Liberty Celebrate Kayla Thornton Return with Valkyries
BROOKLYN — Just over seven months after the perfect birthday party with the New York Liberty, Kayla Thornton finally got to take her present home.
Prior to their 95-67 win over the Golden State Valkyries on Tuesday night at Barclays Center, the Liberty regaled former sixth woman Kayla Thornton, who stands as one of the faces of the WNBA's newest franchise. The former Dallas Wing spent the prior two seasons in New York after coming over in the multi-pronged deal that also acquired Jonquel Jones.
Thornton was presented with both a bouquet of flowers by close Liberty friend Kennedy Burke while general manager Jonathan Kolb bestowed her the championship ring she earned last fall. The clinching victory in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals was staged on Oct. 20, Thornton's 33rd birthday.
"It's been emotional ever since we got here. I think about two days ago ... it was very tough for me, you know," Thornton said before Tuesday's game tipped off. "[Kolb], they had me set up in my room with my white jacket and the pictures and stuff like that. So that really hit hard. But I'm just so glad to be back."
The Liberty's maiden voyages against the Valkyries, consisting of a doubleheader that ends on Thursday night (7 p.m. ET, WWOR), are primarily centered around the return of Thornton, who was forced to leave New York as one of the veteran names chosen in the Bay Area's December expansion draft.
Before she was part of the expansion eleven, Thornton made herself one of the title holding twelve: her name is forever immortalized in the Barclays Center rafters upon the banner commemorating the Liberty's first postseason championship, a title she helped secure with 20 clutch minutes off the bench in Game 5.
All that and more led Valkyrie management, led by former New York assistant general manager Ohemaa Nyanin, to pick Thornton from the Liberty litter available to them in December. Beyond reigning Sixth Woman of the Year Tiffany Hayes, Thornton is the most tenured name on the inaugural Golden State roster.
"It was a blessing, definitely different," a "really happy" Thornton said when recalling the process that sent her out west. "We just ran the championship, so I was thinking, hey, we're about to run it back. But, you know, God always has a plan, and God always works in mysterious ways. So I'm just blessed to be in this, to be with this team, and to do my best to lead it in any possible way that I can."
"She has passed my expectations in terms of stepping up when we need a leading scorer, stepping up when we need a leading defender, or when I need to send a message to the team," Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase said. "She always has my back, and she revocalizes things that I say. I'm just really grateful to have KT with us."
In New York, Thornton's two-way tenacity was matched only by her spirited personality, one that the Liberty reps were more than happy to welcome back into their realm upon Golden State's arrival. Heading into Tuesday's festivities, the Liberty social media accounts were jam-packed with behind the scenes looks at Thornton's happy return, one where her multi-kilowatt smile rarely, if ever, faded.
Even game time wasn't enough to bring down the Thornton-infused vibes. While Golden State (2-2) was mostly unable to keep up with the Liberty pace, it staged a few mini rallies amidst Thornton's on-floor antics, which included tying for the team lead in scoring with Veronica Burton at 13.
"Towards the end, I kind of just asked her if she could stop picking me up 94 feet off the floor," Liberty point guard Sabrina Ionescu recalled with a smirk. "I'm like, can you just like, meet me at half court? I'm tired of getting hassled all the way up. She kind of just laughed and pulled my jersey ... Basketball is basketball, but we were teammates for a few years, and have a lot of love for one another."
Reunited and it feels so good 🥹🫂 pic.twitter.com/sLmHZasr4E
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) May 27, 2025
Thornton is the all-time leading scorer in the Valkyries' fledgling history, averaging 12.8 points through the first four.
Most of this early Liberty season has centered around reaping the spoils of a championship while letting its satisfaction fade and build toward making an addition to the rafter. Thornton's return was perhaps a perfect opportunity to reflect on that journey.
With Thornton gone, the Liberty (4-0) have somewhat retooled the upper portions of their second unit, turning to players who were in the system but not on the roster last season (i.e. Rebekah Gardner, Marine Johannes). Burke has also been a bit of a breakout star in the early, a development that Thornton is "extremely proud" of.
"You don't replace a player as special as KT," Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said. "It's the next man up now, and that's our mentality. It's always tough to lose players but we're excited about what Kennedy Burke's given us, and obviously Rebekah Gardner and Marine."
"When you lose someone, you're trying to just [ask] what do we need as we go forward as we we try and do what we did last year again. We're happy with our team. We missed KT, obviously, but we're excited about this team."
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.