{"id":107891,"date":"2025-08-25T02:52:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T02:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/107891\/"},"modified":"2025-08-25T02:52:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T02:52:10","slug":"kaila-charles-finds-redemption-with-valkyries-in-career-night-vs-wings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/107891\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaila Charles finds redemption with Valkyries in career night vs. Wings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Twice this year, the Dallas Wings told Kaila Charles<\/a> she wasn\u2019t good enough to keep a roster spot<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her WNBA journey looked about finished for the 2025 season until the Valkyries gave her an opportunity just after the All-Star break<\/a> after a plethora of injuries left the expansion team shorthanded. Now, the Valkyries can\u2019t imagine a rotation without her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Following three hardship contracts, the Valkyries guaranteed the 27-year-old shooting guard\u2019s contract for the rest of the season.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Sunday<\/a>, she had her best game of the year as she locked up former teammate and rookie of the year candidate Paige Bueckers while tying a career-high 16 points in a 90-81 win over the Wings<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was a full circle moment,\u201d Charles said after Sunday\u2019s win. \u201cI started the season here, and to be cut was sad, but it also gave me the opportunity to get film and get picked up by the (Valkyries). So even though it didn\u2019t work out here like I wanted to, it gave me another opportunity where I fit in a little bit more.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it just shows that everything happens for a reason, and I\u2019m really glad that I was able to win with my team and do well and help them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DallasDallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) loses control of the ball against Golden State Valkyries guard Kaila Charles during the second half of a WNBA basketball game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025. (AP Photo\/LM Otero)\u00a0<\/p>\n

When the Valkyries first signed Charles on Aug. 1, the former University of Maryland standout was tasked with learning a new system and teammates on a team that\u2019s in the midst of trying to make a playoff push.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the morning she joined the team, Charles boarded a plane to Chicago and had a few hours to learn the Valkyries\u2019 playbook before a 7 p.m. tipoff against the Sky. The Valkyries coaching staff quickly briefed Charles before the game and the shooting guard was immediately put into the rotation that night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Charles played 17 minutes against Chicago that night, scoring five points, grabbing five rebounds and closing the fourth quarter in her first game with the team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes it\u2019s on the fly,\u201d assistant coach Landon Tatum told this news organization in a recent interview, about how they fit players like Charles into their rotation the day of a game. \u201cWe know this person can do this really well. So, let\u2019s see if this works. I wouldn\u2019t necessarily say we know ahead of time going into games this is going to for sure work, but I think because we do a solid job of knowing what players do well. We can kind of plug and play specific people with certain people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since then, Charles has been a rotation regular. She\u2019s played in every game and been a valuable piece off the bench for Nakase as a defensive stopper and consistent catch-and-shoot player.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In her first start with the Valkyries on Sunday, Charles was tasked with guarding Bueckers, who came into the game with a streak of 30 consecutive double-digit scoring games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Charles shadowed Bueckers for every minute she was in the game. Her active hands bothered the rookie star and her quick feet kept Bueckers away from the basket.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Charles held Bueckers scoreless in the first half and eventually limited her to just nine points on 3-of-12 shooting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCredit to Kaila for coming and doing what she does,\u201d Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. \u201cLocking people up, and also on the offensive end, just being confident in her shot-making. She makes quick decisions, taking it hard to the basket. Credit to Kaila because she\u2019s really only had two practices with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the injuries the Valkyries have, Charles\u2019 role will only get larger in the coming weeks as Golden State tries to secure a playoff spot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Golden State is currently in eighth place with a half-game lead over the ninth-place Los Angeles Sparks for the final playoff spot. The Valkyries are also a half game behind the sixth-place Indiana Fever and seventh-place Seattle Storm with matchups against both franchises in the coming weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The battle to make the playoffs makes Charles\u2019 presence, and her ability to step in whenever her team needs her most, all the more valuable.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think some people may limit or not understand the challenge that can come from being cut, but her ability to come in and affect everything, not just offensively but also defensively, says a lot about who she is as a person.\u201d Valkyries point guard Veronica Burton said of Charles after Sunday\u2019s win.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a major testament to come in, back to the team that waived you this season, and play 35 minutes and impact the game.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ARLINGTON,ARLINGTON, TEXAS – AUGUST 24: |Veronica Burton #22 of the Golden State Valkyries and Kaila Charles #6 celebrate the team’s win over the Dallas Wings following the game at College Park Center on August 24, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and\/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ron Jenkins\/Getty Images)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Originally Published: August 24, 2025 at 6:15 PM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Twice this year, the Dallas Wings told Kaila Charles she wasn\u2019t good enough to keep a roster spot.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":107892,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[10832,402,3805,2356,10833,1915,4804,10831,14059,2558,5415,36930,10834,10835,5413,10836,10837,5284,10838,10839,10840,10841,10842,5414,10843,99,434],"class_list":["post-107891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-alameda-county","tag-basketball","tag-bay-area","tag-california","tag-contra-costa-county","tag-east-bay","tag-golden-state-valkyries","tag-inside-sports","tag-lake-county","tag-latest-headlines","tag-marin-county","tag-mendocino-county","tag-monterey-county","tag-napa-county","tag-north-bay","tag-peninsula","tag-san-benito-county","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-county","tag-san-mateo-county","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-santa-cruz-county","tag-solano-county","tag-sonoma-county","tag-south-bay","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}