Game 11 preview: Golden State Valkyries @ Dallas Wings, 5:00 PM PDT.

Welcome back Kaitlyn Chen and Chloe Bibby (for now)! DAL brings Paige Bueckers, a bad record and bad vibes.

Table of Contents

• News

  • Life without the Euros

  • New substitutes: Kaitlyn Chen and Chloe Bibby

  • The Commissioner’s Cup

  • How to watch

  • GSV injury / absence report

• What to expect

  • Comparative team power rankings

    • Golden State Valkyries (4-5): B

    • Dallas Wings (1-10): F

  • Apricot’s recent game summaries

  • Oversimplified guide to the Valkyries roster

News

Life without the Euros

Here are the games in June where GSV will have 1/3 of the team leaving for Eurobasket.

• June 9 at #11 Los Angeles Sparks (OT thriller victory)

• June 14 vs #5 Seattle Storm (big lead, close victory)

• June 17 at #13 Dallas Wings ← YOU ARE HERE

• June 19 vs #7 Indiana Fever

• June 22 vs #11 Connecticut Sun

• June 25 vs #1 New York Liberty

  • (return from Eurobasket for losers of Group Stage)

• June 27 vs #12 Chicago Sky

• June 29 vs #5 Seattle Storm

• July 5 at #2 Minnesota Lynx

Expect ferocious fight and heart against the odds, and if we ever get a Full Squad, then they should be able to beat all but the top WNBA teams.

• Valkyrie Nation Eurobasket Viewing / Cheering Guide

  • how to watch, when are they playing, when are they likely to return

• All about June Eurobasket and the huge changes it brings for the Valkyries

• Group Stage ends Jun 21, 22 (return Jun 23, 24)

• Knockout Stage ends Jun 29 (return Jul 1)

New substitutes: Kaitlyn Chen and Chloe Bibby

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 30^th 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.

Kaitlyn Chen and Chloe Bibby are familiar faces from preseason and are stepping in as substitutes during Eurobasket. They are 99.9% likely to have to leave when the Eurobasket players return

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 Powers / Chen / Bibby are super unlikely to be retained.

The Commissioner’s Cup

• This is described in detail here.

• This is the last Commissioner’s Cup game. Unfortunately, GSV has no chance to win the conference, so the only difference the Cup makes is that the ball is a cool black and white.

How to watch

• As usual: KPIX+ (Bay Area), KMAX (Sacramento)

  • In the Bay Area, KPIX is channel 5, and KPIX+, the home of Valkyries basketball, is channel 44 (cable 12). In Sacramento, KMAX is channel 31, and KOVR is channel 13.

• (For Friday games, they’re also on ION, available on Fubo and YouTube TV and elsewhere)

• WNBA League Pass if you are out of the blackout region. Even if blacked out, in theory the game is available right after the conclusion.

GSV injury / absence report

• Last game: Tiffany Hayes - OUT - Nose

• Fagbenle, Salaun, Vanloo and Zandalasini are officially gone for Eurobasket.

What to expect

From the Valkyries:

• High energy

• Fast pace, fast breaks

• Aggressive defense trying for on-ball steals and deflected passes

• Three-point shooting (not necessarily three-point making)

• Five-out formations, pick and roll, and HORNS formations

Comparative team power rankings

Power rankings are all made up, but they are useful to see the conventional wisdom about teams. Here’s one from ESPN.

Golden State Valkyries (4-5): B

Expectations were low for Golden State in its inaugural season -- and with good reason. Historically, expansion teams struggle in their debut campaigns. And with a roster built around international and veteran role players, but no star power, it was tricky to predict how the Valkyries would fare. Instead, they have wildly exceeded expectations. Their biggest statement was their 27-point win over Las Vegas, which saw them shut down A'ja Wilson and put together their most complete offensive performance so far. In their next game, they beat Los Angeles in overtime. Kayla Thornton and Veronica Burton have emerged as the team's best players, while undrafted rookie Janelle Salaun's production has been a welcome surprise. Golden State has shown fight in most of its games even though it has struggled to stick with it in the second half or close out in close situations. But their wins against the Aces and Sparks prove they have what it takes. -- Kendra Andrews

Dallas Wings (1-10): F

The Wings made a lot of offseason moves: hiring a new GM and coach, bringing back just three players from last season's 9-31 team, adding No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers. It hasn't panned out so far. Dallas, picked eighth in our ESPN preseason rankings, is averaging 81.5 points but allowing 88.5. Bueckers returned to the lineup with 35 points Wednesday in a loss to Phoenix after missing four games in concussion protocol and because of an illness. Guard Arike Ogunbowale is shooting 33.7% and averaging 15.7 points, both career lows. Centers Teaira McCowan and Luisa Geiselsoder will be gone the rest of June as they play in EuroBasket. Dallas was the league's worst team last season and is on the road to repeating that in 2025. But we will see whether the Wings can find some life with Bueckers back. -- Voepel

Apricot’s recent game summaries

• Game 10 wrap. Valks blowout Storm, then un-blowout Storm, still win. Always Close Enough To Hurt™

• Game 9 wrap. Leite out of the doghouse, closes out the game with Thornton in OT to beat LA; Salaun pours in 21

• Game 8 wrap. Valkyries blow out #3 Aces and contain MVP A’ja Wilson

• Game 7 wrap: Buddhism teaches us that suffering comes from attachment to material things

• Game 6 wrap: Valkyries even with WNBA Finalists Lynx at half, get blown out in Q4, storm back at end too late

• Game 5 wrap: So close to the upset of the year... Always Close Enough To Hurt™

Oversimplified guide to the Valkyries roster

Four players left through the month of June to participate in Eurobasket (thoroughly explained earlier): Fagbenle, Salaun, Vanloo, Zandalasini. Don’t worry, just four of the most important players. A shooting-starved team is losing their #1, #2, and #4 in threes per game, and Fagbenle is their starting center. This is a huge disruption to a team that has only been together about 1 month. It’s also a big opportunity for everyone staying.

