‘We cannot replace KT’: How the Valkyries look to adjust without All-Star Kayla Thornton

However, they just got hit with the biggest change of their inaugural season. On Friday, July 25, the Valkyries announced that forward Kayla Thornton is out for the rest of the season after having surgery to repair a right knee injury she suffered in practice on Thursday.

Thornton was having a career year, averaging career highs of 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds, along with 1.5 assists per game, which would be her highest since the 2022 season. She had started every game, while leading the Valkyries in both points and rebounds, which earned her the right to be named the franchise’s first All-Star. In what was her first-ever All-Star appearance on Saturday, July 23, Thornton recorded a double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 boards.

“Really devastated, obviously, about the news,” Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase told reporters before Friday’s game against Dallas. “KT is a huge part of who we are, what we stand for, and where we are today. She’s our leader. She has a massive presence. Shootaround definitely wasn’t the same without her. So, what we’re going to try to do tonight is come together and play our hearts out for her.”

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In the 22 games she started, Thornton was the Valkyries’ leading scorer in six of them, leading rebounder in 11 and led in steals in 10. She won Western Conference Player of the Week on June 17 after averaging 20 points and 11.5 rebounds from June 9 to June 15.

On the court, she consistently guarded the opponent’s best player and made crucial plays in many of the Valkyries’ first 10 victories. In a game at the Los Angeles Sparks on June 9, Thornton had struggled shooting the ball from the 3-point line. However, in overtime, she hit a clutch three to help seal a Valkyries win. That was just one of the many big plays she’d made early in the season.

Beyond the numbers, Thornton was the heart and soul of the Valkyries. She was a veteran leader and someone who always stepped up when asked of her during the first half of the franchise’s inaugural season. She was a key veteran presence in the locker room with championship experience. The younger players looked to her for guidance and leadership, and that will be tough to replicate.

“KT brings so much to this team outside of just basketball,” Kate Martin told reporters. “Everybody sees what she brings to the basketball court. She’s an all-star, and so people are obviously very sad. She’s one of my closest friends on the team, so we just wish her nothing but a speedy recovery, and you know, we’re gonna be there for her and support her through this healing journey.”

As the Valkyries now head into the second half of the season without Thornton, they currently sit tied for eighth place in the WNBA. Without their leading scorer and rebounder, Golden State will need others to step up. In their first game without Thornton on Friday night, the Valkyries started Cecilia Zandalasini in her place. Zandalisini is among the Valkyries who will have an increased role and need to step up in Thornton’s absence.

Zandalasini has been in and out for the Valkyries so far this season, dealing with injury as well as departing for EuroBasket to play with Italy. She has played in just nine games this year — starting in three of them — and is averaging 9.3 points this season. Zandalsini has been a career 41% 3-point shooter and is shooting 40% from deep this year. Her ability to shoot the three as well as her defensive versatility with her 6’2 frame can help the Valkyries fill the shoes left by Thornton.

On Friday night against the Wings, Zandalasini made some big plays in 30 minutes of action, her second-highest minutes played of the season. She scored 10 points, added three rebounds and four assists. She also guarded Paige Bueckers for much of the fourth quarter. Bueckers did have 17, but Zandalasini did a good job of contesting a lot of Bueckers’ looks with her length. She showed how she can help fill the void left by Thornton, especially defensively.

“What Ceci[lia] brings is high, high IQ,” Nakase told reporters after Friday’s victory. “She studies the game plan really, really well, and when she does that, she also informs. I said [to the team], as you guys make substitutions, make sure whoever steps in for you, you guys are reviewing and communicating with what the coverage is. So, credit for Ceci for taking on the challenge. Paige is not an easy cover. I thought she contested a lot of her shots really well, kept her in front, even had a jump ball from one of her first possessions. So, credit to Ceci taking on the challenge.”

On top of Zandalisini, Kate Martin is also a player who can help ease the loss of Thornton. Martin has seen huge growth in her second year in the WNBA, becoming more aggressive with her scoring and playing solid defense. Her minutes have been inconsistent at times this season, as she played zero on Friday against Dallas. However, with Thornton out for the rest of the season, she seems as likely a candidate as any to see an increased role.

