FIBA World Cup Hints at Silver Lining to Valkyries’ 2026 WNBA Draft Debacle
The story of the Golden State Valkyries’ 2026 WNBA Draft was that they traded eighth-overall pick Flau’jae Johnson to the Seattle Storm for a meagre return. Marta Suarez didn’t even make the Valkyries’ roster. Johnson ultimately benefited from the trade because the rebuilding Storm can offer her more opportunities than a Valkyries team that’s chasing a championship. Still, Valkyries fans were understandably frustrated when their team left the draft with seemingly empty hands.
The FIBA World Cup in Berlin suggests that may not be true after all. Kokoro Tanaka, the Valkyries’ third-round pick out of Japan, is off to a strong start and looks like someone who could fill a role similar to what Kaitlyn Chen is doing this season off the Valkyries’ bench in the future. That may not fully make up for giving up on a first-round pick, but it could still be invaluable, as the Valkyries’ depth is bound to take a few hits soon.
The WNBA has three more expansion teams coming in by 2030—the Cleveland Sirens in 2028, a Detroit team in 2029, and a franchise in Philadelphia in 2030. The Valkyries have the best depth in the WNBA. Their bench leads the league in points per game, Janelle Salaün will most likely take home the Sixth Player of the Year award, and there is little to no drop-off on either end of the floor when Natalie Nakase turns to her reserves. The new expansion teams will have their eyes on players like Chen and Kaila Charles.
If Tanaka can keep up her meteoric rise, the Valkyries will be lucky to have her as a draft-and-stash player to replenish any depth they lose in future expansion drafts.
Kokoro Tanaka is off to a great start at the World Cup
Third-round picks don’t often make WNBA rosters, even with more teams and development spots available. However, international players sometimes just fall through the cracks and their draft position doesn’t necessarily indicate their potential. Not everyone bursts onto the scene and WNBA teams’ radars as a teenager the way Dominique Malonga and Awa Fam did in the last two drafts. Salaün, for example, went undrafted and is now playing a key role for a potential championship contender.
Tanaka probably isn’t a name fans or scouts in the U.S. were terribly aware of until recently, although she played rather well in a preseason game against the Phoenix Mer. She didn’t even make her senior national team debut until last year’s Asia Cup. This year, she is once again one of the youngest players competing in the World Cup and the second-youngest player on her team.
Nevertheless, Tanaka recorded 18 points on efficient shooting, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals in her debut against Mali. She also only turned the ball over once, showing great ball security. Mali may not have a ton of WNBA talent, but they did just beat a Spanish team that features Awa Fam, Megan DiLeo, Raquel Carrera, Maria Conde, and Alicia Florez.
Tanaka followed up her debut with 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal against Germany. Japan lost that game, and Tanaka missed all six of her 3-point attempts, but she still proved that she could score against a team with several WNBA players in Leonie Fiebich, Nyara Sabally, Luisa Geiselsöder, and Frieda Bühner. For example, early in the first quarter, Tanaka got past Fiebich, one of the best perimeter defenders in the W, and sank a free-throw-line jumper.
While the World Cup is a very different stage than the WNBA, there’s a good chance that Tanaka can be a solid reserve for the Valkyries down the line.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.