Natalie Nakase had to prove herself long before she became the head coach of the Golden State Valkyries. Standing just 5-foot-2, the former UCLA walk-on entered the NBA coaching ranks as a video intern with the Los Angeles Clippers. Not everyone believed she would eventually become a head coach. Even Blake Griffin, one of the NBA’s biggest stars at the time, initially struggled to envision that future for her.

In a candid recollection of her time with the Clippers, the Valkyries coach revealed how Griffin’s skepticism became personal motivation.

Dwayne Wade asked, “I have a question that we talked about, and this to me is the eye test, right? If I’m walking in and I’m a young player, very early in your career, and I have a little short Asian woman telling me she’s going to help me develop basketball, I’m going to say, “Why should I trust you to de help me develop basketball?’ from the eye test, right?”

“Blake jumped off the charts right away, and I came through video right. ” Nakase replied to Dwyane Wade’s question if players had doubts over her ability to help them develop.

“Blake was like, ‘So, what are you doing here?’ I was like, ‘Well, I want to become a coach one day, you know.’ He goes, ‘I don’t really see that happening.’ Blake’s just straightforward. And I was like, ‘This mother f——.’ So, as Blake turned around, I visually like put a target on his back. I was like, ‘Someone I got to get,’ she said on the Timeout podcast.

Natalie Nakase began her journey with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2012 as an unpaid video intern. Two years later, she made history as the first woman to sit on an NBA bench, joining the team’s Summer League coaching staff as an assistant. By 2017-18, she had moved up to an assistant coaching role with the Clippers’ G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers. That opportunity also meant she was closely working with Blake Griffin.

While recovering from an injury, Griffin was assigned to the G League team. And then he trusted Nakase to run his intense, private on-court workouts as he prepared to return to the NBA. While at first Blake was skeptical, he ended up praising the now Valkyries head coach.

That came during a Houston playoff series; Nakase took responsibility for warming up Glen “Big Baby” Davis. He was exhausted, but impressed by what Nakase had put him through. “He goes, ‘God damn. Nat, just put me through a hell of a workout. She’s going to be a great coach one day,’” Nakase recalled Davis saying.

Blake Griffin then took the praise a step further. “And Blake was like, ‘No, she’s going to be a great NBA head coach one day.’” For Nakase, the moment came from someone whose opinion she had wanted to change.

At 5-foot-2, she did not fit the traditional image of an NBA coach. But she never needed to look the part. Blake Griffin made sure to back Nakase publically as well.

“She’s great. She does so much work behind the scenes that people don’t see. Her knowledge of the game and how hard she works—she deserves this opportunity as much as anybody. Once you see someone who knows the game and can help you get better, it doesn’t matter who they are.”

The Valkyries head coach understood early on in her career that breaking into the NBA would require her to find a different route to the coaching profession. She followed Erik Spoelstra, now the Miami Heat’s longtime head coach’s path. He built his career through video work rather than following the conventional path of a former player.

Nakase coached professionally in Germany and Japan, including becoming the first woman to serve as head coach in Japan’s men’s professional league with the Saitama Broncos. She later joined the Las Vegas Aces as an assistant, helping the franchise win WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023.

Her appointment as the Valkyries’ inaugural head coach in October 2024 brought her journey full circle. She became the first Asian American head coach in WNBA history and led the expansion franchise into its first season in 2025.

From an unpaid video intern breaking down film for the Clippers to leading a new WNBA franchise, Natalie Nakase has come a long way. Now, she has the chance to take the Valkyries all the way to a WNBA championship.