BACKWNBA Expansion Draft Featured International Flair, Tons of Talent
Written by: Kara Gates
The WNBA is quickly becoming one of the hottest leagues in professional sports — both men’s and women’s. With the rapid rise of talent, viewership and fandom, it was high time for an expansion in 2024. Enter the Golden State Valkyries. As the WNBA’s 13th franchise, the Valkyries were looking for competitiveness, great character and a never-satisfied mindset when they picked their foundational players.
As it turned out, a good chunk of those players hailed from overseas. By the end of the draft, seven of the 11 players the Valkyries selected came from countries other than America. Those selections included Great Britain’s Temi Fagbenle, Australia’s Stephanie Talbot, Belgium’s Julie Vanloo, Spain’s Maria Conde, Italy’s Cecilia Zandalasini, plus a pair of French talents: Iliana Rupert and Carla Leite.
Valkyries’ head coach Natalie Nakase said she didn’t intentionally plan to stuff her roster with international talent. “That wasn’t my mindset,” she said. “It was building the best team that I wanted to build.”
Golden State was sure to add some stateside talent, too. Making up the rest of the stacked Valkyrie roster are Veronica Burton, Kate Martin, Kayla Thornton and Monique Billings, all of whom were chosen for their leadership, versatility and depth.
In addition to letting the world know they were coming for a championship with their newfound talent, general manager Ohemaa Nyanin was happy to give fans more insight into the Valkyries’ choices in the expansion draft: “These players were carefully chosen not only for their skills on the court, but also for their ability to fit into the culture we’re working to build here at Golden State.”
With the level of talent the team secured, that culture is sure to be one of great competitiveness, and hoops fans around the world are going to want to tune in when the Valkyries take to the court for the first time. It’ll certainly be thrilling to see how the team shapes up against the rest of the league.
Tune in on May 16, opening day of the 2025 season, to see the Valkyries take on the Sparks in their first-ever match.
