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The Golden State Valkyries have surprised many this WNBA season as they’ve been an incredibly competitive team and are firmly in the mix for a playoff spot in what many felt like was going to be a struggling year. Instead, the Valkyries are in eighth place after having defeated the Washington Mystics, 68-67 on Thursday. A big reason for the Valkyries’ success has been veteran guard Tiffany Hayes who reached a major WNBA career milestone.
Early in the Valkyries’ game against the Mystics, Tiffany Hayes logged 10,000 career minutes played in the WNBA, and the team took to social media to celebrate the milestone. She became the 42nd player in league history to reach that mark. Yet Hayes almost wasn’t going to be still playing in the WNBA.
This season with the Valkyries is Hayes’ second year in the league since announcing her retirement following the 2023 WNBA season. Hayes was convinced to postpone her retirement by the Las Vegas Aces last season, and she ended up winning the WNBA’s Sixth Player of the Year Award.
Hayes was one of the players the Aces protected in the expansion draft, but she ended up joining the Valkyries anyway via free agency. A fixture in the starting lineup, Hayes has provided the Valkyries with a strong veteran presence, and strong play on the court.
She’s appeared in 18 games this season, including 16 starts, at a little over 26 minutes per game. She’s been averaging 12.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists with splits of 43.4 percent shooting from the field, 44.7 percent shooting from the three-point line and 84.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line. Her three-point percentage is a career-high.
Prior to the past three seasons, Hayes had played her entire career for the Atlanta Dream. The No. 14 overall pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft, Hayes played ten years for the Dream and was named an All-Star during the 2017 season. Hayes participated in the 2024 Paris Olympics as part of Azerbaijan’s 3×3 team.
