Newton’s Veronica Burton wins WNBA Most Improved Player Award

Sports

Burton played a key role in helping the Valkyries earn a playoff spot in their inaugural season.

Newton native Veronica Burton has made the most of her time with the WNBA’s newest franchise — the Golden State Valkyries. 

After averaging 12.7 minutes per game in a bench role for the Connecticut Sun in 2024, Burton elevated her game as a lineup stalwart with the Valkyries — starting all 44 games and playing a vital role in helping Golden State become the first WNBA expansion franchise to advance to the playoffs in their inaugural season. 

For her efforts, the former Newton South and Northwestern standout took home the 2025 WNBA Most Improved Player Award on Monday. 

The 25-year-old Burton won the award in a landslide, receiving 68 of 72 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. 

Over her 44 games with Golden State, Burton posted career highs in points (11.9), assists (6.0), rebounds (4.4), and minutes (29.4). It was a marked improvement from her numbers with the Sun, where Burton averaged 3.1 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 0.5 steals across 31 games.

According to the WNBA, Burton is the first player in WNBA history to increase her averages by at least five points, two rebounds and two assists per game from one season to the next (minimum 30 games played in each season).

Burton has gone through quite the journey in the pro ranks en route to establishing herself as a fixture in the Bay Area. Initially drafted seventh overall in the 2022 WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings, Burton played two seasons in Dallas before being waived before the start of the 2024 season. 

Burton eventually signed on with the Sun, establishing herself as a dependable option off the bench for Connecticut before getting selected by Golden State in the expansion draft.

A clean slate with a new franchise gave Burton the opportunity she needed to thrive out on the court — with the 5-foot-9 point guard ranking third in the WNBA in assists per game (6.0) while standing as the only Golden State player to start all 44 games during the regular season. 

She posted three games this season where she recorded 10 or more assists with zero turnovers — a WNBA single-season record. 

“Not necessarily any doubts of like, if I can make it here. But just a matter of when, what that would look like, and you’re never guaranteed anything — especially in this league,” Burton said this weekend when asked if she doubted she’d get another opportunity after the Wings waived her. “Just didn’t know if it was for me or not. So obviously I’m grateful for just how quick of a turnaround it was.”  

Burton was a force on the court during her high-school days in Newton, standing as a two-time Globe All-Scholastic Super Team selection before winning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors during her four years at Northwestern. 

Burton is the daughter of Steve Burton, the sports director for WBZ. Her sister, Kayla, is a reporter for NBC Sports Boston and on-air host for Celtics broadcasts. Her grandfather, Ron, played running back for the Boston Patriots from 1960-65.

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.