Valkyries coach Nakase goes down on sideline late in Golden State's playoff-clinching win over Wings

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase went down to her knees with her head and hands on the court near the team's bench with 1:40 left in a scary moment late in a 77-73 series-winning victory over the Dallas Wings on Friday night.

Nakase was helped up by athletic trainer Katelin Knox. She finished the game but exited the floor immediately following the final escorted by a member of her staff after the final buzzer, with her team celebrating at midcourt.

The team said she was feeling fine afterward, but assistant coach Kasib Powell addressed the media in a postgame news conference where she typically speaks.

“Natalie's fine, obviously it's a quick turnaround, we play again on Sunday. She wouldn't miss it for anything,” Powell said, adding: “It's still new to us, we're just trying to figure it out. We just know that we (saw) her afterward and she was fine, laughing, in great spirits. We'll figure out more as we go but I think she's totally fine, she's talking, she's laughing in the back. We look forward to preparing and getting ready for Sunday.”

The Valkyries will host the defending champion Las Vegas Aces for Game 1 in the best-of-five semifinals.

“She's OK, she's fine,” guard Gabby Williams said. “We just tried to step up ourselves. We’re just happy that she’s OK.”

Golden State rallied from 16 points down to eliminate the Wings in the deciding Game 3 at Chase Center. The 46-year-old Nakase guided the Valkyries to a history-making 2025 season as the first expansion team to make the playoffs in its inaugural season.

Guard Tiffany Hayes said she didn't see Nakase go down, then the coach was right back at it — even successfully winning a challenge.

“Didn't miss a beat," Powell said. "We were locked in as that happened, when she went to the sidelines she drew the next play up, she was in the huddle getting on them about getting a stop, so she didn't skip a beat at all.”

Powell added that the Valkyries kept their composure "and just rally around each other and her."

“We do know that she will be ready for Sunday,” Powell said.

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