I think I am really impressed with the win over the Storm. As near as I can tell the 2 or maybe even 3 best players were all on the Storm and the Vs won anyway. Even if it was a fluke it was an impressive fluke. WNBA is fun!
Also of note: Lacob was a big investor in the ABL which was the league that proved pro women’s basketball could be financially viable and which was promptly wiped out by the NBA creating the WNBA to take over the market.
They discuss who might be possible MVPs - Emma Meeseman is their favorite, but they mentioned Zandalasini and Salaun as other possible options. They also thought Rupert might be a player that could be the most impactful but not as noticeable.
The Golden State Valkyries announced today the signing of forward Chloe Bibby and guard Kaitlyn Chen, who are set to join the team for its upcoming game against the Dallas Wings at 7:00 p.m. on June 17 in Dallas. Bibby will wear No. 55, and Chen will wear No. 2 for the Valkyries.
Bibby averaged 5.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, and a 37.5 field goal percentage in two preseason contests for Golden State this season. The 6’2” forward played collegiately at Mississippi State and Maryland, tallying over 1,300 points and 600 rebounds during her collegiate career. Bibby also played for the Australian National Team, leading the Opals to a bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA Asia Cup.
Chen appeared in two preseason games for the Valkyries, playing 13 total minutes with two points, three rebounds and one assist. The 5’9” guard was selected 30th overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft by Golden State after winning the 2025 NCAA Championship with the University of Connecticut. Prior to UConn, Chen played three seasons at Princeton where she was the 2023 Ivy League Player of the Year.
Unfortunately, I think it’s a near certainty that Chen will not be with the team going forward. The contract is likely a replacement or hardship contract which means it MUST expire when the replaced player returns (or 7 days).
Hopefully it will be a good audition piece for Chen for other teams, including overseas.
The team hasn’t announced the exact type of contract of any of the players. The WNBA has listed every one as a “rest of season” contract, but we’ve noted that WNBA.com has been wrong before.
The main constraint is roster numbers. The pre-EuroB roster was full at 12. Linskens was waived, which puts the roster at 11. So there’s space to keep one more player. However, there are some good candidates for that last spot. The presumptive new person is reportedly Iliana Rupert who is tearing it up in France. That would leave no spot for Amihere. To keep her, someone else would have to go (and in my mind, the player on the bubble is Talbot).
Then putting all that drama aside, I don’t see that Powers / Chen / Bibby will pass any of Amihere / Rupert / Talbot for the 11th and 12th spot. That’s why I say Chen is super unlikely to be retained.
I didn't understand the fan backlash to cutting her tbh. She seems like a good player but the team is constrained on how many players they can have. Which player on the team is she so definitively better than to take over their spot permanently?
I was wondering when we should expect players back from Europe. Note that if you make it past the group stage, there are seeding games so you are booked up until June 29th even if you lose in the semis.
Here are the groups, the FIBA world rankings, and an asterisk for teams with players expected to return to the Valkyries:
Group A (group stage in Greece):
*France(3)
Switzerland (24)
Greece (21)
Turkey (17)
Group B (group stage in Italy):
Slovenia (22)
Serbia (8)
*Italy (16)
Lithuania (45)
Group C (group stage in Czech):
*Belgium (6)
Czech (18)
Montenegro (19)
Portugal
Group D (group stage in Germany):
*Great Britain (20)
Germany (13)
Sweden (25)
Spain (5)
So, I'd expect Salaün (and Rupert, from what I hear) and JVL to be playing next week. Temi is probably going to be back early. Zandalasini could go either way, from the rankings that isn't a hard group, but I could also see Italy getting beat out. On the other hand, they are home for the group stage games so may have a home court advantage. Anyway I'll still be rooting for all their teams to do well even if we'll miss them for another 3 games.
If you make it out of group stage, then I believe you have to stay through Jun 29 because there are “classification” games between the teams that lose to determine the order of finish outside of #1-#2.
That was my understanding as well - there are basically 4 games every day through June 29th to sort out seeding for FIBA World Cup, so the 8 teams that make it through qualifying are booked for the next week.
I’ve been having a somewhat harder time keeping up with the W from abroad, just because of the time difference, so I’m often well behind in watching these games. Catching up now, and man, it’s impressive how hard Nakase has this team playing.
Burton keeps coming up huge in this way. The numbers obviously aren’t that pretty, but she just feels like a winner. Maybe it’s more of a bench role for her in the long term, but she’s got the brains and the tenacity to help a good team.
Leite is intriguing, too. It’s a lazy comp because of the nationality, but she’s got a bit of Tony Parker when she drives to the basket. If she starts making threes like she evidently was in Europe, look out.
