Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase was just named WNBA Coach of the Year Wednesday, but that is little consolation, as the Valkyries need to win tonight’s playoff game against the Minnesota Lynx or else their season is over.
Your Golden State Valkyries have racked up a number of impressive distinctions in their first season ever: selling out all of their home games, being the first women’s sports team to achieve a $500 million valuation, and being the first ever WNBA team to make the playoffs in their first season of existence.
Now Bay Area News Group reports on another distinction, that Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase has been awarded the WNBA Coach of the Year award. And that comes just days after Nakase was awarded the Associated Press WNBA Coach of the Year award.
There may not be too much celebrating of those awards tonight, though. Now that they’re in a first-round playoff battle with the Minnesota Lynx, the Valkyries face a win-or-be-eliminated game tonight against the Lynx in their best-of-three playoff series. The Valkyries lost Game 1 to Minnesota Sunday, 101-72, so a Game 2 loss tonight would eliminate the Valks and end their storybook season.
The game is at 7 pm Wednesday on ESPN. And as many have noted, even though it’s a Valkyries “home” game, the game will be played at the SAP Center in San Jose, because the Chase Center is booked for the Laver Cup tennis tournament.
It’s a very tall order for the Valkyries to win this game; the Minnesota Lynx were the best team in the WNBA this season with a 34-10 record, and the Valkyries have lost all five of their games to the Lynx this year. But it is still technically a home game, and Valkyries fans have in fact sold out the SAP Center too.
“Someone told me the arena is smaller than Chase Center, but I’m sure the fans are going to come through,” Valkyries forward Janelle Salaün told the Bay Area News Group. “I just know the fans are going to come through and it’s going to be amazing.”
Indeed, the Valkyries have an impressive 14-8 at home record this season. But folks, those were home games at the Chase Center, and not all the way down in San Jose.
Image: SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 06: Temi Fágbénlé #14 of the Golden State Valkyries talks to head coach Natalie Nakase against the Las Vegas Aces in the second quarter at Chase Center on August 06, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
