How WNBA Expansion Draft Stole Budding Star from Connecticut Sun

The Connecticut Sun lost a building block in last year’s WNBA expansion draft and it’s a regret they’ll have to live with.

Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton (22) celebrates after making a three point shot against the Minnesota Lynx in the first half during game one of round one for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at Target Center. / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

The Connecticut Sun is watching the playoffs from the couch for the first time in several years. One of their former players will be a haunting reminder of what could have been.

The Golden State Valkyries, the league’s newest team, likely won’t last long this postseason. They drew the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx and are already down 1-0 in the best-of-three series. But, in terms of that franchise’s future, it looks bright. The roster features a player the Sun let get away.

Veronica Burton was with the Sun last year as a reserve guard. With the Valkyries this season, she is the WNBA’s most improved player, an award announced on Monday. It’s a lesson in how your approach to the expansion draft matters.

How Sun Lost Veronica Burton

Veronica Burton of the @valkyries is your 2025 WNBA KIA Most Improved Player!

Burton embraced a new opportunity in Golden State, and went from 3.1 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 1.9 APG and 0.5 SPG a szn ago to averaging career-highs of 11.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 6.0 APG and 1.1 SPG 👏
#KIAMIP | @KIA pic.twitter.com/KQD6bCTpTk

— WNBA (@WNBA) September 15, 2025

The WNBA allowed each team to protect up to five players from last year’s expansion draft, which allowed Golden State to stock its first roster. The Sun left Burton unprotected, hoping that the Valkyries would pass her over. Well, Golden State thought enough of her to make her its third pick in the expansion draft.

Burton was coming off a 2024 season in which she averaged 3.1 points, 1.4 rebounds 1.9 assists and 0.5 steals per game. Golden State put her in a primary role, and she had a career season, as she averaged 11.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

The Sun could have used that this season, as they finished with one of the worst records in the WNBA. She also would have been a fantastic fit with a young core of players that are set to return next season, including Leila Lacan, Saniya Rivers and Aneesah Morrow.

General manager Morgan Tuck, who just wrapped up her first season, talked about the difficulty of those expansion choices in a recent interview with the Hartford Courant (subscription required). She faces more difficult choices this offseason as the league is going to expand by two teams in Portland and Toronto.

“We plan as much as we can, but there’s the uncertainty and expansion and all that type of stuff … so you don’t want to plan too far with the roster, because you could lose it,” she said. “We obviously had to start over completely this year, so the goal is that we’re not doing that again … For us it’s kind of just staying the course, staying true to what we want and don’t get caught up in the meantime.”

The Sun won’t know how many players it can protect until the league and the players’ union agree to a new collective bargaining agreement. But Connecticut may lose more than just one player in this expansion draft.