The new Valkyries roster! Plus Kate Martin, Coach Nakase and GM Nyanin speak

GSV went for maximum flexibility, not a finished team

Table of Contents

• The new team

• Brief thoughts

• Kate Martin interview

• Coach Nakase interview

• GM Nyanin interview

Here is the new team (for now)!

Data from the wonderful Her Hoop Stats.

Meaning of the statuses

• A number means the player’s 2025 salary by contract.

• UFA means Billings is currently an Unrestricted Free Agent.

• RFA means Fagbenle is a Restricted Free Agent. So she can sign contracts with other teams, but GSV can choose to match those offers and keep her

• Suspended contract means they are playing outside of the WNBA and have paused their contract.

• Draft rights, unsigned means GSV has the draft rights to Leite, who has never signed a WNBA contract. If she ever wants to play in the WNBA, she has to negotiate with GSV and probably sign a standard rookie contract.

• Players of 3 years or fewer experience become Reserved Players when GSV offer them a reserved qualifying offer. Then the reserved player has to either accept that qualifying offer, negotiate a better longer contract with the team, or not play in the WNBA until they sign and play with that team. GSV would keep her reserve free agent rights until she actually signs a GSV contract or is released.

• Two practical examples from 2023

  • 1. Temi Fagbenle (new Valk!!) did not sign the reserve qualifying offer and she was not eligible to play in the WNBA. She played elsewhere and IND held her rights. Then she came back in 2024 and signed with IND. Her contract was a minimum (76,535), presumably because she didn't want to sign a longer contract and had no leverage to demand more from IND since as a reserved free agent, she could only negotiate with IND.

  • 2. Ezi Magbegor was a reserved free agent with SEA. She negotiated with SEA for a longer contract of 3y / $500k.

Yahoo’s summary :

Nakase, general manager Ohemaa Nyanin and vice president of basketball operations Vanja Černivec began by balancing out the various avenues to construct a team from scratch within the $1.5 million cap for 2025. After taking on a mere $305,595 in salary after the expansion draft and taking the rights to multiple players who might not be involved in the WNBA next season, the Valkyries front office will enter a loaded free agency with $1.2 million in cap space….

The player supermax is around $250,000 and the contract for their No. 5 pick in April’s collegiate draft is $75,643, allowing Golden State to add multiple near-max salaries. Most players likely won't sign past 2025 because a new collective bargaining agreement will bring larger paychecks and potential rule changes. This offseason's unrestricted free agent list includes veterans Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot, Kelsey Mitchell, Nneka Ogwumike and Gabby Williams….

EuroBasket will potentially eat up all of June for a combination of the Valkyries' Temi Fagbenle (Great Britain), Cecilia Zandalasini (Italy), Stephanie Talbot (Australia), Julie Vanloo (Belgium), Maria Conde (Spain), Iliana Rupert (France) and Carla Leite (France). Should their teams qualify in February, they would be unavailable for one-quarter of the Valkyries season (11 of 44 games). Some might choose to skip the WNBA altogether to stay home for the tournament.

Apricot says:

As for the roster, I count 6 players who are unlikely to play next year but whose future rights will be held by GSV, 2 solid vet players signed to a one-year contract (Talbot, Thornton), 1 restricted free agent (Fagbenle), and 1 long rookie contract (Martin), and one unrestricted free agent (Billings) who in theory could be cored, but commenters seem to think this would be a stretch.

In retrospect, this makes a lot of sense. Almost all non-rookie players in the WNBA currently have contracts that end in 2025. This means that every player draftable in the expansion draft were only under team control for one year. That is bad.

So GSW made the best of it, took good players that didn’t load down their cap sheet and whose rights they could keep into the future, and are now poised to hit free agency with the second most free space in the league. These free agents are near certainly going to sign for only 1 year anyway, so the league will have a massive reset next year any way.

What follows are the interviews with Kate Martin, Coach Nakase and GM Nyanin. They couldn’t talk about other players that were available, which players are likely to play, nor could they talk about their future free agency plans. So, the discussions were friendly but of limited insight, except for Kate’s which was pretty enthusiastic.

Golden State Valkyries Media Conference

Friday, December 6, 2024

San Francisco, California, USA

Kate Martin

Q. Last time we talked to you we were talking about your time with the Aces and your relationship with A'ja Wilson. What's it going to be like not being on the same team? Are you going to have to develop a new handshake? Did she reach out to you after you were drafted?

