Subscribe
Follow Us
The Golden State Valkyries will begin play this season with 2025 being their inaugural year in the WNBA. Fielding a competitive roster is going to be important for the Valkyries, and they did their part trying to make a splash during the WNBA free agency period. The Valkyries made a push for free agent guard Kelsey Plum, as per Kendra Andrews of ESPN, by way of Callie Fin of The Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Instead, Kelsey Plum opted to join the Los Angeles Sparks by way of a sign-and-trade deal, leaving the Valkyries in an acceptance phase in that they just weren't a free agent destination quite yet.
It's not all that surprising that the Valkyries weren't able to attract top end talent during this WNBA free agency period. They're an expansion franchise and players likely want to see how their inaugural season goes before making any commitments.
The Valkyries did make one move in free agency, agreeing to terms with Monique Billings whom they selected from the Phoenix Mercury in the expansion draft. Billings is a quality veteran who will immediately make the team locker room a strong one.
Last season, she appeared in a total of 37 games between the Mercury and the Dallas Wings. She averaged 7.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists with splits of 46.5 percent shooting from the field and 80.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
The Valkyries also have a potential building block in second-year wing Kate Martin whom they selected from the Las Vegas Aces in the expansion draft. Martin appeared in 34 games for the Aces and shot 35.5 percent from the three-point line.
While the Valkyries selected 11 players in the expansion draft, although it's not yet clear how many of them they expect to be on the actual roster this season. They also hold the No. 5 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
