The expansion draft on Friday night helped the Golden State Valkyries create their first WNBA squad.
The brand sprinted to find targets who aligned with their vision for creating a candidate under the direction of general manager Ohemaa Nyanin, who was appointed by the team in May. Today, it has put the prep into training.
The primary expansion draft by the WNBA since 2008 was new territory for many people in the league. Given the positive business environment for women’s baseball, the Valkyries were eager to celebrate the occasion. The addition of the San Francisco Bay Area business to the team’s portfolio may encourage business expansion for all members.
Fans in Portland and Toronto are likely to have been paying close attention to this growth document. These places will use the same team-building strategy before playing in 2026 unless there is a significant shift during upcoming CBA discussions.

The growth document structure and possible issues with the process are included in the rules and results from Friday night’s occasion.
The Valkyries were able to select one player from each group in the group during the growth draft, out of a pool of exposed players. They finally chose 11 visitors.
Businesses could keep up to six Golden State people protected from businesses ‘ rights holders, including international talent, with the rest of the gamers free to take.
Golden State also had the option to add one unrestricted free agent to its lineup as long as the person had not previously played under a main player commitment for two or more months. A primary contract is a fully guaranteed one-year offer worth the highest income allowed in the CBA, as the league has suggested. If Golden State selected a complimentary realtor, it would be considered a pull from the previous team they represented.
Also, the Valkyries were permitted to trade growth picks, including trades that would alter a team’s placement in the springtime college entry draft. They now possess the number. 5 total get in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
When schedules are locked for the 2025 time, Golden State will need at least 11 people, with a maximum of 12 available.
ESPN broadcasted the expansion draft live on Friday night starting at 6: 30 p. m. ET ( 3: 30 p. m. local time ) at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The Disney-owned system is responsible for airing most of the WNBA’s star events, including the WNBA Finals, WNBA Draft and All-Star holidays.

One component of the expansion draft was not made public: the names of players who had been left exposed by their organizations and who were then made available to the Valkyries. In concept, keeping titles under wraps will control the discomfort of the process and protect franchise-player relations.
American sports leagues have for a long time relied on development drafts to provide their newcomers with a dynamic balance. In uncommon cases, development teams use the procedure as a launch pad for instant success. For instance, the Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL reached the Stanley Cup Final in their first winter, 2017-18.
However, the NWSL’s continued development drafts in recent years eventually caused the practice to be ended in its new CBA. Veterans don’t like being kicked out of their leagues and moved to new people. Existing franchises that have successfully implemented difficult roster-building strategies dislike seeing their hard work destroyed and helpless as important role players leave.
In U. S. professional women’s sports, which fast-tracked rise before women’s basketball, bringing in numerous expansion teams in a short period of time created a source of underlying tension.
Following the hunting of the expansion draft roster by Bay FC and the Utah Royals FC,” I don’t think people really realize the harm that this method causes and what it does to players, clubs, and those relationships,” said North Carolina Courage mind coach Sean Nahas on social media last month.
Representatives have already publicly identified other CBA negotiation priorities that might come first, including a desire to revisit the hard salary cap and obtain a larger, guaranteed share of league revenue. There is not yet any indication that the WNBPA will follow the NWSL’s lead. This story’s comment request was not received by the WNBPA.
There is no better time for the WNBPA to bring concerns about the expansion draft to the table than over the next year, especially when its players have more power than ever before and the league is entering a era of franchise additions, with Portland, Toronto, and a yet-to-be-announced 16th city on the way.

With each Golden State pick, this section has been updated. The Valkyries made the wrong choice when they opted not to join Seattle Storm. Iliana Rupert ( from Atlanta Dream )
Maria Conde ( Chicago Sky )
Veronica Burton ( Connecticut Sun )
Carla Leite ( Dallas Wings )
Temi Fagbenle ( Indiana Fever )
Kate Martin ( Las Vegas Aces )
Stephanie Talbot ( Los Angeles Sparks )
Cecilia Zandalasini ( Minnesota Lynx )
Kayla Thornton ( New York Liberty )
Monique Billings ( Dallas Wings )
Washington Mystics ( Julie Vanloo )
This story was constantly updated with new details about the incident as it took place.