WNBA: Valkyries’ Veronica Burton leads candidates for Most Improved

Just before the beginning of the 2025 WNBA season, we highlighted three players to watch as candidates for the league’s Most Improved Player award. Much has happened since then, and we now have two months of data (and other more subjective criteria) to consider for this notoriously murky honor.

Leading the list of midseason Most Improved candidates is the Golden State Valkyries’ Veronica Burton, who has seized the opportunity to play a large role on an expansion team. As a result, her production has taken a leap not unlike that previous winners of the award. It’s far from a one-player race, though; there are several other names to consider and, depending on how the award voters define “improvement,” they might also have cases to win. As we head into the All-Star break, let’s discuss three players who could end up taking home Most Improved Player honors at the end of the season.

Veronica Burton (Golden State Valkyries)

Entering their inaugural WNBA season, the Golden State Valkyries had many questions to answer, including who they’d be playing at point guard. They had several guards to choose from, including the defensive-minded Burton, the 3-point shooting veteran Julie Vanloo and the young and explosive Carla Leite. Who would be starting and playing the bulk of the team’s minutes at the position was anyone’s guess.

There’s no doubt about who the Valkyries’ go-to guard is now. Burton earned the starting role in their very first game and hasn’t let it go, fueling the Valkyries’ defense-first identity at the point of attack while showing noticeable offensive improvement. She’s posting career-highs across the board, averaging personal bests in points (11.1), rebounds (4.0), and assists per game (5.4)—a huge jump for a player whose box score contributions have been, up until this season, sparse at best.

It could be argued that this per-game jump stems simply from Burton playing a career-high 28.9 minutes per game. She’s still not shooting particularly efficiently (35.9 percent on 2-point shots), and her overall offensive efficiency has been buoyed by her free throw shooting, which is something she’s always been good at.

Regardless, it’s hard to deny the kind of impact Burton has had on the Valkyries. According to Basketball Reference, she’s assisting on 32.7 percent of her teammates’ field goals (5th in the WNBA), and her 2.8 win shares are already the most she’s recorded in a season. Burton has always been a strong defensive player, but the Valkyries rely even more on her ability to push the ball and create shots for others; she’s gone from being a reluctant offensive player to a confident one seemingly overnight, and it’s factored heavily into Golden State’s surprisingly successful season. Don’t be surprised if Burton wins Most Improved honors in a landslide.

Gabby Williams (Seattle Storm)

Unlike Burton, Williams is a player whose ascent has been slow but steady. Hailed as an elite athlete with a diverse skillset from her days at UConn, Williams initially struggled to find a comfortable role as a pro, sliding from position to position as her coaches tried to optimize her talents while working around her deficiencies, particularly on offense.

It’s safe to say that Williams has found a home in Seattle. She’s gotten better in every season since 2022, and this season has been her strongest yet: Williams is averaging career-highs in points (13.6) and assists per game (4.5), and she’s gone from being a strong defensive player to a downright terror, leading the WNBA in steals per game at 2.5.

Perhaps most importantly, Williams has turned what was once her biggest weakness—her jumpshooting—into a strength. For years, opponents had been content to leave Williams open on the perimeter, but those days are over. She’s taking 4.6 3-pointers per game and knocking them down at a 34.3 percent clip, and having added that critical piece to her game, there was nothing holding Williams back from becoming a WNBA All-Star.

Williams’ improvement hasn’t been sudden, but she’s also playing the best basketball of her career, and she’s a lock to make the WNBA All-Defensive Team at the end of the season. Her continued growth—and what it’s meant for the Storm as a team—should put her in Most Improved discussions as well.

Angel Reese (Chicago Sky)

Is it feasible to think someone who was already producing at an All-Star level might win Most Improved Player?

Maybe not every year, but Angel Reese isn’t your typical player. Some unfortunate circumstances for the Sky have put her in a position to raise her game even higher, and she’s taking full advantage of it.

Those circumstances—specifically, a season-ending ACL injury for point guard Courtney Vandersloot—have left the Sky without a traditional ball handler in their rotation, and while off-ball players like Ariel Atkins and Rachel Banham have stepped up to fill that void in terms of position on the court, it’s Reese who has changed her game the most. A strong passer for a power forward, Reese has earned head coach Tyler Marsh’s trust to initiate Chicago’s offense, and while that has resulted in some unorthodox-looking plays, one can’t deny the results. Since Vandersloot went down, Reese has been averaging a team-high 4.4 assists per game, far outpacing her rookie season average of 1.9.

Then there are the things you’d expect from Reese, such as rebounding and scoring in the paint. She’s made strides in those areas, too, most notably in her finishing at the rim; after a slow start to the season, Reese is shooting 44.6 percent from the field (50.3 percent since Vandersloot’s injury), and her hard work on the glass remains top-tier. According to Across the Timeline, Reese’s current streak of recording at least 15 points and 10 rebounds in eight-consecutive games ties a WNBA record that was originally set last season by A’ja Wilson (who, of course, went on to win her third MVP award).

Right now, when comparing Reese’s stats to those of her All-Rookie season, not much has changed besides the scoring efficiency and assists. It should be noted, however, that since Vandersloot tore her ACL on June 7 (14 games), Reese is leading the Sky in almost everything: 16.4 points, 12.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. If she continues on that trajectory for the rest of the season, it will be hard to deny how much she’s improved—especially if that improvement leads Chicago to the playoffs.