{"id":565933,"date":"2026-04-05T11:49:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T11:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/565933\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T11:49:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T11:49:14","slug":"how-the-valkyries-got-an-opportunity-with-usab-after-breakout-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/565933\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Valkyries got an opportunity with USAB after breakout year"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX \u2014 Seven months after rewriting expectations in San Francisco, Veronica Burton<\/a>, Kayla Thornton<\/a> and Monique Billings<\/a> slipped into matching white practice jerseys once again \u2014 this time under the banner of USA Basketball.<\/p>\n

Inside the Phoenix Mercury\u2019s practice facility, the familiarity of their shared rise with the Golden State Valkyries lingered, even in a new environment, during a midweek scrimmage as part of Team USA\u2019s April training camp. Nearby, the head coach who led that first-year expansion franchise, Natalie Nakase, quietly watched with a tiny smile \u2014 occasionally offering wisdom now as part of the American coaching staff.<\/p>\n

Burton helped command her team\u2019s offense against her fellow Americans; Billings was one of the loudest voices on defense, and while Thornton wasn\u2019t in action on the court, her veteran leadership was on full display in the way she cheered on teammates from the sideline.<\/p>\n

Simply put, it\u2019s a remarkable level of representation for a franchise that didn\u2019t exist a year and a half ago. The Valkyries trio, along with most of the franchise\u2019s 2025 roster, only arrived in Golden State because their previous teams chose to leave them unprotected in December 2024\u2019s expansion draft.<\/p>\n

What once read as a roster of castoffs has, in a matter of months, transformed into a pipeline of players worthy of national team consideration, underscoring just how quickly perception and opportunity can change.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always a blessing, always a privilege, anytime I get to wear these three letters on my chest,\u201d Billings said. \u201cIt\u2019s a really good group, too. I\u2019m happy we\u2019re having a W season, so it [feels] like we\u2019re prepping for something, getting in shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

A season to remember<\/p>\n

What unfolded in 2025 was never supposed to happen so quickly. The Valkyries rewrote the blueprint for what an expansion franchise could be, finishing 23-21 to set a WNBA record for wins by an expansion franchise in an inaugural season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They also became the first expansion team to reach the postseason in its inaugural campaign, and even in a first-round exit<\/a>, pushed the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx to prove it. Despite playing their sole home game in the series nearly 50 miles away from their true home arena, they always competed with a level of cohesion that belied how the roster was assembled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe played with a lot of belief,\u201d Billings said. \u201cWe said we were a bunch of \u2018sixth women,\u2019 but we came together on a mission. I think it put a lot of us on the map, and so having an opportunity such as this [with USA Basketball] comes from just being on the floor, producing, having a very good W season and a good Unrivaled season.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s success wouldn\u2019t be possible without individual success. Burton, Golden State\u2019s point guard, led all qualifying scorers on the team with 11.9 points per game, over an 8-point jump from her previous season with the Connecticut Sun. <\/p>\n

She was also the only Valkyrie to appear in, let alone start, all 44 games during the regular season. That was, in part, due to all the international talent on the roster, a group that already had track records of national team experience and who left briefly for EuroBasket midseason.<\/p>\n

That campaign earned her nearly unanimous Most Improved Player honors, along with a top-10 finish in MVP voting and an All-Defensive second team finish.<\/p>\n

Burton\u2019s coach got in on the hardware too, winning the 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year award in her first season as a head coach in the WNBA after coaching for 16 years across other leagues, mostly as an assistant.<\/p>\n

\"BasketballUSA forward Kayla Thornton (left) offers USA guard Veronica Burton (right) advice during a 5-on-5 scrimmage during USA Basketball\u2019s April training camp on April 1, 2026. (Photo Credit: Dylan Kane | The IX Sports)<\/p>\n

Nakase\u2019s leadership and Burton\u2019s emergence set the tone, but Thornton provided the veteran edge that helped sustain it. Despite undergoing season-ending knee surgery in late July, the same reason why she\u2019s been held out of 5-on-5 action at Team USA camp, Thornton enjoyed the best production of her 10-year WNBA career in the 22 games she played up to that point.<\/p>\n

Thornton gave Golden State a stable reliability that first-year expansion teams rarely possess, averaging a career-best 14.0 points per game en route to her first All-Star appearance. Of course, her standout ability to guard any position at a high level continued to permeate, helping define the Valkyries\u2019 physical tone.<\/p>\n

Billings carved out a similarly vital role, even if it came in a different form. As one of the team\u2019s primary reserves, she became a defensive tone-setter and energy source, consistently shifting momentum with her activity on that end of the floor. Her impact wasn\u2019t always reflected in traditional numbers, but it was unmistakable in the way games changed when she entered.<\/p>\n

