Rules, who can be picked by Valkyries

It’s been a month since the Liberty paraded their WNBA championship trophy up the Canyon of Heroes.

The cheerful screams of fans that filled the streets for the day have been replaced by car horns, and the white confetti that dusted the streets is long gone.

But general manager Jonathan Kolb’s efforts to ensure the Liberty’s championship window remains wide open — at least for one more year — are already ramping up as he prepares for the WNBA’s first expansion draft since 2008.

After years of discussion about the league growing its footprint into more markets, it’s finally happening. The WNBA is set to expand from 12 teams to 15 within the next two years.

The first round of expansion will take place in 2025, when the Golden State Valkyries make their debut. The main thing the Valkyries are missing now is an actual roster.

That’s where the expansion draft comes in, on Dec. 6 (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Who are the Valkyries?

Warriors owner and venture capitalist Joe Lacob said for years that he wanted to bring a WNBA team to the Bay Area.

The Warriors officially won the bid to bring a WNBA franchise to the Bay Area in October 2023. In May, the franchise revealed it would be known as the Valkyries, a word that originates from Norse mythology and refers to “a host of warrior women who are fearless and unwavering — flying through air and sea alike,” according to a press release.

Under Lacob, the Warriors established a winning reputation with four NBA Finals titles and six Finals appearances during an eight-year span. It’s expected that he’ll bring that same mentality to the Valkyries.

Golden State tabbed former Liberty assistant general manager Ohemaa Nyanin to be the team’s first GM. She helped hire former Las Vegas Aces assistant coach Natalie Nakase as the first head coach.

How does the expansion draft work?

Each of the WNBA’s 12 teams was to submit a list of its six “protected players” to the Valkyries by Monday afternoon. Any player not listed as protected will be up for grabs by Golden State.

The Valkyries will then have the chance to acquire the contract or the rights to one unprotected player per team.

They also can pass on selecting a player from a given team, maintaining extra roster flexibility going into free agency and next spring’s draft, in which they hold the No. 5 overall pick.

Which players are eligible to be drafted?

In addition to players who are signed to a contract for 2025, pending free agents and unsigned draft picks (such as those who are based overseas) must be protected by their current organization to be ineligible for the Valkyries to take. If selected, the Valkyries would maintain the same rights to that player as their previous team.

The Valkyries may take a maximum of one player who is set to be an unrestricted free agent in February. But they cannot take any players who have been on a core-player contract for at least two seasons, such as Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner, meaning those players don’t have to be protected.

Which players are protected?

The WNBA is choosing not to make the player lists public. That’s a departure from the NHL, which recently made its protected/unprotected player lists available for the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken expansion drafts. Recent NWSL expansion drafts did as well.

What else could happen?

The Valkyries could make a deal with another team to avoid picking an unprotected player in return for draft picks or other assets. Likewise, the Valkyries could leverage the power they have with the expansion draft and coordinate a multi-team trade that could see players move to teams other than Golden State.

It’s worth noting those types of trades likely won’t be completed until January in order for teams to avoid cap hits in 2024.

When is the next expansion draft?

Franchises in Toronto and Portland are set to begin play in 2026. An expansion draft for those future teams is expected next year.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has said the league will pursue expansion into a 16th market as interest appears to remain high. Just last week, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert threw his hat in the ring to bring a team back to Cleveland. St. Louis and Philadelphia also have been mentioned as other possible future sites.