OT, because non-Valkyries, but I was a Storm fan before GSV came along, so:
This wasn’t her best game, but it’s gratifying regardless to see Gabby Williams becoming one of the best wings in the league. It was clear two, three years ago that she had this potential, but not at all clear whether it would come together. She’s awesome now, the kind of player every NBA team wants: big, strong, athletic; handles, shoots, and locks down defensively.
Malonga clearly has loads of potential, but I sort of wish SEA had traded the #2 pick for Ariel Atkins (who was traded to CHI for #3). Put Atkins in their starting five, with Clarke first off the bench, and you’ve got something special. Maybe they were counting on drafting Myles as a 2-guard before she withdrew.
From NN: So as long as we maintain our spacing, we have players that can all shoot 3s, so that’s why we get to have that space, and that’s why the rim is open.
As Eric says, they can all shoot them, but getting them in the basket? Not so much.
1) The energy is real. Incredible vibe on the way into the arena, and the crowd was hyped up all game but especially for that finish. (Not sure the G-S-V chant is really resonating tho, felt like "Let's Go Valkyries *clap clap clap-clap-clap* got better engagement.)
2) Kayla Thornton is funny
3) The Golden State organization takes very seriously its commitment to Always Close Enough to Hurt
I was at this game, and let me tell you baby... that crowd was open for business. Chase was full of people and energy. Lots of people already decked out in gear, lots of people with homemade gear and signs. Lots of enthused kids everywhere, too. This team has wasted no time in starting to put together an identity and the crowd is feeding off their gritty defense and tenacious rebounding. Kayla got huge cheers all game, as did Temi and Carla.
And to anyone who is local to the bay but cost-wary about going to a game in the city... my tickets were only $25 and I got a polish dog for under $10 at the half. Don't think Oracle had prices that cheap in the Dynasty Warriors years.
The announcers said this at the time, but that Storm missed open 3 with about 4:30 left seemed huge. Would have cut it to 2, instead the Vs got the lead back to 10 and managed to hang on for dear life from there
yeah I think SEA had at least three makable jumpers in the last 3 min that would have made a big difference. But ultimately, SEA shot 31% from 3P and GSV shot 16.7% ugh so SEA were already lucky on the 3P% differential.
Thanks for the encouragement! I actually try to write it live during the game and live comment in the game thread on the web site. Then I package it up for the email audience.
Incredible breakdowns here! Can't thank you enough for those, Eric.
I think the key reason the zone worked for such long stretches in this game is Burton's four years of experience in college as the leader of a matchup zone. She just reads almost everything four seconds before it happens. Had to have double digit deflections today
I swear I have seen her get 20 deflections in a game before so it's possible! VB was my year at Northwestern and I have been a super fan ever since she started there. Just an incredibly fun player to watch, especially when she's the head of the snake in a zone lol
Ever since the start of the season, she has been probably my favorite player on the team. Awesome defender, great PnR operator, willing communicator. She's a dawg.
I love her game. I am not sure people know how much she is in charge of the team. When she’s on the court, she yells every play loud and clear, sometimes following Nakase orders, sometimes calling on her own.
And as a play analyzer, I am particularly grateful she is so audible with the play calls! 😀
Yup!! The Valks are filled with hard workers, of course, which is a big part of what makes them so fun to watch, but V has pretty much always been the hardest worker in every room she's in. It's why her game and leadership continue to get better and better imo. And it's why she's my favorite player too!
Her Hoop Stats quarter season report card - Valks did well
https://open.substack.com/pub/herhoopstats/p/tulins-treasures-june-16-2025-wnba-quarter-season-report-card?r=4v5gg&utm_medium=ios
I think I am really impressed with the win over the Storm. As near as I can tell the 2 or maybe even 3 best players were all on the Storm and the Vs won anyway. Even if it was a fluke it was an impressive fluke. WNBA is fun!
It’s hard to understand why they keep winning games.
The Valkyries are very, very fun. And the crowd is amazing.
TK article on the Valkyries, with a lot of quotes from Joe. Sounds like Joe and Peter still know how to make money while having fun.
https://sfstandard.com/2025/06/16/joe-lacob-valkyries-wnba-value-revenue/?utm_source=native_share&utm_medium=site_buttons&utm_campaign=site_buttons
Also of note: Lacob was a big investor in the ABL which was the league that proved pro women’s basketball could be financially viable and which was promptly wiped out by the NBA creating the WNBA to take over the market.
Great move by Lacob to get a W franchise. They'll probably get full return on investment in 1 season.
