Natalie Nakase told reporters Sunday that she felt “a little exhaustion” when she collapsed while talking to an official during Game 3 of the Valkyries’ first-round series against the Wings on Friday.
Nakase was cleared by doctors to coach Sunday’s series-opening 71-60 win against the Aces. The Valkyries head coach said she would wear a heart monitor to get more information about her health.
“Thank you guys, obviously, for your concerns and everything. I’m good,” she told reporters on Sunday. “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.”
Nakase collapsed with 1:40 left in the game when she was talking with an official near the team bench.
All of a sudden, the 46-year-old coach dropped to the ground and had her head and hands on the court.
Medical personnel and other coaches quickly came to check on her.
Nakase remained on the bench for the remainder of the game but left the court with a member of her staff after the game ended.
Aces head coach Becky Hammon told reporters on Sunday that the incident was “scary” to see while also describing Nakase, who was an assistant under Hammon in Las Vegas, as “tough.”
The incident has Nakase putting emphasis on making sure her health is in a good place.
“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.”
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