The 144 is closer to becoming the 156.
With the first league expansion since the Atlanta Dream 2008, the Golden State Valkyries made their selection of 11 players during the Expansion Draft on Dec. 6 to start forming their inaugural roster. And if there’s one takeaway from that selection process, the Valkyries had one type of player in mind when drafting: competitors.
You heard that word from Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase throughout the evening, before, during, and after the announcement process, which aired for 30 minutes on ESPN on Friday night. Nakase had “competitor” at the top of her list when making selections for the team alongside general manager Ohemaa Nyanin, and it showed in how the roster actually shaped out.
The initial 11-player list (the team chose not to make a selection from the Seattle Storm) features plenty of bigs—six are forwards and centers known most for their physical defense and rebounding skills.
That part of the roster includes Temi Fagbenle from the Indiana Fever, Kayla Thornton from the New York Liberty, Stephanie Talbot from the Los Angeles Sparks, Cecilia Zandalisini from the Minnesota Lynx, Iliana Rupert from the Atlanta Dream, by way of the Çukurova Basketbol of the Turkish Super League, Monique Billings from the Phoenix Mercury, and María Conde from the Chicago Sky, by way of the USK Praha in the Czech League.
The guards the team selected – Julie Vanloo from the Washington Mystics, Veronica Burton from the Connecticut Sun, Kate Martin from the Las Vegas Aces, and Carla Leite from the Dallas Wings, by way of the Villeneuve d’Ascq in the Ligue Féminine de Basketball – round out the shooting, speed, and playmaking on the potential final Golden State roster.
Some of the biggest names to stand out from the process were Fagbenle, Thornton, and Martin. Given that Fagbenle and Thornton were such key pieces of their previous team, the Valkyries were fortunate to land these gritty, defensive-minded players. With Fagbenle and Thornton, the Valkyries are banking on their collective experience in the WNBA and professional basketball overseas—13 years in the W alone have been played between those two players.
For Martin, who averaged 11.5 minutes per game with the Aces in 2024, Nakase and Nyanin wanted to bring in someone Nakase was familiar with as a hard worker as Nakase coached Kate in Las Vegas this past season.
“I’m excited with Kate [Martin]. I grew a very close relationship when I was there with the Aces. She’s a very genuine person, but she’s also a culture changer. She really pours herself into her work and into her passion the way she plays,” said Nakase to reporters after the draft selections were publicized.
Another aspect of the draft that has stood out so far was the sheer number of international players selected by Nakase, Nyanin, and the rest of Golden State’s brain trust.
Of the 11 players selected – no one was chosen from the Seattle Storm – seven have experience playing for a team in their respective country or were drafted directly from international teams. Fagbenle (Great Britain), Carla Leite (France), Talbot (Australia), Zandalisini (Turkey and Italy), Rupert (France), Vanloo (Belgium), and Conde (Spain) make up the heavily international inaugural team.
When asked if that was intentional, Nakase said it wasn’t until she started to get down on paper what players she wanted to see picked during the process that “half of them are not from the States,” but she added “that wasn’t my mindset. It was building the best team that I wanted to build.”
On the business end of that, though, comes the question mark that hangs over so many international picks—who will actually come over to play for the team? Nyanin told reporters about the uncertainty that her job in the coming months will include trying to pitch international players the chance to play in the Bay Area and getting to know the organization before making a big decision on their commitment headed into next summer.
“I just wanted to make sure that they understand who I am, what we’re trying to build, who coach Natalie Nakase is, what she’s trying to build on the court, and then explain to them the Bay. I mean, I didn’t know anything about the Bay before I moved out here, having lived in five different countries, most of the time not being given the opportunity to make that choice; I always made the best of it,” said Nyanin of her thoughts on conversations with those players.
With the goal of a championship in mind, this inaugural roster also included several WNBA champions—a part of the intentionality behind Nakase and Nyanin’s draft strategy of trying to pick winners and competitors.
Thornton is the most recent victor amongst the group, having just won a championship with the New York Liberty in 2024. In addition to Thornton, the roster sports three other league champions—Fagbenle, Rupert, and Zandalisini. Veterans abound on this roster. However, the championship experience from Thornton, Rupert, Zandalisini, and Fagbenle can help make the transition smoother for the Valkyries as they ramp into competition on May 16 against the Los Angeles Sparks.
One of the most exciting parts about witnessing the formation of the first expansion team since the Atlanta Dream were introduced to the league in 2008 is just how unfinished this team’s journey to tip-off is. Between having plenty of cap space to work with ahead of free agency and the fifth overall pick in a heavily stacked WNBA draft, the Valkyries are far from a settled image. That versatility will eventually become a solid competitive advantage if flexed correctly.
WNBA reporter Candace Pedraza writes columns on WNBA.com throughout the season. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its teams.
