The Golden State Valkyries will likely be deciding on Kate Martin and Kayla Thornton within the 2025 WNBA expansion draft, a supply briefed on the choice instructed The Athletic. The complete outcomes of the draft will likely be introduced Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Per the foundations outlined by the league and the collective bargaining settlement for the growth draft, the 12 present WNBA franchises are allowed to guard six gamers. The Valkyries are then in a position to decide on one unprotected participant from every crew; that may be a participant on the energetic roster, a participant who the group has draft rights to, or is on their worldwide rights record.
Martin will arguably be the preferred participant taken by Golden State Friday. The 2024 rookie out of Iowa, the place she helped Caitlin Clark lead the Hawkeyes to 2 consecutive journeys to the nationwide title recreation, had a robust begin to her first WNBA season. Because the Las Vegas Aces handled the absence of Chelsea Gray, Martin averaged 19.3 minutes over her first ten video games and made 37 p.c of her 3-pointers.
Nonetheless, Martin noticed much less court docket time because the Aces returned to full well being, cracking double-digit minutes solely twice within the second half of the season. Her postseason minutes consisted of 1 look in a blowout. Las Vegas was all the time going to guard its core 4 of A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, and Grey within the draft, however Martin may have been one of many ultimate two gamers. As a substitute, Martin will begin the second chapter of her WNBA profession with the Valkyries, and the growth crew will profit from the three remaining cost-controlled seasons on her rookie deal.
The New York Liberty needed to make among the hardest selections league-wide due to the depth of their roster. The reigning champions needed to prioritize their full beginning lineup and Nyara Sabally, who was the X-factor in Sport 5 of the WNBA Finals. That left their whole worldwide record — together with Marine Johannès and Han Xu — uncovered, in addition to essential bench gamers.
Golden State is electing to take a kind of veteran reserves in Kayla Thornton, a participant who basic supervisor Ohemaa Nyanin is intimately accustomed to, as Nyanin was the assistant GM in New York previous to becoming a member of the Valkyries.
Thornton appeared in each playoff recreation for the Liberty throughout their title run, averaging the second-most minutes (12.5) amongst bench gamers. Her finest peformance of the postseason got here in Sport 2 of the semifinals towards Las Vegas, when she was a game-best plus-13 and helped New York take a commanding 2-0 lead within the collection. Golden State would be the fourth cease in Thornton’s WNBA profession, and the 32-year-old veteran has one 12 months remaining on a contract extension she signed with the Liberty in 2023.
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