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With a slew of players returning from international competition, the Valkyries have been preparing to say goodbye to a handful of valuable contributors.
It doesn’t appear, at least initially, as if rookie guard Kaitlyn Chen will be among those leaving.
After dominating the Seattle Storm in an 84-57 win Sunday night at Chase Center, the Valkyries on Monday waived three players: forward Chloe Bibby and guards Bree Hall and Julie Vanloo. Bibby and Hall were fill-ins for those who departed to play for their national teams in EuroBasket, but Vanloo was one of the Golden State regulars who left the team with the expectation of returning to the active roster when she came back to the United States.
Instead, a day after winning a gold medal with Belgium, Vanloo was waived, while the team elected to keep Chen, who was a surprising cut at the end of training camp.
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Chen made the most of a four-game audition with coach Natalie Nakase’s team, playing at least 20 minutes in three of her four games off the bench. A Princeton star who transferred to UConn, where she won a national title this spring, Chen scored a season-high 10 points in Friday’s win over the Sky before adding six rebounds and three assists in a strong showing Sunday against the Storm.
Before the Valkyries played their first game, Chen earned the adoration of fans as she attended this year’s draft to support UConn teammates but didn’t expect to be selected herself. The team continue to drum up excitement around Chen’s future by marketing her — she threw out the first pitch at a Giants game — but she was ultimately left off the opening-week roster.
Vanloo was among four Valkyries players who spent the better part of two weeks competing for her national team. Cecilia Zandalasini (Italy), Janelle Salaün (France), and Temi Fagbenle (U.K.) joined her overseas. Zandalasini, Salaün, and Fagbenle have all been added back to Golden State’s active roster, but Vanloo, who averaged 4.6 points and 4.1 assists in nine games for the Valkyries, lost her spot.
“Literally just touched down in the bay,” Vanloo wrote in an Instagram story. “I need some time to process all of this man and put my feels into words. I can’t right now.”
Chen isn’t the only player to have at least temporarily convinced Nakase and general manager Ohemaa Nyanin that she deserves a longer stint with the Valkyries. Laeticia Amihere, who was also cut at the end of training camp, was the first signed when players began taking off for EuroBasket.
Since joining the team, the 23-year-old Amihere has appeared in seven games and scored in double figures four times, including Sunday, when she dropped 15 points and added eight rebounds. The performance came in front of her college coach, the legendary Dawn Staley of South Carolina.
Neither Chen nor Amihere will shoot to the top of Nakase’s rotation, but Chen can provide valuable depth behind starting point guard Veronica Burton, while Amihere can help spell Kayla Thornton, Monique Billings, and Stephanie Talbot in the post.
One variable that could complicate matters for Chen is whether or not 23-year-old French forward Iliana Rupert will join the Valkyries in the coming days. The Valkyries selected Rupert in the WNBA expansion draft in December after she was left unprotected by the Atlanta Dream. Rupert didn’t play in the WNBA last season as she spent time with the Turkish club CBK Mersin.
After winning seven of their last nine games, the 9-7 Valkyries own the sixth-best record in the WNBA and have emerged as a legitimate playoff contender in their inaugural season.
The team has six days off before starting a four-game road trip Saturday against the 14-2 Minnesota Lynx, who hold the league’s best record.
With considerable player movement following the culmination of EuroBasket, there are no guarantees Chen will still be on the roster Saturday. But for now, the 2025 third-round draft pick appears to have a chance to continue proving herself with Golden State.