The WNBA is finally expanding. Teams will soon join the league in San Francisco, Portland, and Toronto, upping the total number of teams to fifteen. The Golden State Valkyries will be the first new franchise to get on the court, tipping off its inaugural season in 2025. Toronto and Portland will follow a year later.
There is already much excitement around the Golden State Valkyries and the future of the league. Having another franchise will create more roster spots for players and more coaching opportunities. Hopefully, it will also get even more fans to watch the games. After all, the Valkyries will get the fifth overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft and have the chance to land a future star fans will want to watch. Many college players now bring their very own fanbases to the WNBA.
Most of the other players joining the Valkyries will be selected in an expansion draft on December 6. Golden State will get to pick players from other teams to start the franchise with.
The rest of the league will get to protect up to six players in the expansion draft. While that is a way to ensure core players stick around, it might not be enough for every team.
After their run to the 2024 WNBA Finals, it is pretty clear that the Minnesota Lynx will have to protect their starting five. That group is the foundation for their possible return to the finals, as they chase their fifth championship.
That means they can only protect one more player in the expansion draft and will likely lose some of their young talent. Diamond Miller, Dorka Juhasz, and Alissa Pili are the only players on the Lynx’s roster under the age of 27. Miller and Pili were high draft picks—number two in 2023 and number eight in 2024—and Juhasz offers great size on a team lacking just that.
All three are interesting young players, but the Lynx can only protect one of them. That means the Lynx will have to make a tough decision, choosing which player to protect and which they will risk losing.
Should they protect Juhasz because they need depth at the center position, or should they protect Miller because she has the highest ceiling? Will they have minutes available for Pili to develop, or should they just let her go somewhere where she will have a better chance to play?
Either way, it will be a blow to potentially lose someone who was a high lottery pick and could have developed into a key player for the team in the future. If she is not protected, Pili is probably the most interesting of the three for an expansion franchise. She is young, showed promise in college, doesn’t have Miller’s injury history, and would benefit from being with a franchise that is not trying to win right away.
Pili barely played in her rookie season, averaging only 6.3 minutes over 22 games during the regular season. If the Lynx want to compete for a championship again, her second season probably wouldn’t look much different in Minnesota. Playing time is the best way to develop, and the Valkyries would be able to offer her just that.
Meanwhile, the Lynx are built for the now, and the goal is to contend for a championship while Napheesa Collier is in her prime. The priority is to keep the veteran core together and have them on the court as much as possible, but that doesn’t mean losing an intriguing young prospect doesn’t hurt.