Informative podcast about Euro Basket, lots of Valkyries players mentioned
https://bsky.app/profile/herhoopstats.com/post/3lrocumeewk2k
They discuss who might be possible MVPs - Emma Meeseman is their favorite, but they mentioned Zandalasini and Salaun as other possible options. They also thought Rupert might be a player that could be the most impactful but not as noticeable.
Some of you will be temporarily happy:
[[
The Golden State Valkyries announced today the signing of forward Chloe Bibby and guard Kaitlyn Chen, who are set to join the team for its upcoming game against the Dallas Wings at 7:00 p.m. on June 17 in Dallas. Bibby will wear No. 55, and Chen will wear No. 2 for the Valkyries.
Bibby averaged 5.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, and a 37.5 field goal percentage in two preseason contests for Golden State this season. The 6’2” forward played collegiately at Mississippi State and Maryland, tallying over 1,300 points and 600 rebounds during her collegiate career. Bibby also played for the Australian National Team, leading the Opals to a bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA Asia Cup.
Chen appeared in two preseason games for the Valkyries, playing 13 total minutes with two points, three rebounds and one assist. The 5’9” guard was selected 30th overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft by Golden State after winning the 2025 NCAA Championship with the University of Connecticut. Prior to UConn, Chen played three seasons at Princeton where she was the 2023 Ivy League Player of the Year.
]]
I'm really not going to be happy if Chen gets cut again.
Unfortunately, I think it’s a near certainty that Chen will not be with the team going forward. The contract is likely a replacement or hardship contract which means it MUST expire when the replaced player returns (or 7 days).
Hopefully it will be a good audition piece for Chen for other teams, including overseas.
Is Amihere on the same kind of contract? E,g, definitely gone after Eurobasket?
The team hasn’t announced the exact type of contract of any of the players. The WNBA has listed every one as a “rest of season” contract, but we’ve noted that WNBA.com has been wrong before.
The main constraint is roster numbers. The pre-EuroB roster was full at 12. Linskens was waived, which puts the roster at 11. So there’s space to keep one more player. However, there are some good candidates for that last spot. The presumptive new person is reportedly Iliana Rupert who is tearing it up in France. That would leave no spot for Amihere. To keep her, someone else would have to go (and in my mind, the player on the bubble is Talbot).
Then putting all that drama aside, I don’t see that Powers / Chen / Bibby will pass any of Amihere / Rupert / Talbot for the 11th and 12th spot. That’s why I say Chen is super unlikely to be retained.
I didn't understand the fan backlash to cutting her tbh. She seems like a good player but the team is constrained on how many players they can have. Which player on the team is she so definitively better than to take over their spot permanently?
I was wondering when we should expect players back from Europe. Note that if you make it past the group stage, there are seeding games so you are booked up until June 29th even if you lose in the semis.
Here are the groups, the FIBA world rankings, and an asterisk for teams with players expected to return to the Valkyries:
Group A (group stage in Greece):
*France(3)
Switzerland (24)
Greece (21)
Turkey (17)
Group B (group stage in Italy):
Slovenia (22)
Serbia (8)
*Italy (16)
Lithuania (45)
Group C (group stage in Czech):
*Belgium (6)
Czech (18)
Montenegro (19)
Portugal
Group D (group stage in Germany):
*Great Britain (20)
Germany (13)
Sweden (25)
Spain (5)
So, I'd expect Salaün (and Rupert, from what I hear) and JVL to be playing next week. Temi is probably going to be back early. Zandalasini could go either way, from the rankings that isn't a hard group, but I could also see Italy getting beat out. On the other hand, they are home for the group stage games so may have a home court advantage. Anyway I'll still be rooting for all their teams to do well even if we'll miss them for another 3 games.
Looking at the schedule, Temi and possibly Zandalasini could be finished by June 22, back by June 23.
If Italy advances, then Zandalasini could continue until the June 24 and June 25.
Salauen, Rupert, and VanLoo may be in the semi- Finals on June 27.
If France and/or Belgium prevail (s) , then they will be in the June 28/29 finals.
If you make it out of group stage, then I believe you have to stay through Jun 29 because there are “classification” games between the teams that lose to determine the order of finish outside of #1-#2.
Phooey, so only likely Temi and maybe Ceci may be back to play beginning the 24th. The next game is June 25.
That was my understanding as well - there are basically 4 games every day through June 29th to sort out seeding for FIBA World Cup, so the 8 teams that make it through qualifying are booked for the next week.
I’m rooting for all the Valks to have spectacular games in Eurobasket while crashing out early after the Group Stage!
Ditto.
Valhalla BB has an overview of the Vs in EuroBB:
https://valhalla.basketball/blog/2025/06/14/where-are-the-valkyries-final-eurobasket-preparations-edition/
I’ve been having a somewhat harder time keeping up with the W from abroad, just because of the time difference, so I’m often well behind in watching these games. Catching up now, and man, it’s impressive how hard Nakase has this team playing.
