A cautionary tale for the next player who dares try in the WNBA All-Star Game
> Golden State Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton is undergoing evaluation for a lower leg injury. She will not play in tomorrow’s contest against the Dallas Wings. Further information will be provided….
[[ On Monday, two players with ties to the Valkyries found new homes in the WNBA and signed contracts. Stephanie Talbot was able to sign with New York Liberty after clearing waivers and becoming a free agent. Migna Toure, who had been busy with the French national team after being one of Golden State’s cuts in training camp, signed a 7-day contract with the Connecticut Sun now that those contracts are allowed to be offered. ]]
Lucas Kaplan writes: [[ If Talbot is not just a temporary stand-in, Jaylyn Sherrod is at risk of getting waived once Meesseman’s visa is sorted. That would really stink for the feisty sophomore who is on her way to becoming a fan favorite in New York, but she’s likely done enough to prove herself a WNBA-caliber player, especially with the expansion era set to take hold. ]] https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/7/22/24471691/where-do-the-new-york-liberty-stand-after-adding-emma-meesseman-stephanie-talbot
I sure hope she is ready by then, that would be more than a week after she signed, and a few weeks since she has played a game, plenty of time to "ramp up"
Argues that the WNBA should have gotten 4-5x as much revenue from their media deal, but that the NBA (negotiating jointly on its + the W's behalf) lowballed them
1. The "consolidating financials" stink to high heavens. That's asking for trouble and by this, I mean an audit.
2. The NBA labor history is an interesting read; it's practically detailed instructions laid out for CBA negotiations.
3. If the books are conflated, it's a problem. The NBA seems to be having issues with its own business, so it behooves the WNBA to become independent and not get itself tangled with the NBA's diminishing returns. It looks like the NBA and other investors do not have majority ownership of the WNBA, so why do they act like they're beholden and not able to handle their own business and ifinances?
that quote from Atlanta Dream co-owner Suzanne Abair – “If the 12 WNBA owners say they want to do something and the NBA says no, the answer is no” – definitely seems like it indicates a Problem
Thanks for the article, Eric. I think the Valkyries organization took some of the best that the Warriors organization had to offer, ran with it and made it their own. I can see the on court plays, the community engagement, the joy in competition, and would love to see more of the front office doing and giving their best to the players.
And 12 other teams let out a groan! Been a big fan of Emma for a while, and I don't hate the Libs despite them being a super team now, so good luck to her getting another ring.
Not that upset. I was not expecting us to win a championship this year, anyway, and after this year there will be a pretty big shakeup with the new CBA and all the FAs, right?
If it works (just like all the superteams have worked out great over the years, right?) it might make this year's playoffs a mite boring...
Agree. I love how the WNBA game is "on the ground" - meaning it's all about footwork and positioning. Getting to the right spots, moving your feet. It's different from the NBA, and that's a good thing.
[[ The New York Liberty have announced they are signing veteran forward Steph Talbot.
Talbot was one of the league's best 3-point shooters in 2021 and 2022, and most recently played with the Valkyries starting 10 games for GSV this season before she was waived. Gives them more wing depth. ]]
Happy for Steph! In the last few games she played, you can see that she was really feeling the pressure. It looked like she was thinking a lot about her shot. And when she made her 3, the bench was really rooting for her. Good that she found a landing spot. Sandy Brondello is very familiar with her.
I was initially disappointed that the Valks picked Talbot over Li Yueru in the expansion draft because I felt Talbot's skillset is a bit redundant with Kate Martin and Ceci. But Talbot's IQ on defense is elite. She knows where to rotate, where to be, how to front post players. Very smart on defense. However, there's simply no playing time for her with the forward-wing depth that the Valks have.
First off, good for Steph, hope she finds her form again. But also, kind of a surprise that the players the Vs cut are picked up by other teams. I've followed some bad teams over the years whose cast-offs would never get a sniff from any other team, it says something about the quality that Ohemaa has put together quickly.
A cautionary tale for the next player who dares try in the WNBA All-Star Game
> Golden State Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton is undergoing evaluation for a lower leg injury. She will not play in tomorrow’s contest against the Dallas Wings. Further information will be provided….
Game worn jerseys from GSV first inaugural game are up for auction. Please double check authenticity.
https://meigrayauctions.com/catalog.aspx?auctionid=1789
[[ On Monday, two players with ties to the Valkyries found new homes in the WNBA and signed contracts. Stephanie Talbot was able to sign with New York Liberty after clearing waivers and becoming a free agent. Migna Toure, who had been busy with the French national team after being one of Golden State’s cuts in training camp, signed a 7-day contract with the Connecticut Sun now that those contracts are allowed to be offered. ]]
https://valhalla.basketball/blog/2025/07/22/former-golden-state-valkyries-stephanie-talbot-and-migna-toure-sign-wnba-contracts/
Richard Cohen says Liberty will have to cut a player to make room for Meesseman now. Hope Talbot’s time with them isn’t cut short.
Lucas Kaplan writes: [[ If Talbot is not just a temporary stand-in, Jaylyn Sherrod is at risk of getting waived once Meesseman’s visa is sorted. That would really stink for the feisty sophomore who is on her way to becoming a fan favorite in New York, but she’s likely done enough to prove herself a WNBA-caliber player, especially with the expansion era set to take hold. ]] https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/7/22/24471691/where-do-the-new-york-liberty-stand-after-adding-emma-meesseman-stephanie-talbot
Any news on Rupert? She is available now?
