Kaila Charles struggled to carve out a role for herself for four seasons after entering the W as the twenty-third pick in the 2020 draft.
She made the Connecticut Sun’s opening-day roster and played 21 games as a rookie. She played 30 games in her second season, but was waived ahead of the 2022 season. During the season, Charles signed hardship deals with the New York Liberty and Atlanta Dream, but only appeared in one game. The next season, she played four games with the Storm before being waived once again.
Charles didn’t appear in the WNBA in 2024, but played 17 games with the Dallas Wings and then 18 with the Golden State Valkyries. Golden State, it turned out, was the perfect landing spot for her.
The Valkyries were so taken with Charles that they signed her to a protected two-year contract worth $600,000 this year and $615,000 next season after seeing her play for just half a season. Not all fans welcomed the guaranteed contract, as it contributed to Kate Martin being waived before the season.
Turns out, signing Charles to a guaranteed long-term contract was worth every penny.
Kaila Charles was great in the first round
Kaila Charles isn’t necessarily someone who puts up big numbers. She averaged just 6.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists. She also shot just 27.6% from deep for the regular season.
But Charles’s impact goes well beyond her season averages, and that was on full display in the Valkyries’ first-round series against the Wings.
Natalie Nakase trusted Charles to play big minutes, including 28 minutes in an elimination game, and she delivered. Charles offers great size and defensive pressure against opposing teams’ stars, which Nakase deployed against Arike Ogunbowale and Paige Bueckers. She recorded two steals and 1 block in Game 3.
Charles also made an impact offensively. While she only scored three points in Game 1, she scored 14 in Game 2 and 10 in Game 3 and shot 50% from deep for the series. She also grabbed two offensive rebounds in Game 3, including a clutch one with just over two minutes left that shrank the Valkyries’ deficit to three points.
Charles could be key in the next round
Now that they eliminated the Wings, the Valkyries move on to face the Las Vegas Aces in the next round. There’s a lot of familiarity between the two teams, as Natalie Nakase was an assistant coach under Becky Hammon, and Kiah Stokes and Tiffany Hayes played for the Aces before coming to Golden State.
The Aces seem like the easy favorites going into the matchup. They have an advantage when it comes to playoff experience and the Valkyries haven’t even beaten the Aces in the regular season yet.
But trust the Valkyries to put up a fight and come in playing strong defense. Charles’s perimeter defense could be key against Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray, and Jewell Loyd. Cecilia Zandalasini may be a tough shot-maker, but she is not necessarily the best option to guard any of those three players, so Charles could be looking at big minutes off the bench.
Add us as a preferred source on Google