Veronica Burton is making the most of her opportunity with the Golden State Valkyries. She spent her first three WNBA seasons as a defensive-minded backup, producing little. Now, she is the Valkries’ starting point guard, the team’s leader in points, assists, and steals per game, and one of the top candidates to be named Most Improved Player at the end of the season.
Burton has drastically upped her production in her expanded role, averaging career highs all across the board with 11.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.1 steals. Burton also continues to make history. She just set the single-season record for most games with at least ten assists and zero turnovers. While she didn’t add to that record in the Valkyries’ 90-81 win over the Dallas Wings, she still impressed with 25 points, five rebounds, 13 assists, and four big blocks.
Burton is in the middle of a true breakout season, and that improvement couldn’t have come at a better time. With a new CBA hopefully coming into effect soon, Burton is set up perfectly for a significant pay raise. On top of that, Burton has made herself invaluable to a team still looking to form a true core group to realize Joe Lacob’s dreams of winning a title within the next five years. There is no better team to have a breakout season with this year.
Veronica Burton has been a revelation for the Valkyries
Given the Valkyries’ roster makeup after the expansion draft and free agency, Veronica Burton seemed destined to have a breakout season all along. The level at which she has done it is still impressive, though. With Thornton out, she has been the Valkyries’ most important player on both ends of the floor.
Burton is only the sixth-highest paid player on the Valkyries’ roster. Hayes, Thornton, Billings, Zandalasini, and Fagbenle all make significantly more than Burton. Only having to pay the team’s leader in almost every major statistical category less than $79,000 is quite the steal.
Given how impressive Burton has been this season, she should be in for a pay raise and long-term security. The latter, in particular, is invaluable in the WNBA. Burton knows that as well as anyone. Just last year, she was waived by the Wings. Barring a big change in the Bay Area, she shouldn’t have to worry about that for a while.
The Valkyries will undoubtedly want to build on this season’s success and try to form a core that will guarantee playoff success for several years. Burton has made the best possible case to be a part of that core for a long time. If she leads the Valkyries to a playoff appearance, it will only further prove her value.
The Valkyries are fortunate that Burton will be a restricted free agent after the season because she will undoubtedly draw a lot of attention from other teams. Her status as a free agent doesn’t mean that she will even want to leave the Bay Area, though. Either way, Burton has done everything in her power to secure a bright future in the WNBA.