WNBA to Punish Valkyries Coach Natalie Nakase

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

WNBA to Punish Valkyries Coach Natalie Nakase

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Aug 22, 2026 9:53 PM ET

Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase will be fined $500 for her technical foul against the Chicago Sky.

On Friday, Golden State visited the Sky at Wintrust Arena but suffered a close 73-70 loss in an intense matchup.

The Valkyries coach was even handed a technical foul early in the second quarter for yelling at a referee. Nakase was incensed over a blown defensive three-second violation call.

Kenzo Fukuda of Clutchpoints detailed the context of the incident on his official X account.

“Natalie Nakase gets a technical for yelling at officials about not counting the defensive three-seconds,” Fukuda reported. “Broadcast hot mic caught her saying ‘You’re not even counting.’”

Former Las Vegas Aces assistant coach Natalie Nakase.© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Nakase’s technical foul will automatically incur a $500 fine from the WNBA under the new collective bargaining agreement, which is in full effect starting this season.

$500 is the minimum penalty for the first three technicals, while the fourth to seventh ones are now at $1,000 each, along with a letter from the league after the fifth technical.

Finally, the eighth technical foul will result in a $1,500 penalty and a one-game suspension, and each subsequent technical foul will incur a $1,500 penalty and a one-game suspension.

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The Valkyries dropped to 25-11 after suffering their second straight defeat on Friday. They remain second in the standings, 5.0 games behind the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx.

Nakase and Co. will continue their five-game road trip on Monday, traveling to Minneapolis to face the Lynx at Target Center.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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