How the Golden State Valkyries started their franchise with the 2024 WNBA Expansion Draft

The Valkyries could pick up to one player from every other franchise in the expansion draft. However, they passed on selecting a player from the Seattle Storm.

The players the Valkyries selected and what team they were on are as follows:

• Iliana Rupert, Atlanta Dream
• Maria Conde, Chicago Sky
• Veronica Burton, Connecticut Sun
• Carla Leite, Dallas Wings
• Temi Fagbenle, Indiana Fever
• Kate Martin, Las Vegas Aces
• Stephanie Talbot, Los Angeles Sparks
• Cecilia Zandalasini, Minnesota Lynx
• Kayla Thornton, New York Liberty
• Monique Billings, Phoenix Mercury
• Julie Vanloo, Washington Mystics

The biggest thing Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin and head coach Natalie Nakase emphasized about the players they selected was the level of competitiveness they play with, no matter their experience level in the WNBA. 

“There’s a lot of unknown, I think, in building a team on a blank canvas. You just don’t know,” Nyanin told reporters after the draft. “So the competitive spirit that each of these individuals have individually and now hopefully collectively is what we focused on, and then we also focused on them as humans. … I care about these athletes. I care about what type of coffee they like [and] what brings them joy. And I think what will win basketball games is their just unapologetic nature of wanting to always compete.”

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The group of players selected is very diverse, from both a basketball standpoint and an experience standpoint. Players like Thornton, Talbot and Billings have played in the WNBA for at least six seasons. There are also younger players like Martin, Burton and Rupert, who are all under the age of 25 and have three or fewer seasons under their belt.

One of the biggest things that jumps off the page is how international they are. Six of the 11 selections are from outside the United States, and two have yet to play a single minute in the WNBA. Yet Nakase said that was not a specific focus for the Valkyries. It just happened to be that six of the players they liked were from outside the U.S.

From a basketball standpoint, the players the Valkyries selected have a very diverse skillset. All of them bring different things to the team, but the two main commonalities are that they are versatile defenders and most of them can shoot the ball.

Players like Thornton, Burton and Fagbenle bring solid and versatile defense, while Martin, Talbot and Rupert bring a combination of shooting and size. Nakase comes to Golden State from Las Vegas, where head coach Becky Hammon has emphasized defense and 3-point shooting. The first head coach of the Valkyries is following a similar blueprint to the place she helped win two straight WNBA championships.

“Versatility is key,” Nakase told reporters after the draft. “That’s one word defensively that I kept saying. We’re going to hang our hat on the defensive end. So to be able to guard multiple positions is going to be really key. At the same time, too, we want to be a great rebounding team.

“But … it’s not really physically what I’m looking at. It’s coming from their heart and their competitive spirit.”

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The Valkyries drafted three point guards in Burton, Leite and Vanloo. Each of them brings a different value at that floor general spot. Burton is a defensive stopper who is very aggressive on the ball and makes life difficult for whomever she’s guarding. Burton didn’t see a ton of playing time last year with Connecticut, setting a career low in minutes played. Her defense intensity fits what Nakase wants to do, but she will need to expand her offensive game to help the Valkyries.

Vanloo and Leite are both international point guards with national team experience. Vanloo, a native of Belgium, had a great rookie season for the Mystics in 2024 at age 31. She ranked in the top 10 in the WNBA in 3-point attempts as well as in the top 12 in 3-pointers made. She is also a great passer, as she ranked ninth in the WNBA in total assists last year.

Though Vanloo will be 32 next season, she is the perfect player to lead the Valkyries from Day 1. Her experience from overseas and on the Belgian national team will be perfect for her to step right into the Golden State team.

“Julie is a ball of fire,” Nyanin said. “She has that spunk. She has that aura of trying to win. Her competitive edge — she’s a EuroBasket gold medalist. She competed in the Olympics this year. … What we can see from our seats is that she just seems like she’s a happy person. She seems like her goal is to play basketball and to win games, and she seems like she doesn’t take herself too seriously. And so that’s exactly what we need in terms of an entrepreneurial spirit in wanting to come and be a Valkyrie.”

Leite was a first-round pick in the 2024 college draft for the Dallas Wings but never came over from France to play in the WNBA. Leite is only 20 years old but has been playing at many levels in France, both professionally and on different levels of the national team. Leite is good in the pick-and-roll and is getting better. She is a good future asset for the Valkyries, but whether she will come over for their inaugural season is unknown at the moment.

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The only other guard the Valkyries drafted was Martin, a player Nakase has a strong relationship with. Martin was a second-round pick last year for the Aces and started the year strong for Las Vegas when starting point guard Chelsea Gray was hurt. Her minutes trailed off toward the end of the year with the addition of veteran Tiffany Hayes.