Burton keeps coming up huge in this way. The numbers obviously aren’t that pretty, but she just feels like a winner. Maybe it’s more of a bench role for her in the long term, but she’s got the brains and the tenacity to help a good team.
Leite is intriguing, too. It’s a lazy comp because of the nationality, but she’s got a bit of Tony Parker when she drives to the basket. If she starts making threes like she evidently was in Europe, look out.
OT, because non-Valkyries, but I was a Storm fan before GSV came along, so:
This wasn’t her best game, but it’s gratifying regardless to see Gabby Williams becoming one of the best wings in the league. It was clear two, three years ago that she had this potential, but not at all clear whether it would come together. She’s awesome now, the kind of player every NBA team wants: big, strong, athletic; handles, shoots, and locks down defensively.
Malonga clearly has loads of potential, but I sort of wish SEA had traded the #2 pick for Ariel Atkins (who was traded to CHI for #3). Put Atkins in their starting five, with Clarke first off the bench, and you’ve got something special. Maybe they were counting on drafting Myles as a 2-guard before she withdrew.
Great job by Coach Nat!
From NN: So as long as we maintain our spacing, we have players that can all shoot 3s, so that’s why we get to have that space, and that’s why the rim is open.
As Eric says, they can all shoot them, but getting them in the basket? Not so much.
WE LOSE MONEY ON EVERY SALE BUT WE MAKE IT UP IN VOLUME
My first Valkyries game! Three observations:
1) The energy is real. Incredible vibe on the way into the arena, and the crowd was hyped up all game but especially for that finish. (Not sure the G-S-V chant is really resonating tho, felt like "Let's Go Valkyries *clap clap clap-clap-clap* got better engagement.)
2) Kayla Thornton is funny
3) The Golden State organization takes very seriously its commitment to Always Close Enough to Hurt
4) That was fun!
Maybe if they had a clap after G- S-V.
I was at this game, and let me tell you baby... that crowd was open for business. Chase was full of people and energy. Lots of people already decked out in gear, lots of people with homemade gear and signs. Lots of enthused kids everywhere, too. This team has wasted no time in starting to put together an identity and the crowd is feeding off their gritty defense and tenacious rebounding. Kayla got huge cheers all game, as did Temi and Carla.
And to anyone who is local to the bay but cost-wary about going to a game in the city... my tickets were only $25 and I got a polish dog for under $10 at the half. Don't think Oracle had prices that cheap in the Dynasty Warriors years.
There’s something unbelievable being part of that crowd. You can almost ‘feel’ the energy in the room all through the game.
The announcers said this at the time, but that Storm missed open 3 with about 4:30 left seemed huge. Would have cut it to 2, instead the Vs got the lead back to 10 and managed to hang on for dear life from there
yeah I think SEA had at least three makable jumpers in the last 3 min that would have made a big difference. But ultimately, SEA shot 31% from 3P and GSV shot 16.7% ugh so SEA were already lucky on the 3P% differential.
You wrote that so fast. Super wrap. Team is so fun!
Thanks for the encouragement! I actually try to write it live during the game and live comment in the game thread on the web site. Then I package it up for the email audience.
Going back and watching at a slow speed to see if I can follow your remarks. Thanks for Doing this.
Thanks, let me know if there are things I can be clearer about (or more correct about)
Incredible breakdowns here! Can't thank you enough for those, Eric.
I think the key reason the zone worked for such long stretches in this game is Burton's four years of experience in college as the leader of a matchup zone. She just reads almost everything four seconds before it happens. Had to have double digit deflections today
Going back to watch her deflections. Thanks.
Ditto!
Haha, you and Coach Nakase thinking alike. She credited VB and estimated her deflections at 20
I swear I have seen her get 20 deflections in a game before so it's possible! VB was my year at Northwestern and I have been a super fan ever since she started there. Just an incredibly fun player to watch, especially when she's the head of the snake in a zone lol
Ever since the start of the season, she has been probably my favorite player on the team. Awesome defender, great PnR operator, willing communicator. She's a dawg.
I love her game. I am not sure people know how much she is in charge of the team. When she’s on the court, she yells every play loud and clear, sometimes following Nakase orders, sometimes calling on her own.
And as a play analyzer, I am particularly grateful she is so audible with the play calls! 😀
Yup!! The Valks are filled with hard workers, of course, which is a big part of what makes them so fun to watch, but V has pretty much always been the hardest worker in every room she's in. It's why her game and leadership continue to get better and better imo. And it's why she's my favorite player too!