Latest news with #Thornton
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Who will Valkyries ask to pick up where injured All-Star Kayla Thornton left off?
Just days ago, the Golden State Valkyries were feeling positive about their postseason hopes. Now, with All-Star forward Kayla Thornton out for the season with a right knee injury, that optimism is clouded by uncertainty. Thornton's 30.1 minutes per game were the most on the team, and — other than point guard Veronica Burton — no other Valkyries player has played even half of the team's minutes. The Valkyries pulled off an 86-76 win against Dallas Friday night, led by forward Janelle Salaün 's 16 points, but Golden State now faces pressing questions about the rest of the season. The Valkyries will lean heavily on Salaün (10.1 points per game) as a scoring threat. The 23-year-old fits into the team's long-term future, as does center Iliana Rupert, who made her Valkyries debut on Friday. 'I felt like even when (Thornton) was here I was trying to take open shots and be dangerous in the offense,' Salaün said. 'I think it's still the same because I have players around me who can score. I think we have a lot of scorers, not just me but everybody.' Golden State is now in a three-way tie with Washington and Las Vegas for the last two playoff spots with almost half a season left to play. They have 21 games left heading into a five-game road trip, hoping to improve on their 3-8 road record. The WNBA trade deadline is August 7, and it's yet to be seen which way the Valkyries will handle it. Veteran Aces center Megan Gustafson has been rumored to be available, as have Washington forward Aaliyah Edwards and New York forward Isabelle Harrison. But Thornton's injury could change the way the Valkyries brass approaches the team's roster makeup. A poor road trip could turn them from buyers into sellers by their next home game on August 6. If Golden State falters, veterans Tiffany Hayes, Temi Fagbenle or Cecilia Zandalasini could be interesting potential additions for contenders such as the Las Vegas Aces or Indiana Fever. 'I think where we're at right now is not being too hasty about any of the decisions that we need to make moving forward,' Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin told the Chronicle before Thornton's injury. 'Where we always land is just being really thoughtful about what it is that we need to do, and to do it.' Thornton's 5.8% offensive-rebound rate — the percentage of possible offensive rebounds that a player secures while competing with defenders — was the highest of any non-center on the team, and one that Zandalasini (1.0%) won't be able to replace if she enters the starting lineup for good. Rupert could answer that need (with a 6.0% offensive-rebound rate over her career), but it might be an area the Valkyries address via trade if they opt to buy at the deadline. WNBA teams don't have an injured reserve, so a season-ending injury like Thornton's still counts against the 12-player roster limit, unless they were to cut her before she becomes an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. Keeping Thornton would leave the Valkyries with just 11 roster spots for the rest of the season, and any other addition would have to come with a corresponding roster move. Thornton's contract is also guaranteed for the rest of the season after the July 14 contract deadline passed, but the Valkyries could afford that with as much cap space as they have. (And they can always re-sign the popular veteran in the offseason.) Because next year's expansion draft format is yet to be finalized — and the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations will inevitably affect free agency — it's tough for any team to stockpile draft picks or players. Golden State has just two players under contract for next season in Kate Martin and Carla Leite, while they also have the rights to the unsigned 2025 first-round pick Juste Jocyte and injured forward Maria Conde. Several players are also restricted free agents in Zandalasini, Burton and Kaitlyn Chen. They can revamp their roster any way they want to. Not having Thornton could change the way the Valkyries might approach the second half of the season. Their leash might be a lot shorter before they turn toward the future, making this upcoming road trip potentially the most important stretch of their inaugural season. Rotation shuffle? Head coach Natalie Nakase didn't play guard Kate Martin at all in Friday's win despite the short bench. Forward Stephanie Talbot got similar treatment before the Valkyries waived her, and Martin appears to have been bumped behind rookies Leite and Chen on the backcourt depth chart. Martin is the only player left on the roster who has been healthy-scratched for multiple games. Nakase said Martin was 'resting' on Friday night after the team's 10-day All-Star break, but she also said Thornton was resting when she missed practice last week before her injury was announced. 'We have six games in 10 days and we had six games in 12 days before the All-Star break,' Nakase said of Martin. 'I'm just being mindful and we'll see going forward because that is not a lot of downtime.'
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
This speedy veteran WR is making waves during first week of Chiefs Training Camp
The Kansas City Chiefs will likely be without star wide receiver Rashee Rice for part of their 2025 campaign, and with training camp underway, the team is assessing its options at the position. Among the most exciting wideouts competing for a spot on the Chiefs' 53-man roster in St. Joseph is veteran pass-catcher Tyquan Thornton. A former Baylor Bear, Thornton's blazing speed enticed the New England Patriots to select him with the No. 50 pick in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft. Thornton has started making waves at training camp practices and was seen hauling in a pass from Patrick Mahomes on Thursday, July 24, in this video, which was posted to Twitter by Harold R. Kuntz of FOX4 News: While Thornton is expected to face headwinds in his effort to earn a role in Andy Reid's first or second-team offense, impressive plays like this will ingratiate him with Mahomes and Kansas City's coaching staff. Stay tuned to see if Thornton will continue to impress at Chiefs Training Camp in the coming weeks.
