Valkyries coach inspires Bay Area's young Asian American athletes

San Francisco Chronicle​

16-05-2025

There's nothing special about the basketball court at Meyer Park in Fremont, with its cracked black asphalt, fading white paint and a splintering wood backboard. But it's the court where Jordyn Yamaguchi grew up playing with her dad and older brother.
'My dad would always bring us out here and he'd bring cones and everything,' Yamaguchi, a senior at Washington High School, said as she made her way around her childhood stomping grounds.
She started playing organized basketball in kindergarten. Since fifth grade she's been with the San Jose Ninjas organization, one of the many Asian American basketball leagues in the Bay Area.
But despite having a tight-knit Asian American and Pacific Islander sports community, Yamaguchi, who is Japanese American, didn't often see herself represented in higher levels of the sport — until now.
The Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA's first expansion team in 17 years, played their first regular-season game on Friday at Chase Center. Yamaguchi will be in the stands with a couple of friends and thousands of fans ready to back the new team led by Natalie Nakase, the first Asian American head coach in the league.
'It's just really huge,' Yamaguchi said. 'I feel like we're finally being seen, women and Asian Americans, through a sport, which never really was the case in the past.'
As of 2023, there had only been 12 players of Asian descent since the WNBA started in 1996.
Nakase, who is Japanese American, said during training camp she understands the significance of her place in history.
'I can handle being the first,' she said, 'but it's more important to me that I'm not the last.'
At 5-foot-2, Nakase walked on as a point guard at UCLA. She would eventually earn a scholarship and a spot in the starting lineup. She played professionally in the NWBL before the league folded in 2007.
In 2018, Nakase became one of the first female assistant coaches in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers. She then joined the WNBA in 2022 as an assistant coach for the Las Vegas Aces.
'I didn't grow up thinking like, 'Hey, let's be a role model,' or 'Let's be someone who inspires people.' I'm honestly just following my passion. I love basketball. I wouldn't know what to do without it. I'm actually just showing the world that when you have a passion and you work really, really hard, you can do anything,' Nakase said.
It's Nakase's trailblazing path that is now serving as a blueprint for young players like Yamaguchi.
'She's a great coach, she's well respected in our community. It was an eye-opening moment, seeing a girl who had a similar path that a lot of my close friends have right now and just seeing how successful she is and this big accomplishment, it's been really exciting for all of us,' Yamaguchi said.
For both Yamaguchi and Nakase, the basketball communities they grew up in were about more than just playing the game on the court.
Nakase said the game was a passion and love language she shared with her own dad. Her father taught her to push through obstacles and embrace struggle. Now she hopes to repay those life lessons with her players.
For Yamaguchi, Asian Leagues have allowed her to connect with lifelong friends who not only share the same passion but the same background.
'We've all connected over a sport, but we've also been able to bond over culture and heritage. I've made meaningful relationships with so many Asian league coaches as well as people from teams in Sacramento and teams in L.A.'
Yamaguchi will start the next chapter of her basketball career playing for Cal Lutheran at the NCAA Division III level, where she hopes to inspire the next generation of young players.
'Finally being here and having girls look to me in my community and at the next level, I just think it's really important to have confidence in yourself because you're going to get where you want to be if you just put the time and effort in,' Yamaguchi said.
Until then, she'll be attending Valkyries games this season, including the season opener on Friday, cheering on her own role models.
'I've grown up going to NBA games, but never WNBA games until now. I feel it'll just be that much more personal to me just because I grew up being a girl playing basketball. Finally I can experience it at a professional level,' Yamaguchi said.