WNBA: Exclusive interview with Valkyries GM on expansion draft approach

Ohemaa Nyanin hasn’t slept long, but she slept well.

It’s 9:50 a.m. PT on Saturday, but when taking the video call, the general manager of the Golden State Valkyries is bright-eyed, smiling and excited. It’s been a hectic couple of days. The expansion draft concluded Friday, but the real work has only just began. She’s dressed in team colors, as just a couple of days ago, the Valkyries unveiled their jerseys, which “are a visual interpretation of who Valkyries are: fierce, bold, and strong,” as described by the organization’s senior vice president of marketing and communications, Kimberly Veale.

Will the players selected by Nyanin and her team match those qualities? Time will tell. At the moment she’s “cautiously optimistic” about what people think about the team.

In speaking with Swish Appeal, Nyanin shared her thoughts on the international players the team selected, as well as one player who’s currently turning heads in Australia in the WNBL, Veronica Burton. Burton, who spent last season with the Connecticut Sun, is playing twice as many minutes as she was getting in the WNBA. Her numbers are up and so is her accuracy from the floor, and her team is undefeated. When asked how much Burton’s play for the Bendigo Spirit influenced the decision to select her compared to Burton’s limited minutes on the Sun, Nyanin said:

It was a combination of the two. When Tyasha Harris was injured, we got to see her play more this season. And the WNBL is getting stronger and stronger every year, and seeing her get big minutes also played a big part in our decision. We know she’s a hard worker, she seems to play the game with joy and wants to be good at it. Those are the things we want in our players.

Australian Stephanie Talbot is another draftee who is playing in the WNBL this season. She’s a legend and a veteran in her home country, who will be equally as important off the court as on it with Golden State. Watching the former Los Angeles Spark play in person at the Paris Olympics, Nyanin was impressed with Talbot’s basketball IQ and defense. Every member of the newly-assembled Valkyries will be expected to contribute, especially veterans like Talbot and Temi Fagbenle, who was selected from the Indiana Fever. Asked about the latter, Nyanin reveals more of her team-building philosophy:

Vanja Černivec [Valkyrie’s Vice President of Basketball Operations] was the GM of the London Lions last season, when Temi won the EuroCup with them. That’s why I have Vanja and Natalie, because they have the relationships that I don’t. Vanja gave us a lot of perspective on who Temi is, what can she bring on the court and we heard how great her impact on the Indiana locker room was. Our emphasis is always going to be: How can we bring competitive, great athletes to this team? Athletes who are versatile and ready to play. When somebody gets injured, “next up,” who can play next.

The counterbalance to the two veterans may be two European rookies, Maria Conde and Carla Leite. Conde is 27 years old and was drafted in the third round of the 2019 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky. She’s currently having the best season of her career in Prague for ZVVZ USK Praha, remaining in the running for EuroLeague Women MVP. If there’s a time for her to come to the W, it’s now.

Leite is 20 years old and has been a pro for only two years, but already has shown tons of potential. It seems that the Dallas Wings, who selected her No. 9 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft, really dropped the ball by not keeping her protected. In the case of both players, Nyanin repeats the phrase “mutually beneficial” about whether they’ll come to the States and suit up for the Valkyries in 2025:

We didn’t have time to have legitimate conversations with these players, but we want our athletes to make the decisions that are best for them. Both of these athletes are playing elite basketball right now and any opportunity we can get to bring them in and get them to understand Coach Natalie’s philosophy will be great for us.

Iliana Rupert, who was selected from the Atlanta Dream but spent 2024 preparing for the Olympics with the French national team, was targeted by team partially due to her former relationship with head coach Natalie Nakase, as the two won the 2022 WNBA championship with the Las Vegas Aces. Nyanin primarily focuses on Rupert’s adaptability, skill set and work ethic. The same goes for Cecilia Zandalasini, who’s seen as way more than a 3-point shooter. She was picked from the Minnesota Lynx because there’s a shared belief within the organization that Nakase’s system will allow her to showcase more of her skills.

Last but not least, there’s Julie Vanloo, the Belgian point guard, who at age 31 decided to give the WNBA a shot and played for the Washington Mystics in 2024. Asked about whether she envisions Vanloo as a starting point guard or a mentor to younger guards, Nyanin replies:

I envision a very competitive training camp. The training camp will help us envision what sort of team we will have. She won the gold medal at EuroBasket [in 2023], now she’s playing well oversees. And we like her drive to win! She’s ultra-competitive, she works very hard and we definitely see her as a part of the team.

While fans—and fans of international basketball in particular—can get excited for this versatile roster to take the floor next year, Nyanin stresses that we can’t overlook the human aspect of team-building:

All of these athletes probably hoped that they were going to stay with their teams. They trusted their teams. And our first order of business will be to make them trust our organization and prove that we want to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with them.