Kayla Thornton, with career-best night, shows she's right at home with Valkyries

New York Times

a day ago

SAN FRANCISCO — The vibe in Ballhalla is different. Compared with Golden State Warriors games, Chase Center boasts a heartier roar when draped in Valkyries violet. Dancing. Chanting. Yelling. Novelty still exists. Excitement still rings organic. The crowd is proactive with its influence. It rewards productivity with delirium.
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And it's fuel for Kayla Thornton. She inhales it. Absorbs it. Her personal reserves never seem to exhaust. Yet, replenishment is steady at Golden State. Always one shot, one rebound, one hustle play away from having adrenaline poured into her by the arena.
Friday night, Thornton's cup filled to the brim in Golden State's 83-78 win over Chicago. A lathered Chase Center audience. The hype of Angel Reese, one of the league's magnetic stars, added some spice. And Thornton could still feel the sting of the gut-punch loss to her former team on Wednesday. So she was on one. Her motor pushed to its highest gear.
During the decisive run against Chicago, Thornton grabbed a rebound in traffic and blistered up the middle of the court for a one-woman fast break. The Sky's Ariel Atkins, a quality defender, was the lone obstacle. After weaving in and out, turning around Atkins, Thornton lofted a runner off the glass for the bucket. It capped a 9-0 Valkyries run and forced a Chicago timeout. And Thornton turned to the crowd, flexing as she yelled.
KT just high-fived the whole front row after scoring her career-high 25 points 💀#VotetheValks → https://t.co/WZuW5XvBec pic.twitter.com/fEoiDdAjXA
— Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) June 28, 2025
She produced a career-high 29 points, needing just 30 minutes and 15 shots to get them. It powered Golden State's return to the win column. And it continued the validation of Thornton, who at 32 years old and in her 10th WNBA season, has found a new peak for her game.
'Feels good,' she said, flashing her trademark wide smile. 'I put a lot of work in on the offseason, and to see it flourish and to have my coaches give me the confidence to do that, it's just great. I don't do anything that is spectacular. I'm still just doing the blue-collar work. But doing it more.'
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It's enough to make you wonder how she was even available to the expansion Valkyries. But the truth is, Thornton caught lightning in a bottle with Golden State. It's an ideal match between player and franchise. Both with something to prove. Both defiantly rejecting expectations.
The Valkyries' inaugural roster needs everything from every player on the roster. And Thornton doesn't know how to play another way.
'It goes beyond basketball,' Valkyries guard Kate Martin said. 'She's a tremendous person. She's somebody you want to be around all the time. She's a great leader in the locker room, a great friend. So it's really fun whenever she's all of that, but also a phenomenal basketball player. You can learn a lot from KT and how she plays.'
Thornton went undrafted out of UTEP in 2014. She didn't make a roster until 2015 with the Washington Mystics. She was out of the WNBA for 2016 before landing with the Dallas Wings in 2017. Thornton found a home in Dallas, spending six seasons there. She started more than 70 percent of the games but averaged double-figures just once. Dallas never had a winning season in her six years. However, she did put up 20 points in a playoff win over Connecticut in 2022.
She was traded to New York along with Jonquel Jones in a three-team trade in 2023. With the Liberty, she held a smaller role. She was primarily a reserve for New York and saw a significant decrease in minutes. But she contributed to winning. The Liberty made the WNBA Finals in each of her two seasons, winning the franchise's first championship last season.
That's what made the Valkyries' loss to the Liberty on Wednesday sting a little more. Thornton is only with Golden State because New York chose not to protect her from the expansion draft. Like a true competitor, she wanted to beat the team that deemed her expendable.
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But the move has worked wonders for Thornton, who has the liberty to flex her full game. She's got all the minutes and shots she can handle. Thornton now has four 20-point games this season. She had six in her career before joining the Valkyries. She has the responsibility for which she's been worthy but never granted.
Thornton is filling in the role of a first option and doing so capably. So much so, her team is above .500 (8-7), holding the No. 6 seed in the W, and she's getting All-Star buzz for the first time.
A big W & a new number to beat for @KBT_5Blessed 😤#VotetheValks → https://t.co/WZuW5XvBec pic.twitter.com/7HrFDwZYpm
— Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) June 28, 2025
Her conditioning and physical prowess are worthy of the role. Thornton is a strong 6-foot-1 and moves with power. She's athletic enough to get where she needs to on the court. However, her skill work has paid off, producing a three-level volume scorer. Her percentages from 3-point range (28.3) and the free-throw line (81.1) have taken dips with the increased opportunity. But she's proven to be a weapon.
Friday, after a slow start, her coaches turned to her for energy. They wanted it vocally. They wanted her to lift the Valkyries out of their first-half malaise with her voice.
'And then boom, she responds,' head coach Natalie Nakase said. 'And you saw her out there commanding, but also supporting — because when we're not playing our best, we need to hear some support. So that's what we lean on KT for. Not even about her performance. It's more to me what she means and how she commands and demands the team to move. But obviously, hitting those big shots at the end, I'm taking it. And reliability. We completely rely on KT, and I love that she stays consistent for us.'
One of those big shots Thornton hit came late in the fourth quarter and illustrated her relationship with this fan base. Reese and Atkins were doing their best to take over down the stretch. Reese inhaled rebounds and started imposing her will inside. Atkins, one of the league's better isolation players, put her head down and put pressure on the Valks.
Atkins drew a pair of free throws one trip after converting a three-point play. She missed the second of the pair, and Thornton outmuscled everyone for the rebound. She hit the ground hard with the ball in her possession, making sure the vacuum paws of Reese wouldn't get the board. Chase Center salivated over the effort.
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Fittingly, the ensuing offensive possession ended with Thornton wide-open for 3 from the right corner, in front of the Golden State bench. She drilled it with two minutes left, putting the Valkyries up eight and sending the ninth sellout crowd in nine home games into a frenzy.
Thornton's cup runneth over.
(Photo of Kayla Thornton celebrating a made 3-pointer in Friday's win over Chicago: Matthew Huang / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)