[3] Nakase grew up in Huntington Beach, California, where she attended Marina High School and was a four-year letterman playing basketball.

[3] Nakase redshirted as a freshman after injuring her left knee in an August summer league game, which required reconstructive surgery to repair her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

[9] She coached an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team,[3] and went to Germany to play one season with Herner TC in 2007–08, when she again tore knee ligaments.

[3][8][10][11] Opting to retire as a player rather than undergoing surgery again,[8][12] Nakase coached for the Wolfenbüttel Wildcats in the Damen-Basketball-Bundesliga for the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons.

[3][8][10] She then prepared a scouting report for the team's next opponent, which led to a volunteer assistant coaching position under Hill.

[3][10] After the Apache folded at the end of the season, Saitama Broncos head coach Dean Murray hired Nakase as an assistant at the urging of Hill.

[10][3] In September 2012, Nakase began a yearlong internship in the NBA with the Los Angeles Clippers, working under the team's video coordinator.

[27] On February 25, 2022, Nakase joined the WNBA as an assistant to the Las Vegas Aces's new head coach, Becky Hammon.

[2] On October 10, 2024, the expansion team Golden State Valkyries announced that they had hired Nakase as their first head coach.