Together, their contributions emphasized what made Golden State\u2019s rise so unusual: production wasn\u2019t confined to a single star, or even a duo or trio, but spread across a roster of players redefining themselves in real time. As that belief turned into results, it also opened doors \u2014 ones that, months later, would lead them to Phoenix, where the next step of that journey is only beginning to take shape.<\/p>\n

The national stage<\/p>\n

The leap from expansion standout to national team was the natural next step of a season that forced the league to reevaluate who the Valkyries were and who their players could become. The same traits that powered their unexpected rise, versatility, defensive intensity and unselfish roles, are the ones now being tested and valued at USA Basketball camp.<\/p>\n

For Thornton, that next step has been no less meaningful. The 10-year veteran is experiencing her first stint with USA Basketball, even though she\u2019s the oldest of the Valkyries cohort beside her. She\u2019s embracing the moment even while limited to the sideline.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to have some Valks in the building, to have us here all together,\u201d Thornton said. \u201cJust to see each other again and be able to play and be a part of Team USA. It\u2019s a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

That gratitude is layered with perspective. Thornton\u2019s opportunity came while still navigating recovery, unsure if she\u2019d even be included.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was amazing,\u201d she said. \u201cI was still kind of in my process with my rehab, and I didn\u2019t know if they wanted to still bring me, but the fact that they brought me in to be able to experience the opportunity is a blessing. So I\u2019m kind of just soaking it all in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even without game action, her role as a leader remains clear and familiar.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust trying to bring my expertise and what I know best,\u201d Thornton said. \u201cLeading by example and just going from that, not really talking too much, but kind of just showing them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, the opportunity for Billings is both new and earned. Her national team debut came as she helped the USA World Cup qualifying team to a 5-0 record earlier this cycle, carrying that same defensive identity and energy into camp while averaging 6.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.<\/p>\n

The opportunity also reflects a longer journey, one that began well before her professional breakthrough. With UCLA, Billings built a decorated career under coach Cori Close, finishing with 1,848 points and 1,159 rebounds while earning All-Pac 12 and All-Defensive honors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so happy for Billings,\u201d said Close, who was also in Phoenix for the weekend, coaching the Bruins in the Final Four. \u201cIt\u2019s interesting, she was an entrepreneur \u2014 preparing for NIL from the minute she asked for help building her brand \u2026 to be ready for when she could take advantage of it as a pro. She was so ahead of her time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love to watch the way her career has evolved, and I could not be any more thrilled for the niche that she\u2019s carved out for herself,\u201d Close added.<\/p>\n

\"TwoGolden State Valkyries head coach and USA assistant coach Natalie Nakase (center) instructs forward Kayla Thornton (left) and guard Veronica Burton (right) during a pick-and-roll drill at USA Basketball\u2019s April training camp on April 3, 2026. (Photo Credit: Dylan Kane | The IX Sports)<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Burton has continued to build on an already extensive r\u00e9sum\u00e9<\/a> within USA Basketball, despite being the youngest of the group. From gold medals in international competition to her recent bronze with the 2026 FIBA 3\u00d73 Champions Cup team, Burton is on her way to becoming a recurring addition for any squad put together by USA managing director Sue Bird<\/a> and head coach Kara Lawson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But even with that experience, this latest camp feels like the best opportunity Burton has had coming off a breakout season. She\u2019s finding her footing amongst some of the brightest stars in the game, while also continuing to nurture the chemistry with her WNBA teammates and coach. Nakase\u2019s presence has only reinforced that familiarity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love playing [for Nakase],\u201d Billings said. \u201cAnd then even being here with [Burton and Thornton], those are my girls. I know [Thornton] isn\u2019t really playing, but playing with [Burton], I haven\u2019t played with her in months, and I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh, I missed this, that\u2019s my PG.\u2019 It\u2019s been a lot of fun having that here, having eyes on us.\u201d<\/p>\n

In many ways, that\u2019s what this moment represents: a recognition and a continuation of a style, bond and belief that started in the Valkyries\u2019 very first practice and carried all the way to one of the most competitive gyms in the world.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX \u2014 Seven months after rewriting expectations in San Francisco, Veronica Burton, Kayla Thornton and Monique Billings slipped…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":565934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[165070,4804,51379,60204,60205,99,42270,87715,60207,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-565933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-cori-close","9":"tag-golden-state-valkyries","10":"tag-kayla-thornton","11":"tag-monique-billings","12":"tag-natalie-nakase","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-team-usa","15":"tag-usa-basketball","16":"tag-veronica-burton","17":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565933","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=565933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/565934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=565933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=565933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=565933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}