Golden State Valkyries Natalie Nakase named AP Coach of Year, Veronica Burton awarded Most Improved Player

SAN FRANCISCO — After a historic regular season, Golden State Valkyries Coach Natalie Nakase and guard Veronica Burton earned top honors from the Associated Press on Friday.

Nakase was named Coach of the Year and Burton was awarded Most Improved Player.

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According to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews, the Valkyries have been the biggest surprise of the WNBA this year, and their accomplishments start with Nakase. She’ll be the last one to take credit, always saying her staff has allowed her to succeed and that her players are the ones on the court. But Nakase has set an identity, a level of grit and buy-in for a team that 10 months ago didn’t have a single player on the roster.

During training camp, Nakase said she wanted her team to be centered around defense, and nearly five months later the Valkyries have the fourth-best defensive rating in the league (99.9) and allow the fewest opponent points (76.5).

Nakase has also led the development of players such as Burton and Thornton and international rookies like Carla Leite. Golden State has wildly outperformed expectations and is now the first expansion franchise to reach the playoffs in its first season.

Speaking of Burton, she has had a phenomenal year. She is one of just five players to average at least 10 points, 5 assists and 1.5 made 3-pointers per game (alongside Kelsey Plum, Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu and Skylar Diggins).

Andrews say she is the only player with three games with at least 10 assists and zero turnovers, and became the first player in league history to have 24 points, 14 assists and zero turnovers in a game in late August.

In July, the Valkyries lost Kayla Thornton, shortly after ESPN projected her as a front-runner for Most Improved Player. Since then, Burton became not only the best player on the team but one of the best players in the league.

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Her minutes have jumped from 12.7 with Connecticut last year to 29.2 this season, and her 12 points per game are four times her previous career high (3.1 PPG in 2024). Entering this season, Burton was often thought of as a defense-first guard, but her offensive game has grown, making her a decent threat from beyond the arc and a confident spot-up shooter.

Janelle Salaün was also named to AP’s All-Rookie Team. In her debut year with teh Valkyries, she’s average 11.3 points per game, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists.

And because of the contributions from Nakase, Burton and Salaün, the Valkyries made WNBA history becoming the first expansion team in their inaugural year to the make to the playoffs.

Although they have a tough matchup against the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx, this Valkyries team has shown they have the grit and tennacity to make anything happen.

Game 1 tips off at 10 a.m. Sunday on ESPN.