KATE MARTIN: Yeah, she reached out to me. A'ja was obviously a tremendous teammate, leader, great person to be around. But yeah, it's not going to be fun not being on the same team as her, obviously. She's amazing, so that's going to pose its own challenges.

But yeah, I feel really grateful a lot of my Aces teammates reached out to me, and obviously they will be missed. That is what is so special about basketball is building those bonds with your teammates, and now I'm excited to meet new teammates and build more bonds there with the Valkyries.

Q. What does it mean for you to be a part of the first Golden State WNBA team and to be moving to the Bay? Also just being a part of one of the foundational players, knowing that there's so much cap space, they're going to be aggressive in free agency, kind of in this new opportunity?

KATE MARTIN: Yeah, like you said, it's a pretty cool opportunity. I feel really grateful to be a part of it. It's a part of history, a new WNBA team. They haven't had an expansion draft in a really long time. It's something super cool to be a part of, and I feel really grateful that they chose me.

It's just going to be a lot of fun. Obviously they're going to be aggressive, and we're going to have more people added. That makes it really fun, seeing the roster come together and what it's going to be, how training camp is going to look. Obviously I fully trust the front office and Coach Natalie to put together a roster in a training camp that's going to compete. We're here to win games. That's what Coach Nat is going to want to do. It's just really cool to be a part of history.

Q. Coach Nakase has said she wants players that are ultra competitive, want to win and are going to play with a chip on their shoulder. How do you feel like your mindset fits into that architect?

KATE MARTIN: Well, I think Coach Nat and I kind of bonded over that in Vegas, of just having that ready-to-work, nothing-is-given-to-you, you-earn-everything kind of mindset. She's just the type of coach that I want to play for and the type of coach, as I said earlier, that makes you want to run through a brick wall for them. She's going to be really hard on you and give you tough love, but she's also going to build you up and tell you "good job" when you're doing a good job. It's really fun to play for somebody like that, but yeah, I've just always kind of been that type of player.

I was a mid-second-rounder, didn't really know, never expected anything, never given anything. I've had to work really hard to be where I'm at. So I think Coach Nat sees that, as well.

Q. Can you speak to seeing who your teammates are now? Some of them you have played against. Talk about the energy that you're feeling, the excitement that you're feeling being alongside some great names.

KATE MARTIN: Yeah, super excited. I obviously didn't know who my teammates were going to be until today, so I found out when everybody else did. But that was really fun.

Played against a couple in college and played against all of them in the league. There's established vets, there's really good versatile posts, there's really good guards.

Coach Nat and the front office are putting together a competitive roster like they want, and that's what you want to be a part of. They all seem like they are really hard workers and really great people and going to be really good teammates. I'm excited to see everybody in April and get to work during training camp then.

Q. You mentioned being a mid second-round pick. You're going to be teammates now with someone whom you have faced off against in the past two post-seasons in Kayla Thornton who was an undrafted player who has developed a really strong career for herself. What can you learn about a two-way player like Kayla Thornton, and how can you best press forward, and how do you want to foster that relationship?

KATE MARTIN: Well, yeah, I'm definitely more excited about being teammates with her now than being opponents. She's a force to be reckoned with.

Yeah, she can play really good defense. Also killer shooter from the corners especially. But she can also get downhill in a hurry. She's obviously a really good player, and definitely looking forward to being on the same side as her.

But obviously I don't know most of these players as people yet, but I'm looking forward to getting to know them and getting to learn from them and learn with them. We're all going to be learning a new system together and learning new challenges of being in a different area and being with a different coaching staff. So it'll be really cool to be able to lean on each other.

Q. You've played alongside some of the best players in the league. What lessons have you learned from them that will carry over into Golden State?

KATE MARTIN: Yeah, I think being a part of the Aces, which is already an established program who knows how to win and has won a lot of games has definitely served me right. I feel really grateful that I was drafted there and had an opportunity there and have learned from great coaching and also from great teammates.

I had some -- I was surrounded by some really good leaders there, so I'm just going to take that winning mindset and that winning culture and bring it on over to San Francisco, as will a lot of my other teammates that were selected.