She's in town. Her jersey is no 12 and it's ready and waiting in the locker room. Not sure about availability though.
But the Valks don't play till Friday??
Yes
I sure hope she is ready by then, that would be more than a week after she signed, and a few weeks since she has played a game, plenty of time to "ramp up"
Boom. (Regarding CBA)
https://www.reddit.com/r/wnba/comments/1m5wldz/the_ringers_ryen_russillo_on_the_cba/
followed some links from there to here: https://wagesofwins.substack.com/p/it-looks-like-the-nba-very-much-lowballed
Argues that the WNBA should have gotten 4-5x as much revenue from their media deal, but that the NBA (negotiating jointly on its + the W's behalf) lowballed them
While we’re threading, I found (3)-(5) in this article very interesting. (1) and (2) were also interesting, but not CBA related…
https://www.nocapspacewbb.com/p/five-out-a-studbudz-takeover-the?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2217081&post_id=168799459&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo2MDQ3MjcyLCJwb3N0X2lkIjoxNjg3OTk0NTksImlhdCI6MTc1MzEwMzMwNiwiZXhwIjoxNzU1Njk1MzA2LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMjIxNzA4MSIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.I7Qrq9u5OQWSpuWEEW7QU0m-IPYIKcsd6KjztS0wN_w&r=3lm3s&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
More CBA thoughts:
1. The "consolidating financials" stink to high heavens. That's asking for trouble and by this, I mean an audit.
2. The NBA labor history is an interesting read; it's practically detailed instructions laid out for CBA negotiations.
3. If the books are conflated, it's a problem. The NBA seems to be having issues with its own business, so it behooves the WNBA to become independent and not get itself tangled with the NBA's diminishing returns. It looks like the NBA and other investors do not have majority ownership of the WNBA, so why do they act like they're beholden and not able to handle their own business and ifinances?
that quote from Atlanta Dream co-owner Suzanne Abair – “If the 12 WNBA owners say they want to do something and the NBA says no, the answer is no” – definitely seems like it indicates a Problem
Thanks for the article, Eric. I think the Valkyries organization took some of the best that the Warriors organization had to offer, ran with it and made it their own. I can see the on court plays, the community engagement, the joy in competition, and would love to see more of the front office doing and giving their best to the players.
This feels really really unfair
[[ Per ESPN, Emma Meesseman has committed to joining the New York Liberty.
Her arrival is subject to the length of time it takes to go through the visa application process. ]]
https://bsky.app/profile/itsmeghanlhall.bsky.social/post/3luikpkgzis2v
Sort of like what people felt when KD joined the Warriors. Or when JJ, Stewie, and Sloop all joined the Liberty.
Yes… but at least GSW and NYL hadn’t won the previous year!
And in fact GSW and Dub Nation (and to lesser extent KD) had been dragged absolutely nonstop in social media since losing Game 7… sweet revenge
And 12 other teams let out a groan! Been a big fan of Emma for a while, and I don't hate the Libs despite them being a super team now, so good luck to her getting another ring.
Not that upset. I was not expecting us to win a championship this year, anyway, and after this year there will be a pretty big shakeup with the new CBA and all the FAs, right?
If it works (just like all the superteams have worked out great over the years, right?) it might make this year's playoffs a mite boring...
What the... Talk about a super team :( I wonder who they're waiving as they're adding Steph and Emma.
Has there been any recent commentary from players on how they feel about lowering the rims?
Are you talking about lowering the basket heights? I haven’t seen any discussion of that recently.
(On that issue, I personally think the WNBA game is great and I have never for a second missed dunking.)
What dunking? There's dunking in basketball?
Agree. I love how the WNBA game is "on the ground" - meaning it's all about footwork and positioning. Getting to the right spots, moving your feet. It's different from the NBA, and that's a good thing.
Agree.
FYI @benpickman.bsky.social posts:
[[ The New York Liberty have announced they are signing veteran forward Steph Talbot.
Talbot was one of the league's best 3-point shooters in 2021 and 2022, and most recently played with the Valkyries starting 10 games for GSV this season before she was waived. Gives them more wing depth. ]]
Happy for Steph! In the last few games she played, you can see that she was really feeling the pressure. It looked like she was thinking a lot about her shot. And when she made her 3, the bench was really rooting for her. Good that she found a landing spot. Sandy Brondello is very familiar with her.
I was initially disappointed that the Valks picked Talbot over Li Yueru in the expansion draft because I felt Talbot's skillset is a bit redundant with Kate Martin and Ceci. But Talbot's IQ on defense is elite. She knows where to rotate, where to be, how to front post players. Very smart on defense. However, there's simply no playing time for her with the forward-wing depth that the Valks have.
First off, good for Steph, hope she finds her form again. But also, kind of a surprise that the players the Vs cut are picked up by other teams. I've followed some bad teams over the years whose cast-offs would never get a sniff from any other team, it says something about the quality that Ohemaa has put together quickly.
Thank you for posting this transcript. Fun to read!