Janelle Salaün is a winner, and Team USA should already be worried about her

The Golden State Valkyries routed the Portland Fire 95-77 on Tuesday, led by forwards Kayla Thornton and Janelle Salaün. The duo scored 19 and 18 points, respectively, on a combined eight 3-pointers, propelling the offense despite low-scoring nights from star duo Gabby Williams and Veronica Burton.

The Valkyries are 6-3 on the season so far, and are tied for 2nd in the West behind the Minnesota Lynx. They look poised to make a deep playoff run this year, and have already gone head to head with some of the best in the league and emerged victorious. Their wins all have one thing in common: Salaün's incredible contribution from the bench.

Salaün’s success with the Valkyries exemplifies a threat USA Basketball cannot ignore: French players only continue to get better and will pose a serious challenge for the US on the international stage.

Simply put, Salaün is a dog

Janelle Salaün plays a beautiful brand of basketball. She moves at a slow and methodical pace, not allowing defenders to speed her up, yet manages to get to her spots in a timely manner and drain her 3s at an impressive rate. She can drive to the basket and finish under the rim, move off-ball, and somehow still manages to contribute on defense. If there's one word I'd use to describe how she looks on the floor, it'd be sturdy.

Throughout the Valkyrie's six wins this season, the French forward is averaging 16.5 points and 4.3 rebounds (shooting 41.9% from deep) in 25.5 minutes per game. This includes two 20-point performances to start the season against the Storm and Mercury, the first of which saw her shoot 70% from the floor and 80% from beyond the arc.

This is a stark contrast to when Golden State loses: in those three contests, she played less than 20 minutes per game and only averaged 8.7 points and shot 26.9% from the floor. In other words, Salaün's success and her team winning are heavily positively correlated. Turns out, this philosophy could very well be true of the French national team as well.

French basketball is reaching new heights

In the 2024 Olympics, the French women's basketball team almost shocked the world: in the gold medal match against Team USA, France came within one point of toppling the seven-time consecutive winners.

The French national team is stacked: Golden State's Gabby Williams headlined the 2024 squad, and the supporting cast of players like Marine Johannès, Valeriane Ayayi, Marine Fauthoux, and more gave the US a real run for its money. Now, as the French basketball revolution spreads to the WNBA, the reality is becoming clearer by the day: the US's days of being the unanimous world leader in women's basketball are numbered.

In the gold medal match, which had a final score of 67-66, then-22-year-old Salaün struggled, scoring only 4 points in her 16 minutes of play. Since then, she's put on a ton of muscle and has gotten some experience against the American play style, and if she has one of her winning-type games, that score could easily be flipped.

Salaün isn't the only young French star that could give opposing teams trouble. Carla Leite, who played on the Valkyries last season and is currently having a breakout year for the Fire, could be joining the French senior national team pool in the near future.

When asked about the 2028 Games, Leite asserted that she'd rather focus on her current role with the Fire, but she added that she'd "love to participate in the World Cup this September." With the way she's been playing–averaging 15.2 points and 5.2 assists–her goal is absolutely in reach.

This only scratches the surface of all the immense talent France has in its back pocket. Between Leila Lacan, Pauline Astier, Dominique Malonga, and many more, Team USA might be in for some trouble in the next few years.

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