA is the Mystics’ 103.8. It’s not close). The Valkyries hold opponents to 75.1 points per game; the next-lowest opponent points per game is the Mystics’ 82.5 average.
Natalie Nakase won Coach of the Year last year, too, and typically, voters don’t reward coaches in back-to-back seasons. But I’ve mulled this over quite a bit, and if A’ja Wilson can win MVP year after year, why can’t Nakase be rewarded for outdoing her exceptional Year 1 performance?
The Valkyries were awesome in their first year post-expansion. In the early days of the season, it seemed that the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo might follow in their footsteps. But both teams now have bottom-three records, finishing their season vastly differently than the Valkyries did last year, when they secured the 8th seed with a 23-21 record.
Instead of remaining stagnant or even backsliding, Nakase and her staff ensured the team would take another massive step forward in Year 2, building upon an already-strong defensive identity to become an absolute powerhouse on that end of the floor. Now, the Valkyries are not just a playoff team — they’re a legitimate championship contender, despite not having a single player who averages 15 or more points per game.
Nakase has masterfully managed the minutes and loads of a deep Golden State roster. She’s helped instill confidence in backup point guard Kaitlyn Chen, who is having a career year. She’s continued to entrust Veronica Burton as a franchise player, and Burton has consequently been one of the most effective players in the games, based on numerous advanced analytics. She’s figured out how to get the most out of veterans like Tiffany Hayes and Kayla Thornton, who have seen more reduced on-court roles this season but continue to be absolutely critical components of the team’s success. And she’s helped turn Kiah Stokes into a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
Are the Valkyries poised for postseason success, or are they just a regular-season juggernaut? Right now, it’s too soon to tell, though the next couple of weeks will provide those answers. Still, this is a regular-season award, and no one has done a better job of maximizing their roster than the second-year Valkyries head coach.
Other candidates I considered for WNBA Coach of the Year
While I ultimately went with Nakase, there were several other strong candidates for the award.
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve deserves a ton of credit for how she manages to empower rookie point guard Olivia Miles, deal with Napheesa Collier’s extended absence, and help Natasha Howard achieve a career year. The Lynx were the best team in the league all season long, and had they finished the year far ahead of the Valkyries, Reeve’s case would have been particularly salient. Ultimately, Reeve was working with a far more talented roster than Nakase’s — Napheesa Collier, Olivia Miles, Natasha Howard, Kayla McBride, and Courtney Williams have all been All-Stars in the past two seasons — and the Lynx currently sit just a game ahead of the Valkyries in the standings.
Washington Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson also deserves consideration for this award. Few could have projected that the Mystics would be where they’re at right now, and it’s clear that Johnson has been the perfect fit for a young squad headlined by Shakira Austin, Sonia Citron, and Kiki Iriafen. The Mystics have had the second-best defense in the WNBA and have gotten the most out of role players like Michaela Onyenwere and Cotie McMahon.
And Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon is a perennial candidate for this award. The Aces are once again among the WNBA’s best teams (currently holding a 30-13 record), despite losing Chennedy Carter midseason and NaLyssa Smith to an ACL tear. But Las Vegas will be rewarded elsewhere on the ballot, and given that so much of this award historically centers around exceeding expectations, Hammon is in a tough spot considering she coaches two Team USA Olympic guards in Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray, and the best player in the game in A’ja Wilson.