After months of prep work, Golden State, the WNBA’s 13th franchise, completed the league’s first expansion draft since 2008, picking 11 players from the 12 current teams to be part of their initial 2025 roster. Golden State Valkyries General Manager Ohemaa Nyanin, left, announces their new head coach Natalie Nakase, formerly a first assistant coach with the Las Vegas Aces, right, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in San Francisco, Calif.
The Valkyries will have a league-high of more than $1.2 million in salary cap space available, meaning they should be active in free agency. “We’re open for business,” Nyanin said Friday after the draft. “We’re ready to talk to any and everybody that wants to have a conversation with us about being a part of this journey. We are just really excited about the opportunity to welcome these free agents and these college athletes as well and just wanted to give ourselves as much flexibility to be able to go and get athletes in the near future.
“She is a defensive specialist. She has grown her game to be able to shoot the 3. She’s a ball of energy,” Nyanin said of Thornton. “She knows how to bring people together, and I’m really excited.”There’s a lot of unknowns when it comes to the expansion draft process. Unlike a normal draft, the Valkyries weren’t able to host players for workouts or interviews to get a better feel for the person.She believes they have a “competitive” roster, with players who want to win.Golden State Valkyries General Manager Ohemaa Nyanin, left, announces their new head coach Natalie Nakase, formerly a first assistant coach with the Las Vegas Aces, right, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in San Francisco, Calif.