Veronica Burton is set to begin her second season with the Golden State Valkyries in 2026, and the team expects her to take on a larger leadership role as it tries to make a leap in its second WNBA season. Burton was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings out of Northwestern, but her biggest rise has come in Golden State.
She started all 44 regular season games for the Valkyries in 2025 and averaged 11.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.1 steals. That made Burton the first player in WNBA history to increase by 5 points per game, 2 rebounds per game and 2 assists per game from one season to another. The surge stood out even more because she had averaged just 12.7 minutes per game with the Connecticut Sun in 2024 after limited opportunities in two seasons with Dallas.
The Valkyries are an expansion team that saw something in Burton and were rewarded with a breakout season that helped define their first year. Now they return for a second season with Burton no longer just fitting in, but expected to help steer the group as it tries to move forward.
What happens next is straightforward: Golden State will ask Burton to do more, and her 2025 season gives the team every reason to believe she can handle it.
