The Golden State Valkyries made their selections during the Expansion Draft to start forming their inaugural roster. What are the key takeaways?

The Golden State Valkyries have taken their first steps toward building a roster for their inaugural season in 2025, and Friday’s expansion draft suggests there will be significantly more turnover for them in the near future.

On Friday, the WNBA held the Golden State expansion draft to help the league’s 13th franchise create its inaugural roster. During the 30-minute ESPN reveal, Andraya Carter, Elle Duncan, Chiney Ogwumike and Rebecca Lobo walked hoops fans through Golden State’s choices as it selected players from the league’s current 12 teams.

Golden State Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin and vice president of basketball operations Vanja Černivec met in Nyanin’s office last week to begin a chapter in the franchise’s history. Although Golden State’s expansion draft picks were announced Friday,

The Golden State Valkyries have selected center Iliana Rupert of Atlanta, guard Veronica Burton of Connecticut, guard Carla Leite of Dallas and forward Maria Conde of Chicago with their initial picks of the WNBA expansion draft.

Former Iowa standout Kate Martin, veteran free agent Monique Billings among players selected by Bay Area’s new WNBA team.

We mentioned this was a possibility in our expansion draft predictions. While Seattle has formidable options that could have been added, like Sami Whitcomb, Victoria Vivians or Mercedes Russell, all three are unrestricted free agents, and the Valkyries can add any of those players later.

Kate Martin, Stephanie Talbot, Kayla Thornton & Cecilia Zandalasini highlight selections by WNBA’s 13th franchise in 2024 Expansion Draft.

The WNBA approved the Bay Area franchise in October 2023, making it the league’s first expansion team since the Atlanta Dream in 2008. The Dream was the 14th WNBA franchise at the time, but the contraction of the Houston Comets and Sacramento Monarchs in subsequent years left the league with 12 clubs, a number that has held constant for 15 years.

The Valkyries selected 11 players during last week's Expansion Draft on ESPN. There were a few surprises (all good ones for the Bay Area team), including the drafting of the Fever's Temi Fagbenle and the fact that 7 of the 11 members of the team are overseas players.