The 2025 Golden State Valkyries made history by becoming the first WNBA expansion team to make the playoffs. And that accomplishment was helped out a lot from a strong expansion draft class.
Of Golden State’s top 10 scorers in 2025, eight of them came via the expansion draft. The Valkyries ended the season with a 23-21 record and were fourth in the Western Conference.
The Portland Fire and the Toronto Tempo are both expected to take part in an expansion draft sometime in 2026. Is there a chance that the WNBA’s two newest teams could find similar success from the players made available?
Here are the full results of the 2024 WNBA Expansion Draft, which kicked things off for the Golden State Valkyries.
Pick 1: Iliana Rupert, center, Atlanta Dream
The 6-foot-4 post missed a lot of the season, starting 11 games and only playing in 21 (less than half of the total games), due to overseas commitments that kept her busy until the All-Star break. She averaged 9.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game for the Valkyries.
Rupert scored a season-high 21 points (making five of eight 3-pointers) in a 75-63 victory against the Indiana Fever on Aug. 31, 2025.
Pick 2: Maria Conde, forward, Chicago Sky
Conde suffered an Achilles injury in January of 2025 and had to undergo surgery. She never saw any WNBA action in 2025. She is also signed with Familia Basket Schio of the Italian Lega Basket Femminile.
Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton during a WNBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Sparks in San Francisco, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)APPick 3: Veronica Burton, guard, Connecticut Sun
Burton was the only Valkyrie player to see time in (and start) all 44 games for the Valkyries in 2025. In 29.4 minutes per game, she averaged 11.9 points and six assists per game.
Burton was named the WNBA’s Most Improved Player and was a WNBA All-Defensive Second Team selection. On Aug. 13, 2025, she dropped a season-high 30 points (making six of nine 3-pointers) in an 88-83 victory against the Washington Mystics.
Pick 4: Carla Leite, guard, Dallas Wings
The 5-foot-9 French guard saw action in 37 games, mostly working off the bench. She averaged 7.2 points and two assists in 17.2 minutes per game.
On May 23, 2025, Leite put up a season-high 19 points in an 82-73 victory against the Sparks.
Pick 5: Temi Fagbenle, center, Indiana Fever
Fagbenle spent years as a bench player for the Minnesota Lynx and the Indiana Fever. But she stepped up into a starting role in 2025 with the Valkyries. Starting 38 of 39 appearances, Fagbenle averaged a career-high 7.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
Pick 6: Kate Martin, guard, Las Vegas Aces
Martin was a reliable bench piece for the Valkyries in 2025. She played in 42 games, averaging 16.4 minutes with 6.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.
She put up a career-high 21 points in an 81-78 loss to New York on June 25, 2025.
Pick 7: Stephanie Talbot, forward, Los Angeles Sparks
The 6-foot-2 Australian played 16 games for the Valkyries, starting 10 times. She averaged 3.6 points with 3.3 rebounds in that span and was waived on July 13. She was signed by the Liberty a week later.
Pick 8: Cecilia Zandalasini, forward, Minnesota Lynx
A former role player for the Lynx, Zandalasini missed most of June due to international commitments and half of August with a calf injury. But when she was playing, Zandalasini was one of the top players for Golden State in 2025.
In 19 games played, she averaged 10.5 points and even put up 20 points in the Valkyries’ 88-83 win against Washington on Aug. 13, 2025.
Pick 9: Kayla Thornton, forward, New York Liberty
For the first half of the season, Thornton looked like the franchise player to lead the Valkyries. She averaged 14 points and seven rebounds per game, starting the first 22 games of the year.
Her run was highlighted by a 29-point outing on June 27, 2025, where she made four of seven 3-pointers in an 83-78 victory against Chicago.
But a knee injury ended the year prematurely and she had knee surgery on July 25, 2025. She was still named a WNBA All-Star.
Pick 10: Monique Billings, forward, Phoenix Mercury
Billings has been a reliable role player in the WNBA for nearly 10 years, and 2025 was no different. She played in 26 games and averaged 7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game for the Valkyries. An ankle sprain kept her out of action for three weeks in August.
Pick 11: No selection, Seattle Storm
The Valkyries opted to not select any players from Seattle.
Pick 12: Julie Vanloo, guard, Washington Mystics
Vanloo played for Golden State in May and June, averaging 4.6 points and 4.1 assists per game. After an international commitment, winning the European Championship with Belgium, she was suddenly waived on June 30.