I'm just looking forward to that as new beginnings and building something brand new from the start, from scratch. It's going to be really exciting, and it's going to pose its own challenges but also a lot of potential and a lot of room to grow, and that's something super exciting.

Q. Can you take us through what this process was, learning that you were joining Golden State, and how do you think this franchise will give you more opportunities to grow as a pro?

KATE MARTIN: Yeah, I mean, the process was -- could be a little anxiety provoking. We have been left in the dark for a really long time. I didn't know if I was going to be in Vegas. I didn't know if I was getting protected or not. I didn't know if I was going out to San Francisco, in the midst of just trying to stay in the moment and focus on my craft and still training and getting better now. But also there's a lot of excitement with that. I felt really grateful that I could stay in Vegas, I could go out to San Francisco, and no matter what, I was just going to make the most of whatever opportunity that I had.

I feel really grateful, though, that I am going out to San Francisco to have a new beginning, a fresh start, and there's going to be a lot of room to grow there. Everybody is going to be learning a new system, like I said, but I'm really excited to play for Coach Nat. I think she instills a lot of confidence in her players, and that's something she hangs her hat on. I'm just going to continue to be me and continue to work on my craft and grow as a player, and once we get there, I'll figure out my role and what my job is and do that to the best of my ability.

Obviously I don't know yet, but I'm just looking forward to the future.

Q. I'm curious, what have your discussions been like with Ohemaa, and how does she stand out as a basketball executive in this league?

KATE MARTIN: Yeah, I've only had one brief interaction with her so far, but everything else I've seen on social media, she conducts herself in a very high-class manner. She seems amazing. That is the type of person that I would want to run a team that I'm playing for.

Also, I have to commend her and the rest of the front office for such a great head coaching hire in Coach Nat. Obviously if they're making really good decisions that way and with the roster, then obviously those are some people that I really want to play for and work hard for.

Q. When did you find out today you were going to Golden State? Was it on the show? Did they call you before? How did you find out that you were going there?

KATE MARTIN: Actually I found out yesterday but wasn't even allowed to tell my family or anything. Had to keep it under wraps there.

But I was informed beforehand so I knew that I had all these media obligations. But obviously that doesn't really mean a whole lot. But it was really nice to know before watching it on TV and then just being like, oh, let me just join these Zoom calls and just think of everything off the top of my head, so I actually got to do some research and talk through some talking points before just chatting to you guys with not knowing anything.

Q. What does it mean to be part of something brand new? This is the first franchise in Golden State. You're part of something that's brand new. How does that make you feel?

KATE MARTIN: Yeah, being a part of history is something really cool and something I'm going to be able to talk about for the rest of my life and tell my kids one day, that I was a part of an expansion draft and the first WNBA team in San Francisco. That is something super cool, and I feel really honored that they chose me and I get to be a part of this franchise.

Q. What kind of challenge is it to be one of the faces of this new franchise? What kind of challenge is it for you to raise the level of your game and be one of the leaders on and off the floor?

KATE MARTIN: I guess I don't really think of it in that way. I just think about perfecting my craft and working really hard and giving it all I've got every second. Every second I'm working out now training and then every second I'll be with San Francisco, with the Valkyries, I'll be working as hard as I possibly can. That's all I really focus on is everything I can control. I don't really care who thinks that I'm going to be a role player or maybe my role will grow with them. That doesn't matter to me. The only thing that matters to me is getting out there and building relationships with my team, my teammates, and always giving my all.

Q. I wanted to know as someone from Illinois having spent so much time in Iowa and then obviously last season in Las Vegas, have you been to San Francisco before, and what are your expectations and what excites you the most about coming out to the west coast full time?

KATE MARTIN: I've never been to San Francisco before. Actually the first time I went to California ever was this year when we played in LA.

I am not super familiar with the Bay Area, but I know that the fandom there is amazing with the 49ers. George Kittle, he's an Iowa alum, and I know his wife and him are big supporters of the Valkyries, which is pretty cool, and then also the Warriors out there, the fan base is amazing. I know that sport is going to carry over with the Valkyries, and we've already sold over 20,000 season tickets, so that's really cool and super awesome to see that support, so that's probably what I'm most excited about to get out there.

Q. Unreal the amazing run you had at Iowa and then obviously being with the Aces and then obviously to this point where you are. How have you been able to embrace where you are at this point, especially in your young career?

