The Golden State Valkyries were set on stage Friday night to pick their brand new roster heading into the WNBA season. Led by owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, with general manager Ohemaa Nyanin and head coach Natalie Nakase, they built their roster with the available players in the WNBA Expansion Draft.
Each of the 12 WNBA teams protected six of their players on their current roster or upcoming unrestricted free agents. The remaining players were then put into a pool and Golden State was allowed to select one non-protected player from each team. They did not need to choose a player from every team but they also could not select more than one player from a team.
Golden State ended up choosing a player from every team besides the Seattle Storm.
Player Position Age Former Team
Iliana Rupert Center 23 Atlanta Dream
Maria Conde Forward 27 Chicago Sky
Veronica Burton Guard 24 Connecticut Sun
Carla Leite Guard 20 Dallas Wings
Temi Fagbenle Center 32 Indiana Fever
Kate Martin Guard 24 Las Vegas Aces
Stephanie Talbot Forward 30 Los Angeles Sparks
Cecilia Zandalasini Forward 28 Minnesota Lynx
Kayla Thornton Forward 32 New York Liberty
Monique Billings Forward 28 Phoenix Mercury
Julie Vanloo Guard 31 Washington Mystics
Going into the expansion draft Nakase said the nonnegotiable attributes they wanted to emphasize were, "competitiveness, high character and a never-satisfied mindset."
It seems as though they tried to do just that, while creating a team with 11 players who are from outside the United States. It wasn't the teams intentions headed into the draft but they wanted to form a team that had the championship experience with players who could lead on the court but also in the locker room. Also, it is worth noting that the Valkyries can still add to its roster throughout the offseason via free agency, trades, and, of course, the 2025 WNBA draft.
Point guard: Kate Martin
The 18th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft turned heads around during her senior year at Iowa last season. She then went on to start two games for the Aces and average 2.6 points per game. While she didn't see the court often considering she was on a veteran-stacked Las Vegas team, she has shown that she has the winning experience during her time at Iowa. Martin's work ethic and ability to play as a Robin to someone's Batman makes her a perfect building block.
Shooting guard: Julie Vanloo
At 31 years old Vanloo played just one WNBA season, last year with the Mystics. She started a majority of games for Washington and averaged 7.4 points and 4.3 assists. She is well-known for her time with the Belgian national team, EuroBasket and Summer Olympics. This past season in the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament she averaged 13.7 points per game. Vanloo lacks experience in the WNBA be she has valuable experience playing overseas.
Small forward: Kayla Thornton
Thornton is coming off a season with the Liberty and a WNBA championship. She made a immediate impact on the floor for New York making 11 starts while averaging 5.5 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. She is a feared defender and brings plenty of veteran experience.
Power forward: Cecilia Zandalasini
Another WNBA champion is Zandalasini who won back in 2017 with the Lynx. Last season she had a career best 3-point percentage at 44.3 percent, making her a strong floor-spacer. While in 40 games she only averaged 4.6 points, her shooting and experience are worth building around.
Center: Temi Fagbenle
Arguably this is the best pick that Golden State made on Friday. Fagbenle took time off from the WNBA for four years but came back last season to team up in Indiana with Caitlin Clark. She had a career highs in points per game with 6.4 points, blocks per game 0.7 and rebounds per game with 4.7 in just 22 games played. Picking up Fagbenle after one of her best season's is huge for Golden State and she's a player with untapped potential.
Guards
Julie Vanloo (Mystics)
Kate Martin (Aces)
Carla Leite (Wings)
Veronica Burton (Sun)
Forwards
Kayla Thornton (Liberty)
Cecilia Zandalasini (Lynx)
Monique Billings (Mercury)
Stephanie Talbot (Sparks)
Maria Conde (Sky)
Center
Temi Fagbenle (Fever)
Iliana Rupert (Dream)
The notable reserves include Carla Leite, Monique Billings, and Stephanie Talbot. Leite was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. At 20 years old, she holds extreme potential and her career stats entering the draft were 15.8 points and 5.5 assists per game.
Billings has been a consistent scorer for the Dream, averaging 7.4 points and 5.8 rebounds last season. Talbot has Olympic experience earning a bronze medal and has won a WNBL (Australia) MVP.
It seems as though Nakase built her dream team that she was looking to make.
"The international part ... that wasn't my mindset," Nakase said. "It was building the best team that I wanted to build."