Some advice takes years to make sense. About a decade ago, when Natalie Nakase was still unsure where her career would take her, her father, Gary, gave her one simple piece of advice: “Do not let your career ever get involved if your mental health or your health gets complicated”. Gary died in 2021, and his words stayed with her. Then, on Friday night, Nakase’s own body forced her to confront them. With the Golden State Valkyries closing out their first-round series against Dallas, Nakase went down on the sideline and later described the episode as a “wake-up call,” saying she planned to wear a heart monitor, alongside her Oura Ring, ahead of Game 1 of the semifinals against the Aces.

And there she was two days later, back on the sideline for Game 1 against the Las Vegas Aces, wearing a heart monitor, per the LA Times, as the Valkyries opened their semifinal series. Watching from the other side was Aces head coach Becky Hammon, who worked closely with Nakase during their time together in Las Vegas and knows how hard she works all too well.

“She is a little mighty mouse workhorse. There’s no doubt about that,” Hammon said during the pre-game press conference, a clip of which was posted by Valkyries United on YouTube.

“But the stress of this time of year is real. The pressure, you don’t get a lot of sleep. You’re not eating as well as you probably should. There’s a lot of factors that go into that. It was actually kind of scary to watch. That little sucker popped right back up, though, right back up onto that marker and kept it pushing. So she’s tough.”

On October 2, with 1:40 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Valkyries’ winner-take-all Game 3 against the Wings, Nakase suddenly went down on the sideline during a timeout while speaking with an official. Athletic trainer Katelin Knox helped Nakase back to her feet, while Kaitlyn Chen and members of the coaching staff rushed over to check on her.

But Natalie Nakase, being the tough nut she is, quickly returned to the sidelines and guided the Valkyries to complete a remarkable 16-point comeback to beat Dallas 77-73. In fact, Powell said Nakase was laughing and was in good spirits afterward. However, the coach didn’t make it to the post-game presser that night, with Nakase addressing the incident for the first time on Sunday during her pregame media availability ahead of Game 1 against the Aces.

“Thank you, guys, for your concerns and everything. I’m good. Had a little exhaustion,” she said. “I’ve talked to you guys about what I have to learn from my father…So when that happened, it definitely was like a wake-up call for me. I got checked through the doctors. Everything looks good. But you know what I’m gonna do? What my dad didn’t do? May he rest in peace. I’m going to be proactive.”

Nakase’s relationship with work runs deeper than her father, though. During a visit to Japan, she learned that her grandfather built and ran a plant nursery, and that the relentless work ethic she associated with Gary had been passed down to him, too. “My dad just didn’t come out of nowhere,” Nakase later reflected.

So Nakase’s dedication has never been difficult to spot either. She once turned down a full scholarship to UC Irvine to chase a spot at UCLA, where she arrived as a walk-on and eventually became a starter and captain. And before she became an NBA assistant coach, she was an unpaid video intern with the Clippers. Vinny Del Negro noticed her after seeing the detailed notes she took during a handful of summer workouts and eventually hired her. Six years later, she had worked her way into a full-time assistant coaching role.

“I understand this job for me. I love it. Sometimes I love it too much to a point where I overwork, and so I just want to make sure I’m being smart,” Nakase added.

Nakase already had one practical change in mind. Being proactive could mean cutting out the “extra, extra, extra film” and sticking to the timeline instead of continually pushing her workday further. With changing game times already throwing off her routine, she said organizing her mornings would also become part of the adjustment. And this came after Nakase’s players had urged her to take time to recover following the Dallas game. Understandably so, after all, in August, they had seen her lose her voice after yelling so much during a win over Toronto.

On Sunday, against the Aces, Nakase sat for stretches of a game she usually spends mostly standing, with assistants Kasib Powell and Landon Tatum rotating alongside her because she said she could not vocalize everything. The Valks still beat the Las Vegas Aces 71-60 at Chase Center to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

Golden State outrebounded Las Vegas 52-25, while Gabby Williams led the way with 25 points. Kaitlyn Chen also added 11 points off the bench, including a running layup that gave the Valkyries a 64-53 lead with 6:56 remaining. And although the Aces tried to fight their way back, Golden State never let them fully close the gap.