KATE MARTIN: Yeah, it is a little bit surreal whenever I think about it in a bigger lens. But when I just focus on being where my feet are and focusing on the moment, then I can enjoy every little moment. I don't try to think about the future too much. I don't want to look too far ahead. I'm obviously focused on Unrivaled right now, too, and just focused on getting better at basketball and working on my weaknesses right now, then Unrivaled, and my season with the Valkyries.

Yeah, it has been a whirlwind. It is a little bit surreal at times, but I just try to always embrace the moment and enjoy the little things and never take anything for granted.

Natalie Nakase

Q. Can you maybe confirm when you guys found out about the unprotected list? And can you also confirm if every player selected has a genuine offer to play on this team or if you guys are still thinking about future moves?

NATALIE NAKASE: Yeah, so we found out the list on November 25. That's when we found out the list. Then everyone we selected, I'm not sure if you -- oh, you didn't hear on ESPN, like I am genuinely excited about every player that I picked, and I can go down the line with the competitiveness, the way that these players will do anything it takes to win, and they're high character. So yes, these players are, from my heart, very well selected to an intent that I really want them on our team.

Q. This is a very international team; was that intentional? Can you talk about the importance of having such an international roster? The second question is are you excited to go back to coaching Kate Martin?

NATALIE NAKASE: Thanks for the question. Honestly, I was looking -- my non-negotiables are competitiveness, ultra competitiveness, and again, you can see it the way they played. Every single player, they're competitive.

Number two, they have high character. I watch from their body language, how they are when they come off the bench, how they are when they go to the bench. I watch all the little things, and I see high character with every single player.

The next thing is a never-satisfied mindset, meaning they want to play as if their life depends on it. They want to play as if they have something to prove, and to me, those were the characteristics that I love.

The international part, actually when I started to write down, I was like, oh, these players, half of them are not from the States, but that wasn't my mindset. It was building the best team that I wanted to build.

The Kate Martin question, of course. I'm excited with Kate. I grew a very close relationship when I was there with the Aces. She's a very genuine person, but she's also a culture changer. She really pours herself into her work and into her passion the way she plays.

Q. The team picked seven international players. What went through the process with that, obviously?

NATALIE NAKASE: Yeah, so kind of what I just said, it was the non-negotiables that I looked for in terms of my characteristics of what I want as a player. The international just kind of happened. It just was a coincidence. Again, I'm excited. Like I said, competitiveness, high character, and then a never-satisfied mindset. That's exactly what I was looking for.

Q. What kind of culture would you like to establish in the Bay Area, and what gives you confidence looking at the roster that you can have a successful season?

NATALIE NAKASE: Great question. Yeah, so my culture is going to be competitive. You're going to hear me say that a lot. They're going to be connected. I think the best way teams can work well -- sorry, have a lot of success early is if they can connect and have really great chemistry. So that's how I see my culture.

Your second question?

Q. What gives you confidence looking at the roster that you will have a successful season?

NATALIE NAKASE: I think, like I've kind of just been mentioning about the characteristics, when you have players that compete every night at a high level, and like I said, if you just watch these players, all 11 players, they compete. They compete like their life depends on it. I think I have a lot of confidence with that, because to me that means that they have a great work ethic. If they're playing that hard, that means that they have at least had to have practiced that hard.

Q. I wanted to ask about Temi Fagbenle. Were you surprised she was available, and what stands out to you about her?

NATALIE NAKASE: I wouldn't say surprised. Everyone has their reasons. I don't know what their reasons were, but when I saw her name, I was obviously very excited. She played very well against us, myself last year with the Aces, and I even made a special defense for her specifically. So I'm just really excited to have her.

As you can see, she has a really great personality, and I think that's really going to be infectious.

Q. Obviously with this just being the start of your roster building process and having $1.2 million worth of cap space available, you guys are going to be pretty active in free agency. How exciting is that to have that type of flexibility and know that you have a little bit of a foundation to build off of?

NATALIE NAKASE: Yeah, that's a great question. No, we are very excited just with, again -- I'm elated with the fact that I was able to get those 11 players. Like I said, these are players that are hungry, that possibly they're players that could have started on other teams, so I'm just really excited to give them the opportunity.

Again, you don't ever question a competitor in my mind.

