How the Golden State Valkyries will get their roster

We are super excited to find out the WNBA’s 13th franchise, Golden State Valkyries will be able to start adding players to their inagural roster starting December 6th, 2024. So far, the time of the expansion draft has not been announced. It is set to air live on TV with ESPN.

Which WNBA Stars Will Join the Valkyries? Draft rules explained

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How the WNBA Expansion Draft works

• Every WNBA Team can hold onto(protect) up to 6 of their players from being drafted or traded
• There will be a designated pool of available WNBA players for the Valkyries to choose from

Related article: The Golden State Valkyries are coming in 2025

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Are Pre-Expansion Draft trades allowed?

Yes, this can also include players involved in package trade deals to other teams.

Unrestricted Free Agents

The Valkyries will be able to pick only one player who is going to be a unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2024 WNBA season.

Where to watch

The official air time has not been announced, but it will be on ESPN broadcast live on December 6, 2024. Which means if you have any streaming packages or services, that are owned by Disney or has ESPN you will have easy access for this awesome draft.

If you live close to the Bay area in San Francisco, CA. you can go to local Expansion Draft viewing parties that are already being scheduled.

Related article: How do I get Golden State Valkyries tickets?

Draft Picks

It was released via press conference by Cathy Engelbert on October 10th, 2024 that the Golden State Valkyries will have the 5th pick in all three rounds of the 2025 draft.

This will make the draft very interesting to watch, especially if you are part of a fantasy basketball league or are doing any mock drafts. With Paige Bueckers most likely taking the 1st round pick, there are 4 teams with the possibility of picking up this phenomenal athlete.

Los Angeles Sparks, Dallas Wings, Chicago Sky and Washington Mystics are in the bottom 4 of 12 teams in the 2024 regular WNBA season. Which means these four teams have a chance at getting the 1st round pick of the 2025 WNBA season.

After those 4 teams are set in their draft order, the Golden State Valkyries will be next in line for draft picks at spot 5. Which will be a huge deal for getting a great starting lineup.

What kind of trade deals do you think will happen leading up to the draft? Leave us your opinion below and we shall discuss

Golden State will have the ability to select from a designated pool of available players as designated by each of the current 12 teams.

Following the conclusion of the 2024 WNBA season and in advance of the Expansion Draft, each of the existing teams will be required to submit to the league office a Roster List that includes every player to whom the team has rights – players on the team’s active, suspended, draft list/reserved, core, and retired lists – as of the final day of the 2024 regular season.

The deadline for submitting the Roster List will be determined at a later date but is expected to be approximately 10 days prior to the date of the Expansion Draft.

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The submitted Roster List of each of the current 12 teams will be required to pick a maximum of six “Protected Players” who will not be available for selection in the Expansion Draft.

All other players on each team’s Roster List will be eligible for selection by the Valkyries (“Available Expansion Draft players)”.

Golden State will have the opportunity to acquire the player contract of, or the negotiating rights to, one available player from each of the current 12 teams.

If a player not signed to a contract for the 2025 season is selected, Golden State shall receive whatever rights to such player that the existing team would have had if that player was not selected in the Expansion Draft.

The Valkyries will only be able to select one player in the Expansion Draft who is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2024 season. Golden State may choose such a player provided that the player has not previously played pursuant to a Core Player contract for two or more seasons.

Between the time that the Roster Lists are submitted and a designated time on the day before the Expansion Draft, Golden State will be permitted to make trades with existing teams, including (i) an agreement to select a particular player from the list of Available Expansion Draft players, and trade that player to a team other than their existing team; and (ii) an agreement to select (or not select) a particular player from such trading team’s list of Available Expansion Draft players.

Additional information with details regarding ESPN’s plans to broadcast the Golden State Expansion Draft are to be announced.Golden State may then designate that player as its one Core Player in January.

Any unrestricted free agents not selected in the Expansion Draft and not designated as a Core Player by their current team may be signed by any team, including Golden State, once the free agency period opens in February.

We will update this article as more information comes out. Let us know who you think will be a Golden State Valkyrie.

Images: All images portraying Valkyries was made by us as fan art and do not represent the Name, Image or likeness of the Golden State Valkyries WNBA organization.