The Golden State Valkyries became an actual team on Friday night during their long-awaited expansion draft. In the end, the WNBA’s newest franchise selected 11 players from around the league, including Kate Martin from the Las Vegas Aces and Temi Fagbenle from the Indiana Fever, to build their initial roster.
Now, the Valkyries can act like any other team this offseason. That includes making trades, signing players in free agency and participating in the 2025 WNBA Draft, where they’ll have the No. 5 overall pick. Come May, they’ll take the court for the first time on opening night against the Los Angeles Sparks.
There will be plenty more to come from the Bay Area this winter, but for now, let’s take a look back at the winners and losers from the expansion draft.
Winner: WNBA
Expansion has been in the works for a number of years now, and has been a primary goal for the league and commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Adding a new franchise for the first time since the Atlanta Dream in 2008 is a monumental achievement, and the expansion draft was the first time that it felt real.
Since they were officially introduced back in October of 2023, the Valkyries have just been a concept. On Friday night,…