Q. Kayla Thornton, to have her a part of this team, obviously kind of a WNBA journeywoman of sorts. What does she bring?

NATALIE NAKASE: Championship experience. I mean, right away, she played in really, really crucial minutes in the Finals, and that to me is priceless, having that type of -- I guess you could say pressure. But she steps up. When her name is called, she steps up. She's a defensive specialist. She can space the floor. But like you guys have all seen, she's a competitor.

Q. You kind of touched on it a little bit on ESPN, but I was hoping you could expand upon it. If you could describe the group you assembled tonight, the group of 11 women, in one word, what would it be?

NATALIE NAKASE: Competitive.

Q. Why that word of all things?

NATALIE NAKASE: So more than one word?

Q. Why competitive?

NATALIE NAKASE: Look, the ultimate goal here for the Golden State Valkyries and from my owner, straight from his mouth, is we would like to win a championship in five years. He said maybe even sooner. With that in mind, you have to have competitive players in order to win a championship. I've had experience with the Aces on how we won, and I would go down the line to say all those players were really competitive.

Q. So expand on the Kayla question, what do you remember most about your crucial match-ups with her having faced her in the postseason the past two years? What do you remember the most about her?

NATALIE NAKASE: Her physical on-ball defense. It was just really, really hard to be able to get by her and try to get to the paint. Obviously the way she crashes and boards, I think that's priceless.

Q. What does success look like for the Valkyries in year one? And you have four players on this team with championship experience. What was the approach behind building a competitive team for the inaugural season?

NATALIE NAKASE: Yeah, really great question. I mean, success means just winning as many games as possible, to me. I want to win every game. That's just kind of how I'm built. That's my -- undefeated I guess would be a great mark of success.

Can you ask the second question again?

Q. You have four players with championship experience on this roster, and I wanted to know what was the approach behind building this competitive roster for the inaugural season?

NATALIE NAKASE: Yeah, that's a great question. Like I said, having championship experience is vital. You're in those big moments. You're in those big locker room meetings and those practices that go down to the little details with the Playoffs. So yeah, that was a big piece into bringing this team together, because like I said, we have a goal, and we want to get there with the right players but also with the right minds at the same time.

Q. You guys selected a pretty veteran-heavy roster, and I'm wondering how you balance having players who are hungry and ready to go with also younger ones who might be around for the for the longer haul in Golden State?

NATALIE NAKASE: What do you consider veterans?

Q. Well, I'm thinking like the average age of the WNBA is like 27, 28, so older than that.

NATALIE NAKASE: Yeah, kind of. Well, we had AC who was 37. I think it depends on a lot of it as a veteran: How many years have they been a professional, how many years or how many games have they played. I think everyone is different.

Again, I look at the most recent in terms of their success, and then I kind of work my way backwards with them. Like I said, everyone has filled such a positive impact in my eyes in terms of competitiveness -- I keep saying the same words. But yeah, it really wasn't an obvious thing with the veteranship. It was how they compete every single day.

What was your second question?

Q. I wonder how you balance with that having younger players who can be around in Golden State because of their contracts for a longer time.

NATALIE NAKASE: Yeah, everyone is going to have to compete for their minutes. You have to earn it. You have to work for it. There's nothing guaranteed this or that. We're going to have to work for everything that we want.

Q. I heard your interview on ESPN and I imagine it was one of the first questions you got asked when you were hired, what you learned from Becky. But what have you learned from the players that you've coached and what have they taught you in return?

NATALIE NAKASE: Great question. I can go on and on. Gosh, genuine love, I would say, from every player that I have worked with with the Aces. I'll just pick a few since it's going to be lengthy. But starting with A'ja Wilson, unapologetically herself at all times. Whenever she speaks, she speaks the truth. She speaks from her heart, and she genuinely wants to help people and impact the next generation. Watching her and listening to all of her interviews has been very helpful with just being your authentic self and never hiding anything, just always be willing to help.

Sydney Colson, two times unapologetically herself. She's able to make fun of herself in a way where she enjoys to make other people laugh and make other people feel comfortable, and not a lot of people can do that. That's something I'm definitely going to take with me, probably because I'm not going to see her every single -- it's going to be hard not to see her every day, and I want to be able to laugh, so maybe I can make a couple impressions of Sydney Colson at practice.

