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The expansion Golden State Valkyries are a predominantly young team, intersected by a couple of vets, like Tiffany Hayes, who is the only surefire starter on a team full of question marks.
The rest of the positions are open for debate—a debate that’s complicated by the fact that a significant number of Valkyries are slated to compete for their national teams in EuroBasket Women 2025; the competition begins June 18 and extends through June 29.
So, with training camp underway, here’s a look at how Golden State could solve their questions in the backcourt and frontcourt:
Martin, Burton can emerge as key backcourt contributors
One of the faces of the franchise is Kate Martin, who during a recent talk with the San Francisco Chronicle, spoke about the potential difficulties of being a part of an expansion team, saying:
You’re meant for new things. You’re meant for challenges. And it’s been really fun to be able to challenge myself to see how quick I can pick up on things or adjust. … At the end of the day, basketball is basketball. And so it’s not like I’m playing a brand new game.
While Martin will probably be the sixth player, coming off the bench behind Hayes and/or Veronica Burton, she will play a vital role on the second unit on a team that lacks an established leader.
Speaking of Burton, after seeing the Northwestern product play this offseason in Australia, it seems evident that she’s ready for a starting spot on the WNBA. She played point guard for the WNBL champion Bendigo Spirit, averaging 15 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.9 dimes per game, while also holding her own on defense. Seeing her play next to Hayes seems a viable option.
Establishing Burton as the team’s primary ball handler especially makes sense because Julie Vanloo, who’s an awesome playmaker, Leïla Lacan, who has tons of potential at point guard, and Justė Jocytė, who’s a future superstar scorer, will be participating in EuroBasket Women for the national teams of Belgium, France and Lithuania, respectively. While Lacan and Jocytė will get to experience high-level competition outside of the W, Martin and Burton should have extended opportunities with the Valkyries.
Who will step up alongside Thornton, Billings in the frontcourt?
Kayla Thornton and Monique Billings are the team’s two other key vets, both of whom can start at the forward positions. Thornton is the wing defender that every team needs, plus the former member of the New York Liberty brings championship experience to a team that features a number of players who have yet to play a single game in the W.
One of those players is Janelle Salaün, who’s an incredible shooter, but also one of the best on-ball defenders in Europe. She’ll probably be absent due to her EuroBasket Women obligations with Team France, and the same might be the case with the designated center, Temi Fagbenle, who’ll be representing Great Britain in the competition.
This might open up a chance for Elissa Cunane to finally play in the W and show off her skills, which the fans in Czechia get to witness on a regular basis as she has starred for Žabiny Brno since 2022. Cunane has improved her 3-point shooting, which, added to her rebounding ability, has allowed her to become a more complete player. There’s also Chloe Bibby, another rookie, who averaged 17.8 points and 4.9 boards in Spain this year for Uni Girona, showing awesome progress and readiness to contribute on a WNBA team.
