Sep 6, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase signals to her team in the second quarter against the Minnesota Lynx at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images David Gonzales-Imagn Images

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert Botches Valkyries Coach Natalie Nakase's Name

Originally posted on Women's Fastbreak on SI
By Grant Young | Last updated Sep 17, 2025 11:49 PM ET

There were several WNBA coaches who saw a ton of success during this 2025 regular season.

The legendary Becky Hammon deserves a lot of credit for how she orchestrated the Las Vegas Aces' second-half surge, which included them winning 17 consecutive games before losing to the Seattle Storm on September 16. Hammon's decision to take former scoring champion Jewell Loyd out of the starting lineup and instead bring her off the bench completely changed the team's offense for the better.

Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve is in the WNBA Coach of the Year conversation every season, and this year was no different, given how great the No. 1-seeded Lynx looked all year. And Atlanta Dream first-year coach Karl Smesko deserves a ton of credit for what he did with that new-look franchise.

But just about everybody can agree that what Natalie Nakase did with the Golden State Valkyries this season (their first WNBA campaign after being made an expansion team) is nothing short of extraordinary.

Nakase bringing Golden State to the playoffs in their first year as a team is a staggering accomplishment. And it was only right that, as it was announced on September 17, Nakase won the 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year award, receiving 53 of a total of 72 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Cathy Engelbert Mispronounces Natalie Nakase's Name at Award Ceremony

Before the Valkyries' September 17 home game against the Lynx, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert presented Nakase with the award, which was captured in an X post from Joseph Dycus of the Mercury News.

However, when Engelbert said Nakase's last name out loud before giving her the Coach of the Year trophy, she mispronounced it.

Nakase is pronounced nah-KAH-say. Engelbert, however, pronounced it nah-KAY-see, which is causing several members of the women's basketball community to roll their eyes.

An awkward moment during the press conference. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert mispronounces Natalie Nakase’s last name during her speech. pic.twitter.com/cUxlQzZ8Ba
— Joseph Dycus (@joseph_dycus) September 18, 2025

Everybody makes mistakes, and Engelbert is an easy target for jokes, given her status and being a sort of embodiment for the league amid the ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations with players.

Still, this isn't a good look for the WNBA commissioner. Ultimately, it doesn't matter, as Nakase probably didn't even notice amid what was a career-defining moment for her.

And now her Valkyries squad is trying to put the finishing touches on an upset win over Cheryl Reeve's Lynx that would produce a winner-take-all Game 3 between these teams on September 19.

This article first appeared on Women's Fastbreak on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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