Here's How Golden State Valkyries Will Form First WNBA Roster
The Golden State Valkyries, who are the WNBA's 13th franchise and are entering the league in 2025, are holding their Expansion Draft on December 6 at 6:30 p.m. ET.
There's a lot of hype and speculation around which players the Valkyries will select from the 12 current teams, and what Golden State's roster will look like when the Draft is all said and done.
While many details about the upcoming draft have been clear for some time (such as that each team can protect up to six players and Golden State will get to choose no more than one player per team from the pool of available players) some additional details have emerged on Tuesday that provide a deeper understanding of how the Valkyries' roster will come together.
A December 3 press release from the Valkyries wrote, "The Valkyries are only allowed to draft one player who is an upcoming free agent — the rest must be under contract beyond this offseason. They are also allowed not to select a player from certain teams if they choose, giving them more roster spots for the upcoming free agency and draft."
Your guide to the Expansion Draft has officially arrived — rules, protected players, and more. Tap through for everything you need to know.@CarMax | Expansion Draft pic.twitter.com/lDTvNobNDP
— Golden State Valkyries (@wnbagoldenstate) December 3, 2024
It wasn't previously clear whether the Valkyries had to select one player from each roster, or whether they can elect against doing so in order to keep roster spots open for free agency or trades. Now we know they can forego choosing a player from a team if they desire.
"Any unrestricted free agents not selected in the Expansion Draft and not designated as a Core Player by their current team may be signed by any team, including the Valkyries, once the free agency period opens in February," the release added.
Another point of confusion was whether the Valkyries can conduct trades; to which the answer is, "Between the time that the Roster Lists are submitted and a designated time on the day before the Expansion Draft, the Valkyries will be allowed to make trades with active teams, including an agreement to select a player from the list of Available Expansion Draft players and trade that player to another team."
ICYMI: it’s Expansion Draft Week – and we’ve got all the information you’ll need to follow along.
— Golden State Valkyries (@wnbagoldenstate) December 3, 2024
Watch to see how the @WNBA Expansion Draft will work and be sure to tune in this Friday, December 6th at 3:30 pm PST on @ESPN.@CarMax | Expansion Draft pic.twitter.com/WQWzlSuZh0
Now all there's left to do is wait patiently until Friday when the Draft results are released and we know what the Valkyries' roster will look like.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.