Transcript: Steve Kerr and Natalie Nakase interview

at Jun 25 Chalk Talk

This was an event for Valkyries season ticket holders. Natalie was a bit tired, since this was minutes after her suffering a last-minute loss to the Liberty and doing a press conference and racing over to this event. But she and Steve were warm and charming. But as usual with these fan event Chalk Talks: don’t expect much Chalk (strategy, Xs and Os), it’s just Talk.  

Here are a few excerpts from the conversation.

Getting started in basketball

Morgan Ragan

What was the first thing that ultimately made you fall in love with a game of basketball? 

Natalie Nakase

It's hard sitting next to a legend [Kerr] who I watched… the championships. I fell in love with the game because of my dad. Um my dad's passion was basketball and basically basketball was our love language. So he played and I would just sit there and watch and then eventually he made me play and I just fell in love with the game. So that's pretty much my story.

Steve Kerr

I don't know if you know this: Natalie was a UCLA Bruin. And I fell in love going to UCLA games because my dad was a Professor at UCLA, and I walked into Pauley Pavilion for the first time. I was probably five years old. They were winning the national championship every year with John Wooden coaching. I walked in, and it's like walking into a Valks game. It's like the energy and the colors and the vibe. It was incredible and I fell in love immediately and I've loved the game ever since.

Morgan Ragan

You just mentioned, though, Natalie, the love language of basketball. What was it that connected you with your dad with the game? Was it watching film? Was it actually getting your hand on the basketball with him? What was it?

Natalie Nakase

I think it was competing against my family. My sister is in the audience and I think my dad just created this environment for he had three little girls. I was supposed to be a boy, I was supposed to be Nathan. And he just created this environment between all three of us about competing and beating each other up and playing one-on-one and then two on two. And yeah, I think that's just what I love: I love competing and I love the wins. So I think that's what it was. 

Becoming a coach

Morgan Ragan

Was there a moment in time in your basketball life where it was like, oh, I want to be a head coach?

Steve Kerr

No, I mean I love playing so much and I didn't want to give up the game when I stopped playing. I love being around. I loved being part of a team and it was just kind of a natural thing to go into after I retired.

Natalie Nakase

Yeah, I agree. I played. I ended up hurting my knee. So I was pretty much done with it. Like basketball was my passion. It was all I really know what to do. And so when I was finished playing, I was like Sure, why not? Let's be a coach, let's stay involved. And again, like watching you [Kerr] when I coached in the NBA, like I really wanted to be like you. You won multiple championships, and you brought these players together. And what I loved about watching you was you guys competed, but you had so much joy. And that's what I really try to push to my players is like you want to compete, but you want to have fun and almost like it's like a party. So yeah. I want to be like him [Kerr].

[chunk omitted… have to keep some stuff for the Season Ticket Holders]

Nakase shadows Kerr

Morgan Ragan

Steve, do you remember anything that you said in that conversation? Before she went into her first season as a head coach? 

Steve Kerr

Natalie was great. You know, she called me late this season and said, would you mind if I sat in on some of your coaches' meetings? And so. She was with us, I don't know, probably seven or eight different meetings and a lot of practice time. We spent a lot of time together. And I hope it was helpful. I mean, you know, she was very respectful, I mean, you know, asked some questions, but for the most part, just kind of observed, and I did the same thing when I first started coaching with other coaches who I approached to ask to do something similar. I think it's good to see how everyone operates, but then you have to create your own style and you have to be yourself. 

And so she's doing a great job of that. You know, there's a vibe. That you feel when you walk into the building. There's a vibe with the team. My favorite thing, I have two granddaughters now. And brought them to the game last week. They're really small, and who knows if they're going to play basketball or not. But my favorite thing is coming in here. And seeing all the little girls in the stands look so inspired and excited. How cool is that? And I think what you guys are doing is you're putting a good team on the floor, and you're creating a lot of excitement for all of the fans here, but you're also creating a lot of inspiration for a lot of little girls around the bay, and it's just awesome, it makes me really happy.

(Not) Decompressing

Morgan Ragan

How do you decompress during the season?

Natalie Nakase

That's what the off-season is for. We don't sleep. I'll be texting my coaches around one or two o'clock in the morning. But that's why. I mean the players playing so well. It's all the preparation that my coaching staff, I have the hardest working coach and staff, I think. in the league, so just credit to them. You guys don't see the text messages, the Facetime that they do for our players. It goes beyond just what's on the court. And so I think that's why you see a special team out there.

Steve Kerr

You know, my first few years I was up at 2 o'clock in the morning, too, watching a game, and now I go home and I can just go right to sleep. I'm too tired to do that. I wait until the next day. You know, maybe in year 11, you'll start getting better sleep. But we're so lucky to do what we do. You know, it's kind of weird to take so much joy in watching tape of the exact game that you just coached. We're a little strange. We're a little off.

Morgan Ragan

How many hours are you on Synergy every night? 

Steve Kerr

Oh, I mean, you know, it's just automatic. The game ends, and all we can think about it. The game and our players, what they need, what they did. And so you open up that computer and you watch it, and then you watch it again, and then you have a meeting with your staff. From the outside looking in it would seem like a ton of work, but this is what we love to do, so it doesn't really feel like work.