Fans React to WNBA Champion Joining Valkyries
The Golden State Valkyries are entering the second half of the season on a high as the expansion franchise hopes to capitalize on one of the best inaugural starts in league history.
The Valkyries have already won over the Bay Area, selling out all 11 home games, and currently sit second in overall league attendance behind the Indiana Fever, per Across the Timeline.
Now, Golden State will add international support with the signing of a former WNBA champion who will make her debut in a Valkyries uniform Friday against the Dallas Wings.
Earlier this month, Golden State announced that 6’4 French center Iliana Rupert will make her debut with the Valkyries after the All-Star break. Rupert was selected by the franchise during the 2024 expansion draft.
Rupert was selected by the franchise during the 2024 expansion draft. She won a championship in her rookie year with the Las Vegas Aces in 2022, but hasn’t played WNBA basketball since her 2023 season with the Atlanta Dream.
In her stellar overseas career, Rupert won a championship and Finals MVP for her club, Tango Bourges Basket, in the 2021-2022 season. Rupert also led Tango Bourges to a EuroCup trophy that season as she secured Final Four MVP of the competition.
With an already eclectic fanbase taking over the Chase Center, known during Valkyries games as “Ballhalla”, fans are excited to support a new face on the roster. Rupert had a message for Valks fans Monday stating on social media she is “so excited to see you soon in Ballhalla”. Fans reacted with “welcome” messages in both English and French for the 24-year-old.
Rupert adds another interior presence highlighted by All-Star Kayla Thornton and veterans Temi Fagbenle and Monique Billings. The Valkyries begin the second half of the season on the road against the struggling Dallas Wings Friday.
Anwar Stetson is a Multimedia Sports Journalist from Los Angeles, California. He previously worked as a TV News Reporter for KRCR News Channel 7 in Chico, California--covering politics, local news, wildfires, crime, and high school football. As an Assistant Editor for Spectrum Sportsnet: Los Angeles, Anwar worked on award-winning programs Backstage:Lakers and Backstage:Dodgers, giving viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the two franchises' most prominent athletes. Anwar is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he received his Master's Degree in Specialized Journalism (Sports Emphasis) in 2019. He graduated from the University of California, Merced with a B.A. in English in 2016. In addition to Sports Illustrated, Anwar covers high school sports for Prep Network, and the WNBA for The Sporting Tribune.