Despite losing Thornton for the season, the Valkyries did recently add another weapon to their roster: Iliana Rupert from France. Rupert, who the Valkyries selected from the Dream in the expansion draft, played for the French national team in EuroBasket along with fellow Valkyrie Janelle Salaun. She wanted to focus on the national team before coming to Golden State, which delayed her arrival.

“I think she’s going to be a great addition to this team,” Kate Martin said of Rupert. “I think you guys have seen we’ve had a lot of changes, a lot of different moving parts this season, and I just think it’s going to be another seamless transition. She’s been doing great in practice, and it feels like we’ve known her for a while. And so, I’m excited for her, and I know that she’s going to add value to this team.”

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Rupert comes to Golden State with a great resume. She played with the Las Vegas Aces in 2022, serving as a key reserve in their run to their first championship while under the guidance of Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase, who was an assistant in Las Vegas at the time. She joined the Dream in 2023, appearing in 20 games for Atlanta that season. She played in Turkey for Mersin during the offseason last year, averaging 16.2 points and 8.3 rebounds. With France at EuroBasket this year, she averaged 12.8 points and 4.8 rebounds.

“Iliana, like I said, I knew her from the Aces … we won together,” Nakase said after Friday’s victory. “To me, it’s more her character, who she is as a person. Like she didn’t come in and say, ‘I want this shot,’ or ‘I want to shoot it from here,’ or ‘I would like the ball here.’ She just said, ‘What do you want me to do?’ And we told her, learn our offense, learn our defense as quickly as you can, and then just go have fun.”

Rupert is another forward who has a great shooting touch. In her 38 games in the WNBA, she has shot 34.4% from deep; however, she shot almost 37% in her season with the Aces, averaging just over two attempts per game. In Turkey last year, she shot 46% from beyond on just over four attempts per game. 

When she first came to the WNBA, Rupert was known for being a shooting big. In her two previous seasons in the league, she took 60 threes compared to just 28 twos. However, in the two years since she was last in the league, Rupert has really developed her skillset in the paint.

She shot 56% on twos last year with Mersin, and she really focused on being more than a stretch big. Everyone knows her ability to be a knockdown shooter at her 6’5 frame, but being able to score, rebound and defend in the post will be a huge asset for Golden State in the second half. As she finds a rhythm with the team, she can be another piece to help ease the loss of Thornton.

In her first stint of Friday night‘s game, Rupert struggled, picking up two quick fouls and missing her first shot. However, her performance in the second half quickly endeared Rupert to the Golden State fanbase and showed them how she can impact the team for the rest of the season. 

Rupert helped ignite a 26-13 run by Golden State over the final six minutes of the third quarter. In that stretch, she scored nine points, including knocking down two 3-pointers. That run by the Valkyries turned the game and helped lead Golden State to its first win without Kayla Thornton.

“We’ve known each other for a while now, since we were, like, I don’t know, 15, probably,” Janelle Salaun said of her relationship with Rupert. “We’ve been playing a lot. I mean, she can shoot the ball, and I think that’s our identity. She can also impact inside the paint. I think we need that stuff, you know, we need this balance between, like, outside and inside, and I think she brings that pretty well, and that’s a good thing for us.”

Losing their best and most consistent player for the rest of the season isn’t going to be easy for the Valkyries to overcome. As Natalie Nakase said after Friday’s game, they aren’t going to be able to replace Thornton with one person. However, others can step up to fill the void left by her departure. Whether those others can do that consistently will decide whether the Valkyries can do what many thought was impossible before the season: make the playoffs.

“Just coming together, understanding one player just can’t take her spot,” Nakase said. “So it’s about us coming together in terms of our communication, because she has such a big voice, her energy, her rebounding, her sacrifice to dive on the floor. We talked about exhausting our minutes, because that’s how she plays, and then obviously making the right play offensively and spacing the floor and … the internal communication that she has for everyone is constant support and encouragement. So, I think everyone is just going to have to play their part.”