• Starters, slightly scoring challenged but feisty defenders

  • #22 Veronica Burton. Solid point guard, organizes and calls all the plays; outstanding defender and ball-stealer; decent at running pick-and-roll, not quite explosive enough to blow by but can muscle in layups and running hooks.

  • #5 Kayla Thornton. Vet all-around forward. Likes to spot up for corner 3s and get dirty fighting for rebounds everywhere. With Burton is a team leader and organizer. Key bench player for the champion Liberty,

  • #7 Stephanie Talbot. Vet wing who can shoot the 3. Had been penciled in as starter in preseason, but injuries delayed her debut until Game 3 where she looked rusty. Has been a Did Not Play - Coach Decision recently. Started last game and made some dazzling passes and awful turnovers.

  • #0 Carla Leite

    • Youngest at 21 y.o., was 2024-25 EuroCup Finals MVP.

    • Excellent bounce back games after being in Coach Nakase’s doghouse, barely playing the previous 4 games. Some dazzling speed on drives and horrible turnovers. Rookie life.

    • Promised NOT to leave for Eurobasket, a commitment that has won my heart.

• Possible Starters during Eurobasket

  • #25 Monique Billings. Sturdy scorer and rebounding vet, starting to really hit her stride as the screener in pick and roll. Can pop out for 3 or finish through contact. Presumably will start at center during Eurobasket.

• Entertaining Bench, slightly chaotic

  • #20 Kate Martin. The most popular player, Iowa teammate of Caitlin Clark.

    • Has hit a couple of threes but her finishing at the rim has been difficult

    • Starting to settle in a bit as a shooter and even as a screener for pick-and-pop.

    • Chaotic on defense: some very heads-up rotations, some bad switches.

• Joined as Eurobasket replacements

  • #3 Laeticia Amihere.

    • Indirectly won this spot over Linskens since GSV is going further into smallball, 5-out, run-and-gun style, which needs a more dynamic athlete to run the court. It didn’t hurt that Amihere hit a couple of threes in preseason.

    • She got some minutes vs SEA and GSV featured her in several keeper-actions where she fakes a dribble handoff to a guard and drives. They were a mixed bag of baskets and offensive fouls. Perhaps she’ll settle in against DAL.

  • #23 Aerial Powers.

    • The fifth overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft, Powers averages 10.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and a 39.7 field goal percentage across her nine-year WNBA playing career. The 5’11” guard was named to the WNBA All-Rookie team in 2016 with Dallas, and guided Washington to the 2019 WNBA Championship title. Powers spent the 2024 season with Atlanta where she averaged 8.6 points per game.

  • #2 Kaitlyn Chen. A decent, smart point guard. Chen was, by applause, *the* most popular player in the preseason games, even surpassing Kate Martin. However, she would be behind in the guard depth chart: Hayes, Burton, Vanloo, Leite for sure; and Kate Martin is there to absorb all remaining guard minutes. So there isn’t normally a place in the rotation. With Hayes and Vanloo out, we still have Burton/Leite and Powers/Martin ahead of Chen in the rotation. But if there’s foul trouble (or garbage time), we could see Chen.

  • #55 Chloe Bibby. A decent forward, whose playing time is hard to predict during Eurobasket. Ahead of her for the 3 big/wing positions are Thornton/Billings/Talbot as starters and then Amihere off the bench. That should in theory leave some minutes to be absorbed by Bibby. On the other hand, Nakase hasn’t been shy about running three guard lineups. So, she has a clearer path to minutes than Chen, but both should be sparingly used.

• Maybe Not Playing (see Injury Report above for updated availability)

  • #15 Tiffany Hayes. Lightning bug driver, unstoppable in the open court. But this team leader (she spoke at opening day) had a bad nose RE-INJURY and her return date is unclear.

• Away for Eurobasket

  • #24 Cecilia Zandalasini. Another vet wing who can shoot the 3. Has been out all training camp with right foot issue but came into the Liberty game and hit big shots. She was given the last shot to tie the Liberty game, so Nakase believes in her.

  • #35 Julie Vanloo. Goddess of Chaos, inventive and ambitious playmaker guard. Wild with the ball (5+ TOV per 36 minutes) but also makes wild positive plays. A little shaky on defense so far.

  • #14 Temi Fágbénlé. Decent scoring, all-around, solid solid vet center. Can run pick and roll and punish mismatches by posting up.

  • #13 Janelle Salaün, Fresh off an Italian League Finals MVP, she joined GSV in Game 2 and hasn’t stopped shooting since. She’s reportedly headed for Eurobasket for June so enjoy her while you can.