Martin has great length for an off-ball guard, allowing her to defend multiple positions. She also can shoot 3-pointers well, making her a good “3-and-D” prospect. It will only be her second year in the league, so Martin will continue to grow, but she is poised to impact this new Valkyries team in 2025.

“Being a part of history is something really cool,” Martin told reporters after the draft. “It’s something I’m going to be able to talk about for the rest of my life and tell my kids one day, that I was a part of an expansion draft and the first WNBA team in San Francisco. That is something super cool, and I feel really honored that they chose me and I get to be a part of this franchise. …

“I feel really grateful that I am going out to San Francisco to have a new beginning, a fresh start, and there’s going to be a lot of room to grow there. Everybody is going to be learning a new system, but I’m really excited to play for Coach Nat. I think she instills a lot of confidence in her players, and that’s something she hangs her hat on.”

The remaining seven selections by Golden State were forwards. The players who made the biggest impact for their respective teams in 2024 were Billings and Fagbenle.

Billings is coming off a career year in which she split time between Dallas and Phoenix. She put up career highs in minutes, points and rebounds. She is an athletic forward who runs the floor well and is tenacious on the glass. Nakase talked about wanting to be a strong rebounding team, and Billings has averaged at least five rebounds per game in all but one of her seven WNBA seasons so far.

Fagbenle burst onto the scene last year with the Fever after not playing in the WNBA for four seasons. The 32-year-old set career highs in every statistical category in 2024. Despite missing some time with injury, Fagbenle made a huge impact on the Fever with her athleticism and ability to run the pick-and-roll well. She was so impactful that Nakase had to make a special defense just for her when the Fever played the Aces.

“When I saw her name, I was obviously very excited,” Nakase said. “She played very well against us, myself last year with the Aces, and I even made a special defense for her specifically. So I’m just really excited to have her. … She has a really great personality, and I think that’s really going to be infectious.”

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Other veteran players the Aces drafted were Talbot and Thornton. Talbot is heading into her seventh WNBA season in 2025. She had a tough year last season with the Sparks as she returned from an ACL injury that occurred when she was playing overseas in 2023. But Talbot can stretch the floor with her shooting and has a high basketball IQ, and she set a career high in assists last season. The Australia native has spent a lot of time with her national team and knows how to play at a high level. Her shooting from the forward spot will be of great value to Golden State.

Thornton has gone head-to-head with her new coach in the past two postseasons during her time with the Liberty. She will fit perfectly for what Nakase is trying to build in San Francisco. Thornton is a great defender who can guard multiple positions. She also can knock down threes at a high rate. She has the most experience in the league of any player the Valkyries drafted, as she will be heading into her 10th season. That experience will be incredibly valuable to this new team, and she will be someone it leans on for leadership during its first year.

“For me personally, it was the hardest pick,” Nyanin said about Thornton. “I just came from [New York before taking the Valkyries job], and I know the athletes and I know kind of the connections. When Coach Natalie explained to me the type of athlete that she’s looking for both on and off the court, K.T. is who came to mind right away. She is a defensive specialist. She has grown her game to be able to shoot the three. She’s a ball of energy. She’s a vet. She knows how to bring people together, and I’m really excited.”

The last three selections for the Valkyries — Rupert, Zandalasini and Conde — are all European forwards who can stretch the floor. Rupert played for Nakase during the Aces’ 2022 championship run. She also played for Atlanta in 2023. She is known for her ability to shoot the three from the center position and played in the 2024 Olympics, making an impact off the bench in France’s run to the gold-medal game.

Zandalasini had the biggest impact of the three in 2024, as she was a part of the Lynx’s rotation in their run to the WNBA Finals. She, like a few of the other newest Valkyries, set career highs in basically every category after having not played in the WNBA since 2018. The Italy native hit 44% of her threes and had 43 assists off the bench for the Lynx last season. Her combination of size and shooting could come in handy for the Valkyries.

Conde has yet to play in the WNBA. She was drafted by the Sky in 2019 but hasn’t come over to play. The Spain native played college basketball at Florida State and competed for the Spanish national team in the 2024 Olympics.

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The Valkyries took another step toward their inaugural run in the WNBA by adding the first players to their roster on Friday. However, this isn’t the roster they will necessarily go into the season with. Golden State can add players in free agency starting in January, and not all the players it drafted on Friday have to be on the roster this season. It will also select players in the college draft this spring, including with the No. 5 overall pick.

However, the Valkyries showed who they want to be as a franchise in the expansion draft. They took the players they felt were going to help them compete right away and help start the long journey toward winning a WNBA championship.

“This is the start of the journey, and I’m just really excited,” Nyanin said. “… ‘Excited’ is not the word. It’s emotional. I’m very emotional. … I just want to make sure that these athletes understand their worth. This fan base is so hungry for these players to don the uniforms that we just announced and to win basketball games.”