SAN FRANCISCO- Every season, players want to be better than the year before. It’s the simple growth players have over time. But how does one improve after winning the Most Improved Player Award? How does someone follow up a season in which they broke out? That is the question surrounding Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton. For her, this season is not just about more improvement; it’s about being consistent day in and day out and being a leader of the franchise.
“The goal is always to win a championship,” Burton told the IX Sports. “I think that was our goal last year too. It’s always to compete, to win and get better. I think just continuing to be consistent on both sides of the basketball and be intentional about what we’re doing and following our game plan, I think would be a big one. Whatever game plan we have in set in place, that’s something that we’re going to try and execute on a nightly basis.”
After never averaging more than 3 points per game, Burton exploded last year for Golden State. She averaged 11.9 points per game while putting up career highs in every single category and helped the Valkyries qualify for the playoffs. It was why she was named the WNBA’s most improved player in 2025. She wasn’t just the team’s leading scorer in the second half of the season when Kayla Thornton was lost to injury; she was the team’s vocal leader.
Burton, however, wasn’t an immediate leader for Golden State last year. She builds her leadership through the relationships she has with her teammates. Since the Valkyries were made up of players who hadn’t played together before, it took her a couple of months to build those relationships. However, going into this season, since most of the Valkyries’ roster returned from last season, she has been able to be vocal right away.
“Just right away vocal,” Nakase told the media about Burton’s leadership. “Last year it took her a couple months to feel very comfortable, because she said…she starts her leadership off of relationships, so she wants to build first the trust and the support that she does off court. But, right now, boom, she’s vocal, she’s demanding, she’s commanding, and we put a lot on her shoulders… I wouldn’t want to go through my second year, and especially my first year, without Veronica Burton.”
One of the players who has been dramatically impacted by Burton over these first two years is Kaitlyn Chen. The second-year point guard didn’t get a lot of playing time in her rookie campaign, seeing the floor in just 24 games. Going into this year, with the departure of Carla Leite in the expansion draft, Chen has had to play more as Golden State’s backup point guard.
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In that spot, Burton has taken Chen under her wing, helping her as she’s navigated playing the point guard position in the WNBA. The two of them quickly formed a bond, and Chen considers Burton one of her best friends on the team. Burton consistently tells Chen what she sees on the floor and is always encouraging her whenever she can. Their relationship has really helped Chen find her footing in the WNBA, and she couldn’t be more thankful for what Burton has done for her.
“She’s always been such an amazing person,” Chen told the IX Sports of her relationship with Burton. “I feel like from the second I got here, she sort of took me under her wing. She’s someone that I can really count on for anything. She’s one of my best friends here, but she just helps me out so much on the court, and honestly, off the court too. I feel like, just little stuff she sees, she’ll come and tell me. She’s always there, encouraging me, and she is someone who I know has my back. I’m honestly really glad that I get to play behind her and learn so much from her.”
Chen and Burton also have a great relationship with Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase. As a former point guard herself, Nakase understands what is required of the two of them to lead the offense and the team. She trusts them both on the floor and has played them together early this year, as she likes both of their ability to get to the paint and find open teammates.
Nakase has spent extra time with Burton in practice so far this season, helping her work on reading defenses as opposing teams throw different looks at her. She also spends a lot of time working with Valkyries’ assistant and former WNBA champion Sugar Rodgers. Burton credits much of her success last year to the time she has spent working with Rodgers. Nakase loves everything Burton brings to the Valkyries, and she doesn’t want anything more from her than to just be herself.
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“I just want her to be the best version of herself every day,” Nakase told the media. “What that entails depends on the emotions she’s in, the highs, the lows of where she is physically and mentally. So, it’s just continuing to push Veronica, but I know Veronica brings it every single day as a leader, as a defensive player, as a point guard. The sky’s the limit for her, but the fact that she comes in with that growth mindset, then that means whatever she wants.”
Through the first three games of the year, Burton has been able to find her teammates at a high level. She is averaging 7.3 assists, which is third best in the WNBA. In their game against Phoenix, Burton had 12 assists without a single turnover. She has three games with at least 12 assists and no turnovers, the most of any WNBA player ever. In the game against Phoenix, it was Burton who spoke up in the huddle early in the fourth quarter, saying the Valkyries needed one more run to put the Mercury away. Golden State won the fourth quarter by 12 en route to a 16-point victory.
Burton has shown a proclivity for playmaking since she came to Golden State, but her calling card has always been defense. With the addition of Gabby Williams, another elite defender, Burton has been able to play more aggressively on that side of the ball. She has been guarding a variety of players in the first three games and has been more aggressive off the ball at times. She is averaging two steals per game so far this season, a career high. No matter which side of the ball they are on, Burton’s teammates love the leadership and intensity she brings to the game.
“She does everything,” Valkyries wing Kaila Charles told the media of her teammate. “She is truly a floor general. I think she’s a very smart player, how she reads, how she gets us into our spots, how she makes everybody’s game a little bit easier. She sets us up where we’re able to get open shots, but on the flip side, she’s also aggressive, she can score, she can pass… I really do enjoy playing with her. She’s also very selfless, as much as we want her to score and do her thing. She’s very selfless, and she’s gonna always give back to her teammates.”
Along with some adjustments defensively, the addition of Williams has freed up Burton for more on offense. She hasn’t had to initiate the Valkyries’ action all the time so far this year. This has allowed her to receive different screens and to attack on second-sided actions. Burton has also been more aggressive on her drives, trying to make opposing teams pay for the variety of coverages they show her. She is a very selfless player, as evidenced by her high assist total, and always tries to make the right play.
Whether she is scoring or passing, Burton remains the floor general and overall engine of the Valkyries, going into the franchise’s second season. She became a fan favorite with her play in the second half of last year and is clearly valued by the franchise, as she signed the second-biggest contract that Golden State handed out this offseason. Even though she is considered a cornerstone of the franchise, Burton continues to be grateful for every opportunity she gets and wants to lead the Valkyries to the glory of a championship.
“I’m just grateful to be here,” Burton said at her media day press conference. “I’m grateful for whatever role, whatever position I can fill. I think there does come a responsibility with the position that we’re both in…I know what it’s like to not even be in the league, and so I think that it’s really exciting for me to even just be here. To have a voice, have a relationship with the ownership group, with our GM, with our head coach. All of that is something that I don’t take lightly.”
