Valkyries Star Making Strong Case for WNBA Award

Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton has hit her stride with Golden State and the rest of the league has taken notice.

In her last 10 games, Burton has averaged 15 points, 6.7 assists and four rebounds-per-game while dropping history making performances along the way. Burton’s growth with Golden State has been undeniable: she is experiencing career highs in virtually every statistical category and that change is the most visible with her PPG increase, where she is nearly tripling her previous career-high from the 2024 season with 12 points-per-game in 2025.

Burton’s hot streak has made her a popular candidate for Most Improved Player in 2025. In NBC Sports’ most recent WNBA award season polls, Burton is posted as the third most likely candidate for the away with +600 odds to take it home, trailing only Los Angeles Sparks forward Azurá Stevens and Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray in that regard.

If you asked Burton’s teammates, there is no one better suited for the award than her. In an interview with Kenzo Fukuda of Clutch Points, Valkyries center Iliana Rupert made her thoughts crystal clear on Burton’s MIP candidacy.

“She better be. There’s no way she cannot have this,” Rupert said of her teammate. “She’s been improving a lot— in everything. I don’t think there are any other players who’ve had this growth.”

Burton’s rise to status comes at the same time that the Valkyries are on the verge of a playoff run, of which Burton herself has been instrumental in. The Valkyries are currently the eighth seed in the playoffs, though every game coming down the stretch is crucial in keeping that position in tact.

“She’s [Burton] on a good team that is hopefully making the playoffs, so she better have it,” Rupert added.

After the first three seasons of her career that her saw with an intermittent position as a role player coming off the bench, Burton has thrived in her opportunities with Golden State. She has started every game she has appeared in and seen her minutes-per-game more than double to 29.2.

Joining the Valkyries in the Expansion Draft from the Connecticut Sun, Burton was uncertain of her place in the league. But, the confidence and trust shown to her by Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase assured Burton of her place, and the mental side of the game quickly caught up with her physical talents.

“The element of trust that my coach has in me. It instilled in me just a different type of confidence. … I think that’s every point guard’s dream,” Burton said (via Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic). “And it challenges me in a way that I haven’t been challenged before.”

“I think the biggest surprise, and jump for myself, and leap, it’s just been the mental fortitude,” Burton added. “The mental toughness and just the confidence.”

Whether or not the MIP award comes her way at the end of 2025, Burton has found new life in herself as a player. If the confidence her coach and teammates have spoken of and shown her are any indication, this is not the peak for Burton, but the first light of a long and successful career.