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Valkyries' Kayla Thornton to miss rest of WNBA season after knee surgery
Golden State Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton's renaissance season has been cut short. The Valkyries announced that Thornton successfully underwent surgery on Friday, July 25 after suffering a right knee injury in practice, effectively ending Thornton's career-best campaign and dealing a devastating blow to the Valkyries' hopes of becoming the first expansion team to make the playoffs in its inaugural season in nearly three decades. The news comes nearly a week after Thornton participated in the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis, where she recorded 15 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and one steal off the bench for Team Caitlin Clark. It marked the 10-year veteran's first All-Star nod of her career, and she's the first player to be named an All-Star as a member of a first-year team since Candice Dupree for the Chicago Sky in 2006. VALKYRIES: Setting new standard for WNBA expansion teams with early success The UTEP alumna played for the Washington Mystics (2015) and Dallas Wings (2017-22) before winning a Commissioner's Cup and WNBA championship with the New York Liberty in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Thornton was a role player on the Liberty in 2024, averaging 5.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 20.2 minutes of play per game on the championship roster. But that all changed when Thornton was drafted in the expansion draft by Golden State in December. Thornton quickly became the No. 1 option on the Valkyries, playing a team-high 30.1 minutes per game. Although expectations are typically low for expansion teams early on — the Atlanta Dream went 4-30 in their inaugural season in 2008, while the Chicago Sky went 5-29 in 2006 — the Valkyries jumped to an unprecedented 10-9 start and are the third expansion team in WNBA history to pick up its 10th victory in 20 games or less. Thornton led the Valkyries in scoring through 22 games (all starts) and averaged a career-high 14 points per game, besting her previous high of 10.4 points per game in 2019 by nearly four points. She also set career-highs in rebounds (7) and steals (1.3), leading the team in both categories. "It goes beyond basketball. She's a tremendous person. She's someone that you wanna be around all the time," teammate Kate Martin said after Thornton dropped a career-high 29 points in a win over the Chicago Sky on June 27. "She's a great leader in the locker room and a great friend, so it's really fun whenever she's all of that, but also a phenomenal basketball player. "You can learn a lot from KT And how she plays and I'm just really glad she's getting all the success she's getting. She deserves it and I'm thankful that I'm her teammate." How Thornton's injury affects Valkyries playoff chances The Valkyries have fallen on hard times and dropped five of their last six games heading into the All-Star weekend. Thornton's season-ending injury marks a significant loss, and it's only going to get tougher. Golden State opens the second half of the season with a matchup against the Dallas Wings at home on Friday, July 25, before going on a five-game road trip to face Connecticut (July 27), Atlanta (July 29), Washington (July 31), Chicago (Aug. 1) and Las Vegas (Aug. 3). The Valkyries (10-12) are currently ninth in the standings and would miss the playoffs if the postseason started today. Golden State is looking to become the first expansion team to make the playoffs in its inaugural season since the Detroit Shock in 1998. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Valkyries hope to end modest skid vs. Paige Bueckers, Wings
The Golden State Valkyries aim to pull out of a three-game losing skid that sent them into the WNBA All-Star break when they welcome the Dallas Wings to San Francisco on Friday. HT Image Golden State (10-12) fell to ninth place in the league standings and out of the playoff picture for now. The Valkyries dropped back-to-back one-possession heartbreakers at Las Vegas (104-102) and vs. Phoenix (78-77). In their most recent outing, July 16 at Seattle, the Valkyries scored a franchise-low 58 points in a nine-point loss to the Storm. Despite the slump, which has Golden State a half-game behind Washington for the eighth and final playoff spot, Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton told ESPN that the first-year franchise has "surpassed" what the team set out to do. "I thought it was going to take us a little more time to get to know each other, to get to know the system," Thornton said. The latest blow to Golden State involves Thornton, who underwent season-ending knee surgery on Friday. Thornton was injured during practice earlier this week. Thornton leads Golden State with career-best averages of 14.0 points and seven rebounds per game. She is also one of three Valkyrie players averaging more than a steal per game, along with Veronica Burton and Temi Fagbenle, contributing to Golden State's defensive yield of 78 points per contest. Only league-leading Minnesota has been stingier, holding opponents to 74.7 points an outing. But the Valkyries rank near the bottom of the league in offense at 79.1 points per game, contributing to their ups and downs -- with the downs including an 80-71 loss the last time they faced Dallas. The Wings (7-17), ahead of only Connecticut in the league standings, have had a trying season thus far. However, their June 17 home win over Golden State ended a seven-game losing streak and kicked off a current stretch of .500 basketball. Dallas is 6-6 since that meeting, including an 87-63 blowout of Seattle on Tuesday in the Wings' return from the All-Star break. Arike Ogunbowale scored 20 points in the win, bumping her season average to 15.9 points per game. She scored 19 in Dallas' defeat of Golden State. Rookie Paige Bueckers, fresh off her first All-Star Game appearance, scored 20 last time out vs. Golden State, part of a sensational start to the No. 1 overall pick's career that reached a new milestone on Tuesday. With her 14 points and six assists at Seattle, Bueckers matched Caitlin Clark for the fastest to 300 career points and 100 career assists. She's also scored in double figures in all 19 games she's played. "It's all a credit to them and how we continue to play team basketball," Bueckers said. "Not one of us are going to go out of the rhythm and hunt our own shots and chase our own points and make sure our stats our great. When we play team basketball like that, things will end the way they're supposed to." --Field Level Media
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Kayla Thornton out for the season with knee injury
Golden State Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton will be out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, the team announced Friday. She sustained the injury in practice earlier this week and underwent surgery Friday. The team said the procedure was successful. It's a tough loss for Golden State. Thornton is the Valkyries' leading scorer, averaging 14 points, seven rebounds and 1.5 assists this season. The veteran is in her 10th season in the WNBA and played in her first All-Star Game last weekend, becoming the expansion team's first All-Star. With Thornton at the helm, Golden State had been surprising the league. Before her exit, the Valkyries (10-12) were in playoff contention. They have led the league in attendance this season. Before being drafted by the Valkyries at the expansion draft last December, Thornton won the WNBA title with the New York Liberty and has previously played for the Dallas Wings and the Washington Mystics. ___ AP WNBA:
