New York Liberty lose Kayla Thornton to Golden State Valkyries in expansion draft

The New York Liberty were preparing for this possibility for a while.

They are the reigning WNBA champions; it follows that they have one of the deepest rosters in the league. As the W prepares to add four teams over the next four seasons — starting with the Golden State Valkyries in 2025 — key contributors will be cultured away by the newcomers thanks to expansion drafts.

That process started on Friday evening, as the Valkyries plucked Kayla Thornton away from the New York Liberty.

Thornton is simply a casualty of having too many good players; we can assume (but do not know for a fact) that Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, Leonie Fiebich, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, and Nyara Sabally were protected by the Libs. (Courtney Vandersloot is an unrestricted free agent, and while the Libs could have protected her, it seems unlikely.)

“It is incredibly difficult to say goodbye to a player like KT who contributed to the New York Liberty in so many ways over these past two years, including our franchise’s first-ever championship,” said Liberty GM Jonathan Kolb in a press release. “KT quickly became an indelible part of the Liberty family during her two seasons here. We look forward to celebrating her on May 27 during her return to Barclays Center with open arms where she’ll receive her well-earned championship ring.”

And well-earned it was.

Thornton was not just a 3-and-D forward over her two years in New York, but a quintessential never-has-to-buy-a-drink-in-the-city-again type of role player, and would have been even if she didn’t end her Liberty career by playing 21 minutes in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals.

While the 3-point stroke came and went, as with any role player, her effort did not. Diving on the floor, boxing out, throwing elbows and the like; in sum, Stewart once described her as “a b**ch to play against.” Yeah.

Thornton’s relationship with a Barclays Center crowd that has taken a firm spot as one of the best in sports will not soon be forgotten. The energy she brought to the court off the bench was not just appreciated by the fans, but reciprocated, and they fed off one another...

Last season, Head Coach Sandy Brondello asked Thornton to slide up and down the rotation as injuries necessitated. The nine-year WNBA vet was consistently starting and playing around 30 minutes a night in June, but by the time the WNBA Finals rolled around, was occasionally playing less than ten minutes a game.

And yet, New York does not win the first title in franchise history without her.

On a smaller scale: Brondello, watching her team flop around and miss every jumper in an ugly do-or-die game, turned to Thornton for more minutes than usual early in the game, and KT made that game even uglier and more physical. It was exactly what the Liberty needed.

On a larger scale: Thornton played whatever role she was offered to the best of her ability. Whether her teammates loved her for that, or whether they loved her for a vibrant, goofy, personality than shone through any camera that captured her, they loved her all the same. Don’t listen to me, though...

Golden State General Manager Ohemaa Nyanin knows all this better than anybody. Nyanin spent five years with the New York Liberty, first as Director of Basketball Operations, and then as Assistant General Manager, a position she occupied in January 2023 when a three-team trade brought both Jonquel Jones and Thornton to New York.

“New York was the hardest pick,” said Nyanin on Friday night, later describing Thornton as “a ball of energy. She’s a vet. She knows how to bring people together.”