Liberty Sign Stephanie Talbot
The ride of this Valkyrie will continue with the New York Liberty.
The Liberty announced the signing of Stephanie Talbot, formerly of the Golden State Valkyries, on Monday following their return from the WNBA All-Star break. Talbot, 31, has played for five WNBA teams in seven seasons, including this ongoing campaign with the expansion Valkyries.
Coming to New York reunites Talbot with head coach Sandy Brondello, who oversaw her first two WNBA seasons with the Phoenix Mercury (2017-18).
The two have also collaborated with the Australian women's national basketball team, a tenure that includes a bronze medal run in last summer's Olympics in Paris. Talbot was the second-leading rebounder behind Alanna Smith in that trek, which produced the Opals' first Olympic medal since 2012. Talbot helped secured the bronze with a clutch block of an Antonia Delaere three in the final minute.
Signing with New York eight days after her waiving from Golden State is a bit of a full circle moment for Talbot, who originally joined the Liberty in a draft night deal with the Minnesota Lynx in 2020. Talbot elected to remain overseas that season and was later traded to the Seattle Storm in a deal that acquired fellow Opal Sami Whitcomb.
In 16 showings, Talbot was averaging a career-best 3.3 rebounds with Golden State, which acquired her from the Los Angeles Sparks during last winter's expansion draft. She put up one of her best showings of the season against the Liberty on June 25, which saw her pair 13 points and five rebounds in a narrow defeat in San Francisco.
Talbot's familiarity with Brondello's systems should be part of a smooth transition and create another weapon off the bench for the Liberty, who are inching closer to full strength after an injury-riddled first half. Talbot's defense should be particularly attractive to New York, which saw some lapses on that end after Jonquel Jones' ankle injury sidelined her for the early portions of the summer.
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.