Latest news with #Nyanin
San Francisco Chronicle
08-05-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Valkyries GM Nyanin anticipates ‘first test of what we're building' in preseason opener
Exactly one year after being named the Golden State Valkyries' first general manager, Ohemaa Nyanin will watch the team she built take the Chase Center floor for its inaugural preseason game on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Sparks. Nyanin said she's had little time to reflect on the yearlong sprint considering the rapid decision-making required. One such decision came Saturday in the team's first major cut, when second-round pick Shyanne Sellers was waived just five days into training camp. Nyanin echoed head coach Natalie Nakase's past sentiment of creating a roster of the best 12 players who fit their system. Neither has given a clear answer as to why Sellers did not fit in their system. 'We have to make decisions that are right for us at the right time,' Nyanin told the Chronicle on Tuesday. 'The canvas is still being worked on and every day during training camp is another day to add. I would say the timeline of the evaluation isn't something that we focus on. We're really focusing on who these athletes are, are they doing the things that we need them to do on a consistent basis that will then help us to win basketball games.' Nakase said after practice on Monday that she wouldn't elaborate further on that decision, but that she felt there was 'a lot of time' to evaluate players. Sellers was claimed off waivers by Atlanta on Monday. Nyanin noted before training camp that she would also be paying attention to the waiver wire, even with fierce competition for the final roster spots. Forward Cecilia Zandalasini (right foot) is out on Tuesday, which is an example of an area where the Valkyries might need more depth later on. With ample salary cap space, the Valkyries have flexibility to pursue any waived player who fits their system. 'We did a lot of research on all the athletes that were coming through to every team,' Nyanin said. 'And so we have our list of athletes that, should they be waived, we would congregate and have a really good conversation to see if that's somebody that we'd like to bring into camp.' With 17 players left in camp, the Valkyries must cut the roster to 12 by the season opener on May 16 when they host the Sparks. One player expected to make the team, French center Janelle Salaün, has yet to report after finishing her season in Europe, but Nyanin said the Valkyries expect her to join the team before the regular season, resolving a key roster question. If Salaün doesn't report, the Valkyries would have to suspend her for the season. A stretch big, she might crowd out other forwards to make the final roster after an abridged camp. Iliana Rupert, selected from Atlanta in December's expansion draft, told a French news outlet last week she plans to join the WNBA 'later in the summer' after competing in EuroBasket. The European tournament will also pull several other Valkyries away from the team for two weeks in June. Nyanin wouldn't confirm whether she expects the 23-year-old Rupert to be a part of this year's team. The Valkyries lack size off the bench, and the 6-foot-4 center played for Nakase when they were with the Las Vegas Aces. 'I'm not able to speak about anybody else's plans,' Nyanin said. 'We haven't had a lot of conversations recently, but we have her rights and we're just steadily evaluating all of our athletes.' First-round pick Juste Jocyte is also unlikely to join the team this season as she prepares to represent Lithuania in EuroBasket. The 19-year-old guard remains unsigned by the Valkyries, but they own her rights and she will likely compete to make next year's roster. Much remains unsettled before May 16, but every day in camp brings the Valkyries closer to answering the question of who makes the final cut. Tuesday 'is our first test of what we are building,' Nyanin said. 'It's a preseason game at home with 10,000-plus season ticket holders coming to see what we put together in a very short amount of time. We understand the moment and I just hope that (the players) just continue to believe in themselves.'
USA Today
15-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Golden State Valkyries build with WNBA draft, face steep climb as expansion team
Golden State Valkyries build with WNBA draft, face steep climb as expansion team Show Caption Hide Caption WNBA Draft prospects play start bench cut with Taurasi, Ionescu, Clark Watch 2025 WNBA Draft prospects decide who to start, bench, or cut among Diana Taurasi, Sabrina Ionescu, and Caitlin Clark. NEW YORK — When the Golden State Valkyries were awarded a WNBA franchise on Oct. 3, 2023, the work began to try to correct the disadvantages that every other expansion team faces. Not only with finding the right people to lead, but also the complex, arduous task of building a team once the framework of a front office is decided. That task is now in the hands of Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin and head coach Natalie Nakase, who spent the previous three seasons with the Las Vegas Aces, helping them win two WNBA championships. Even before Monday night's WNBA draft, Nyanin clarified what kind of player they sought. "We aren't looking for the face of our franchise just yet," Nyanin said last week. "We need to build our identity, and throughout the season, hopefully, the face of the franchise emerges. I want it to be an organic process. Who is going to earn it? I don't want it to just be given to anybody." "I genuinely believe that if you work really hard at (becoming the face of a franchise), then you don't mismanage it once it's been given to you." WNBA DRAFT TRACKER: Every player taken in all three rounds of 2025 draft The future started Monday night at the 2025 WNBA draft when the Valkyries, the first expansion team to enter the league since the Atlanta Dream in 2008, selected Justė Jocytė from Lithuania at No. 5 overall with their first-ever pick. The 19-year-old Jocyte, at 6-foot, can defend multiple positions and is a combo guard, whose offensive game shows that she has range from beyond the arc. She no doubt will need to get tougher, however, especially against the physical inside players, once inside the paint. Jocytė, who doesn't turn 20 until Nov. 19, averaged 12.7 points, 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game for Lyon ASVEL of the Ligue Féminine de Basketball. She is expected to compete for her country in the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025, so her availability is still a question mark. "The national team is always my priority," Jocytė told Basketnews. "If the WNBA told me I couldn't go and I had to choose, I would definitely choose the national team. I know that there is a possibility to arrange when you can be released a few weeks in advance, and this is a negotiation with the clubs about the dates." The Valkyries added Maryland star Shyanne Sellers with their second-round pick (No. 17 overall).Sellers did it all during an impressive four-year collegiate career for the Terrapins, becoming the first player in program history to clear 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, and 500 assists. With their third selection of the night, Golden State took Kaitlyn Chen with the fifth pick of the third roud (No. 30 overall). Chen teamed with No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers to lead the UConn Huskies to the 2025 national championship. Very few professional teams have made the playoffs in their first season, but the Valkyries have some advantages, that few, especially in the WNBA, have. The team already has a state-of-the-art practice facility and was the first league team to sell 10,000 season tickets. But even Nyanin said she didn't know what Valkyries will look like once the season starts. In December's expansion draft, Golden State selected 11 players, including guard Kate Martin from the Las Vegas Aces and former New York Liberty forward Kayla Thornton. Seven of those expansion draft players are international. "We're taking our sweet time to define that because once you define it—coming from experience—it's really hard to change it," Nyanin said. Like every other WNBA team, the time to find that out will be very short as the Valkyries' first regular-season game will be against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 16.