Q. One person that's always stood out with her pregame routine and I think you took it as serious as she has, was KP. Can you touch upon the relationship you have with her and what you'll bring to Golden State from her?

NATALIE NAKASE: Yeah, KP is very, very special. She's probably one of the hardest working athletes I've ever been around, from the time I started coaching professionally. Yeah, her warm-up was about 30 minutes hard. She actually got me in better shape physically because in order for me to last 30 minutes, I had to be in top shape. So we would actually do hot yoga, pilates. We would do that stuff in the off-season because I knew I had to be in great shape with KP. So she pushed me. She's a pusher. I will be forever grateful for KP and all those moments that she pushed me.

Q. When we spoke to Ohemaa before, she told us that you described a type of athlete that you wanted, and she said that Kayla Thornton matched that pretty exactly. Can you describe to us the type of physical athlete that you were looking for and how KT fits that?

NATALIE NAKASE: Yeah, I don't think I've described anyone physically. I think a lot of it comes from, number one, your head, and number one, your heart. For me, I could see that within Kayla, the way she defends with authority, her passion behind how she plays on every rebound that she goes after, her high IQ in order to space the floor but make quick decisions. I can go on and on about her.

But the physical part, hey, you can only move as fast as your heart is desired. That's how I see it more. Rather than it coming from the physical part, it's the heart and the head for me.

Q. Wondering about how your NBA experience and also there was a couple others in the league who have NBA experience like Nate Tibbetts with the Mercury and how that will apply with the Valkyries going forward?

NATALIE NAKASE: Yeah, that's a great question. You know, I still have my great relationships with obviously my mentor Tyronn Lue, so I'm constantly picking his brain with the ideas that he brings. Sometimes it's about bringing some new trends to the game, so as I watch the NBA, and the same with college and international basketball, I'm watching everything right now, you can find anything from just watching.

You guys know I'm an affidavit watcher of basketball, so I'm going to definitely utilize him and pick his brain, but at the end of the day, the players that we have picked right now, I'm definitely utilizing their skills, and I want to make them feel that they can be their best version of themselves while they're here with Golden State Valkyries.

Q. Just looking at the roster, it seems to be a pretty lengthy one, a pretty versatile one. Was that a product of the players that were available? Is that something that you want to establish long-term, the type of players that you want?

NATALIE NAKASE: Versatility is key. That's one word defensively that I kept saying. We're going to hang our hat on the defensive end. So to be able to guard multiple positions is going to be really key.

At the same time, too, we want to be a great rebounding team, but like I said, it's not really physically what I'm looking at. It's coming from their heart and their competitive spirit.

Q. Iliana, I'm curious what went into choosing her, and if you could talk about your experience with her in 2022.

NATALIE NAKASE: Ily was a blessing, to be honest. She's such a positive light. I don't know if you've ever met her, but she's super positive. She loves basketball. She's super passionate about it. We had her a couple of years ago. She was, I think, 19 maybe at the time, 19 or 20, and she was just wide-eyed, just ready to go.

To me, I just remember Ily as an avid learner. She just wanted to learn anything and everything. And just to fit. She's like, whatever you need, Coach, I'll do it. So that's what we did. We were like, okay, can you space the floor and lock up defensively, and she's like, yep, I can do that.

Yeah, excited to reunite with her. I actually did think when I did say goodbye to her, I was like, I guarantee we're going to work together some day. Yeah, full circle. It came back. It came true.

Q. I'm just gleaning from you guys' selections today just picking some pretty established players who have been in the league and talking about wanting to win as many games as possible, it seems like strategically you guys don't seem that interested in building through the draft and the lottery and trying to rebuild that way. I'm curious if that's the case, and what went into that?

NATALIE NAKASE: I mean, that kind of question is more for Ohemaa, but in terms of the expansion draft itself, we went for the players that, again, I feel that can compete, that we can bring in as soon as possible. Like I can't say it enough, I want these players here tonight. I want them shipped, ready to go. But I understand that they have a season that they have to do overseas, so I'll definitely be connecting with them.

But no, the roster is built for us to be as successful as possible but be the most competitive team in the league.

Ohemaa Nyanin

Q. Curious about your selection of Maria and whether -- well, first of all what you liked about her, and also whether or not you know for certain that she's going to be coming over in the 2025 season?

