Breaking down all 11 Valkyries selections in the Expansion Draft

Kate Martin and Kayla Thornton highlight the Valkyries expansion draft selections.

The Golden State Valkyries finally have some players on their roster, or at least under team control. In the WNBA Expansion Draft for the Valkyries on Friday, the new franchise was given an opportunity to select one player from every other squad in the league. They were allowed to take one player who is a pending free agent, giving them an opportunity to negotiate with them prior to free agency.

Here are all of their selections:

1. Iliana Rupert, C (Atlanta Dream)

The 12th overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft out of French professional leagues, Rupert has bounced between the Las Vegas Aces and Dream in her young career. The sister of Portland Trail Blazers guard Rayan Rupert, Iliana has received limited playing time, averaging 2.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game across her WNBA career (37 games).

2. María Conde, F (Chicago Sky)

One of the Valkyries more interesting selections of the draft, Conde has not yet played a minute in the WNBA. However, the former star at Florida State has been a top player in Europe since turning pro. In EuroLeague, largely considered the top league in Europe, she has averaged 10.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. If the Valkyries can get Conde stateside, it’s easy to see her carving out a significant role for herself.

3. Veronica Burton, G (Connecticut Sun)

After an illustrious career at Northwestern, Burton was the seventh overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings. Unable to find a consistent spot in Dallas’ rotation, Burton was waived and landed with the Sun. She has averaged 2.7 points, 2.0 assists, and 1.6 rebounds, in 14 minutes per game across 107 games (20 starts).

4. Carla Leite, G (Dallas Wings)

The ninth overall pick in last summer’s draft, taken out of France, Leite stayed overseas. The MVP of the 2023 FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship, Leite is currently playing with ESB Villeneuve-d’Ascq.

5. Temi Fagbenle, C (Indiana Fever)

While the Valkyries primarily targeted young players, they nabbed 32-year old Temi Fagbenle away from the Indiana Fever. Fagbenle has spent the majority of her professional career abroad, but was a role player for the Fever last year in the post. In 18.9 minutes per game (22 games, 2 starts), she averaged 6.4 points and 4.7 rebounds.

6. Kate Martin, G (Las Vegas Aces)

The biggest name acquisition of the evening, Martin first gained notoriety as Caitlin Clark’s sidekick at Iowa before cracking Becky Hammon’s Las Vegas Aces rotation as a rookie. She appeared in 32 games, averaging 2.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 11.5 minutes per game. She struggled mightily from inside the arc as a rookie, but one of her most prominent former teammates was clearly disappointed to see her go.

7. Stephanie Talbot, F (Los Angeles Sparks)

Talbot is a dynamic outside shooting threat at her best. A career 36.0% shooter from deep, Talbot has at times been a top sharpshooter. However, she’s coming off easily her worst shooting season in 2024. After making just 26.0% of her threes in her first summer back from a torn ACL, Talbot will look to get back to her previous levels.

8. Cecilia Zandalasini, F (Minnesota Lynx)

Zandalasini may be the most intriguing selection from a purely statistical standpoint. The 28-year old Italian has only appeared in three WNBA seasons, primarily playing abroad, but has made 41.5% of her 130 three-point attempts. She has also scored at a promising clip, albeit in a small role, averaging 4.9 points across 13.7 minutes per game throughout her career.

9. Kayla Thornton, F (New York Liberty)

The selection with the longest track record as a WNBA starter, Thornton is heading into her 10th WNBA season and coming off winning her first championship. While she has only averaged double-digit points over a single season once (back in 2019), she has averaged 7.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game over her career. If there were bets on which selection is most likely to be an Opening Night starter, Thornton is the obvious pick.

10. Monique Billings, F (Phoenix Mercury)

Another vet with starting experience, Billings will turn 29 in May and averaged 7.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game last season between the Wings and Mercury. The 6’4’’ forward is primarily an interior threat offensively, but did begin attempting threes with some regularity for the first time in her career this past season.

11. No Selection (Seattle Storm)

The Valkyries passed on selecting anyone from the Storm. But perhaps they’ll find a way to be adding Jewell Loyd sometime soon.

12. Julie Vanloo, G (Washington Mystics)

The third, and most experienced, guard the Valkyries selected, Vanloo was the only selection who started a majority of her team’s games this past season. Vanloo averaged 7.4 points, 4.3 assists, and 1.6 rebounds in 23.2 minutes per game alongside 32.4% shooting from three. While she was a rookie, Vanloo will turn 32 in February, having spent the bulk of her career solely playing around Europe prior to this past season.