Golden State Valkyries select Liberty Sixth Woman in expansion draft

The New York Liberty’s sixth woman is on her way to becoming the WNBA’s 13th franchise.

The Golden State Valkyries used one of their 12 picks in Friday’s expansion draft to add Kayla Thornton, one of the newly crowned WNBA champions, to their original roster. Thornton’s selection was originally reported by Sabreena Merchant and Marcus Thompson of The Athletic.

Thornton’s Liberty tenure ended after two seasons, both of which ended in the WNBA Finals. Thornton was ready to begin her 10th WNBA season away from UTEP. She averaged 5.0 points and 3.1 rebounds and played in each of a possible 101 games between the regular season and the postseason.

Thornton was originally part of the multi-pronged trade that also acquired Jonquel Jones from the Connecticut Sun. She has established herself as one of the league’s most valuable bench players, drawing attention primarily for her two-way play. Thornton jumped into Liberty’s starting lineup while Courtney Vandersloot was on bereavement leave at the start of the season.

The move to the Bay Area will reunite Thornton with former Liberty director of baseball operations/assistant general manager Ohema Nyanin, who serves as the Valkyries’ original general manager.

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