OHEMAA NYANIN: Yeah, we don't know if she's going to be coming over in the 2025 season. We just love her tenacity. She's playing really great basketball right now. She's kind of continued to elevate her game, and I think EUROBASKET is in June, and so there's a question mark for all international athletes that we've selected.

And we also just wanted the opportunity just to talk to her and give her the opportunity to come over if she wanted to.

Q. Yeah, just quick follow up to that. So when you are talking about a player who you're uncertain whether or not they will come over and play, what's your process for kind of trying to convince them of that, or you know, encourage here to come participate in 2025?

OHEMAA NYANIN: Yeah, it's an experience in just being empanel he tick, right. I just want to make sure that they understand who I am, what we're trying to build, who coach Natalie Nakase is, what she's trying to build on court, and then explain to them the Bay. I mean, I didn't know anything about the Bay before I moved out here, having lived in five different countries, most of the times not being given the opportunity to make that choice; I always made the best of it.

So we're looking at making sure that each of the athletes feel good about it, an we can't wait to have those conversations to make sure that it will all work out.

Q. So you know, your former team, the New York Liberty, they had a lot of assets that you could potentially choose from, including a lot of international talent as well. I'm just curious, what it was that made you choose Kayla Thornton over the others available, and what does it mean to reunite and build something new with her?

OHEMAA NYANIN: Yeah, it was, for me personally, it was the hardest pick. Because I just came from there and I know the athletes and I know kind of the connections.

When Coach Natalie explained to me the type of athlete that she's looking for both on and off the court, K.T. is who came to min, right. Like she is a defensive specialist. She has grown her game to be able to shoot the three. She's a ball of energy. She's a vet. She knows how to bring people together, and I'm really excited.

I can be honest and say that I'm also super nervous. I'm excited just to continue to have conversations with her now and kind of see how we move forward.

Q. If you could describe the group you've assembled tonight in one word, what would it be?

OHEMAA NYANIN: Competitive.

Q. Any particular reason for that word?

OHEMAA NYANIN: Yeah. There's a lot of unknown. I think in building a team in a blank canvas, you just don't know, and so the competitive spirit that each of these individuals have individually and now hopefully collectively is what we focused on, and then we also focused on them as humans.

I'm expounding on your question but I think you know me. I care about humans. I care about these athletes. I care about what type of coffee they like. Where, you know, like what brings them joy, and I think what will win basketball games is their just unapologetic nature of wanting to always compete.

Q. This is obviously a roster that as of this point only has three players with contracts for the 2025 season. I think at this point, I was seeing that you guys have the most cap space still available of anyone in the league. Would a lot of these moves kind of reading the tea leaves of them, does this mean that you feel as if you guys are going to be shopping at the top of the free agency pool as much as possible?

OHEMAA NYANIN: Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't call it shopping. I think I would call it kind of like we're open for business. I think we're ready to talk to any and everybody that wants to have a conversations with us about being a part of this journey.

I think we are just really excited about the opportunity to welcome these free agents and these college athletes, as well, and just wanted to give ourselves as much flexibility to be able to go and get athletes in the near future.

Q. And then just as a quick follow-up, how difficult is the current kind of landscape in the WNBA? I think only two players that are non-rookie players have a contract for 2026. Did that cause any extra complications in this specific moment of having an expansion draft?

OHEMAA NYANIN: Can you ask the question one more time?

Q. Yeah. With the CBA set to expire and nobody signing a contract really after 2025, how much did that add complications and knowing everybody that you could pick that's a veteran is going to effectively be a free agent from next year on?

OHEMAA NYANIN: Yeah, this entire process is complex. I think there's a lot of unknowns, and I will say that ad nauseam, unfortunately. But we we're super excited about talking to each and every one of these athletes.

So as you know, I can't comment on the CBA or the negotiations, and I'm looking at it from the human perspective, you know, like what can we continue to express to these athletes that make them want to come and play in this Valkyries violet and black and white, and our shield and all of that.

Q. I just wanted to ask you, once you describe the excitement creating this roster, especially Thornton and Kate Martin come together on a new team.

OHEMAA NYANIN: Yeah, Kayla Thornton and Kate Martin and all of the other athletes; I'm going to name all of them because I'm super excited about them. The excitement behind it is filled with emotion.

