Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section 415 email newsletter here and subscribe to the “Section 415" podcast wherever you listen.

In their first WNBA season, the Valkyries patched together a playoff roster through smart expansion draft selections and lower-profile free-agent signings.

Their latest acquisition, forward Gabby Williams, is the franchise’s biggest splash to date.

Williams, a 2025 All-Star and two-time All-Defensive Team honoree, signed a multiyear deal to join Golden State on Sunday after a breakout season with the Seattle Storm in which she averaged a career-high 11.6 points per game.  

Williams joins a Valkyries team that’s expected to bring back the core of a roster that outperformed expectations and became the first WNBA expansion team to reach the playoffs in its inaugural season. 

• Kawakami Mailbag: Brandon Aiyuk’s viral existence, the Giants’ dilemma, and more

The UConn product is entering her eighth pro season after Williams entered the league in 2018 after the Chicago Sky took her with the No. 4 pick in the WNBA Draft. Williams spent three seasons with the Sky and skipped 2021 to compete for the French national team in the Tokyo Olympics.

Williams is one of several Valkyries with French national team experience, joining projected frontcourt starters Janelle Salaün and Iliana Rupert, who also agreed to multiyear contracts with Golden State on Sunday. Williams starred for France during the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where she played alongside Salaün and Rupert and was named the tournament’s best defensive player and led the team in points, assists, and steals.

The Williams addition comes a day after Golden State announced it agreed to a multiyear contract with point guard Veronica Burton, who won the WNBA’s Most Improved Player Award and will serve as the centerpiece of the Valkyries’ starting lineup.

With Burton, Salaün, Rupert, and Cecilia Zandalasini — who signed a one-year contract on Sunday — returning, GM Ohemaa Nyanin and coach Natalie Nakase are assembling a roster that features tenacious defenders and solid perimeter shooters. The Valkyries don’t have any superstars in the mix, but the franchise has high hopes for Lithuanian guard Justė Jocytė, who is expected to make her WNBA debut this season after Golden State selected her with the No. 5 pick in last year’s draft.

Have thoughts on this story?

The Valkyries have another chance to add a key contributor on Monday as the team holds the No. 8 pick in the draft. Golden State has been connected to a range of players including multiple wings from the UCLA national championship team, but if Nyanin wants to continue acquiring French talent, highly touted guard Nell Angloma, 19, could be available when the Valkyries are on the clock.

At 29, Williams is one of the most experienced WNBA players on a roster that’s heavily reliant on younger players. Burton (25), Salaün (24), and Rupert (24) are all still developing while Jocytė (20) is a multiyear project with a high ceiling.

It’s unclear whether Jocytė will start immediately as a rookie, but all five aforementioned players could be long-term starters for the Valkyries, which would provide an impressive level of stability and continuity for a franchise entering its second WNBA season.

Golden State could add another veteran to the roster soon if 2025 All-Star Kayla Thornton, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last summer, returns. Thornton, 33, is a free-agent, but has spent much of the offseason around the Bay Area.

One member of the 2025 roster who won’t be returning is forward Monique Billings, who agreed to join the Indiana Fever on Saturday.