Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase will wear heart monitor following collapse

SAN FRANCISCO ― Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase held a pregame press conference to address her collapse late in the fourth quarter of her team's Game 3 win over the Dallas Wings in the first round of the WNBA playoffs on Oct. 2.

Nakase told reporters on Sunday that she experienced "a little exhaustion." She got checked by doctors and said she will wear a heart monitor to gather information.

"Thank you guys obviously for your concerns and everything. I'm good," she said. "I think I talked to you guys about that, I wanted to learn from my father. He was an extremely hard-working man. I follow in his footsteps and I thrive in that.

"He just said, 'Do not let your career ever get involved in your mental health or your health gets complicated.' So when that happened, it definitely was like a wake-up call for me. I got checked through doctors to see if everything looks good."

During a timeout, Nakase was talking to a official and fell to the floor. She immediately received attention from assistant coaches and medical staff who helped her back to her feet and walked her to the bench where she continued to draw plays and coach the team.

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Following the game, Valkyries assistant coach Kasib Powell and guards Tiffany Hayes and Gabby Williams told reporters that Nakase was OK.

Nakase said she didn't do anything differently. She ate and was well-hydrated going into the game on Friday. Nakase said she plans to be more discipline in taking care of own health, following her brief collapse.

"You know what I'm gonna do that my dad didn't do (and may he rest in peace) I'm gonna be proactive," Nakase said. "I think information for me is important and so I'm going to look to wear a heart monitor, just for information, just to see. You know, I have this Oura ring. But I just wanna be proactive, be smart. I understand this job for me, I love it. Sometimes I love it too much to a point where I overwork and I just wanna make sure I'm being smart."

Nakase drew concern from many including Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon, who has a good relationship with Nakase from when she coached under Hammon as an assistant coach in Las Vegas.

"That was kind of scary actually to to watch," Hammon told reporters on Sunday before their semifinals Game 1 matchup. "That little sucker popped right back up. Right back up onto that marker and kept it pushing so she's tough."