I think we are -- we haven't had the opportunity to do deep dives and ask them all the questions, and so I'm just really excited to give them the opportunity to want to be part of our Valkyries team.

Q. Just wanted to ask, now that you're finally done with the process, after all the hours that went in to getting to this point, how do you feel about how tonight went, and then also, you know, looking ahead, knowing that you have the cap space and everything, how this is just like the beginning of the road, kind of?

OHEMAA NYANIN: The entire kind of journey up to May 16, it is the journey, right. Like this is the start of the journey, and I'm just really excited. I'm trying to find a different word.

So "excited" is not the word. It's emotional. I'm very emotional, right. Like I want to be able to make sure, sort of repeating myself, but this is like truly how I feel. I just want to make sure that these athletes understand their worth. This fan base is so hungry for these players to don the uniforms that we just announced and to win basketball games.

Q. When constructing this team from the ground up, what are some core cultural qualities that you looked for in these players that you just drafted?

OHEMAA NYANIN: Yeah, great question. I think the three things that we have said out loud because there's a lot more is competitive spirit, like the edge, the want to always to win, right. Like you kind of feel sick when you lose, and that then kind of like pushes you to want to think and problem-solve around how to get better on a daily basis.

The attention to detail on offense, as well, I think is something that we wanted to talk about and think about, and how do these athletes make it make sense for us in this first part of our journey. And then I'm going to say it again, humans. Like who are these individuals, what can we say about them. We weren't necessarily able to have conversations with them prior.

So you know, what can we glean from all of these different conversations that we've either had in the past or could glean from others. We're just -- we know that these athletes embody the type of culture that will become Valkyries Basketball.

Q. Just wondering about the pick from the Mercury, Monique Billings, what did you see from her to pick among your four forwards that will help impact the team?

OHEMAA NYANIN: Yeah, Monique is a relentless rebounder on both ends. She's a ball of energy. She's a bright light. I actually had the opportunity to work with her when I was at USA Basketball. We went to Japan together. So I know her really well, and I haven't had the opportunity to talk to her just yet to see if she's excited or not.

But she's your professional vet. She comes in regardless of what uniform that she's wearing and she's going to give you all of her energy, and I think that if there's something that is to be said about what we're trying to build, it's, you know, giving people the platform to want to be in the WNBA for first and foremost but also to win.

Q. Getting to this point, what was the most difficult part of landing on the 11 names that you landed on?

OHEMAA NYANIN: I would say the most difficult part was kind of like narrowing down our thoughts. I think what we did was first prepare.

So you know, what athletes did we think were going to be unprotected, and that was too long of a game that we played with each other, per team, and then, okay, if we pick these 12 athletes, thinking that they would all be protected, does that make up a team? Okay. Great.

Day two, everybody go watch film. Say why you liked, you know, Player a, B, C, D, E, F, G from each team for team one of the Valkyries, and then the passion just behind, hey, we need to go get Player A or Player B, and, oh, okay, now, Player A and B are protected. So what do we do now, and what does that look like?

So I mean, in summary, I think it was just -- it was complex in trying to figure out collectively we could not be too guard heavy or too post heavy or to X heavy, but how could we be a complete team and how could people just really kind of get a sense of what we are trying to look for as we are going through free agency.

Q. Looking at your pick from the Mystics, July Vanloo, curious what you liked about her, and with her being a little bit older, how do you think her experience in the WNBA and elsewhere can help your team?

OHEMAA NYANIN: Yeah, Julie is a ball of fire. She has that spunk. She has that aura of, again, trying to win. Her competitive edge, she's, you know, a EUROBASKET Gold Medalist. She competed in the Olympics this year. Her age isn't something that we looked at.

We looked at what she's doing right now, what she's done in the past, what's her growth, what's her trajectory. We're super excited about her experiences that she's had. She's now, you know, had one year in the W under her belt with an Olympic season in the middle.

And so now she gets to come and we get to figure out if, you know, we need to find out if Belgium, you know, qualifies in February for the June EUROBASKET, and what does that look like for us. There's still a lot to figure out.

But what we can see from our seats is that she just seems like she's a happy person. She seems like this is her goal is to play basketball and to win games and she seems like she doesn't take herself too seriously, and so that's exactly what we need in terms of like an entrepreneurial spirit in wanting to come and be a Valkyries.