Former Valkyries Player Breaks Silence After Joining New WNBA Team
The Golden State Valkyries have been impressive during their inaugural season as a WNBA franchise. Entering Friday, Golden State is fourth in the Western Conference standings, owning a 9-7 record that ranks sixth-best in the entire league.
Riding a two-game winning streak, including an impressive blowout victory over the Seattle Storm on Sunday, Golden State is in good form. That said, not everything has been perfect in San Francisco, as the team recently took a lot of heat for how a controversial roster move went down.
As Julie Vanloo was set to return from EuroBasket, where she helped Belgium win a title, the second-year guard was released by Golden State. The timing was less than ideal, as she left the celebration early to return to the WNBA, just to find out she had been let go.
While this was tough news for Vanloo to hear, she landed a new WNBA job shortly after being released by Golden State. Joining the LA Sparks, Vanloo has a new opportunity.
Breaking her silence on this move, Vanloo made a post on her Instagram story:
"I still can’t believe it," she began. "So much has happened in such a short amount of time. I’m still processing everything. Thank you EVERYONE for supporting me through this rollercoaster. This was a huge game changer to never give up. I’ll make a video about everything that has happened the (past) 48 hours in the next days ❤️ Now I’m going to rest and relax because I’m exhausted 😴”
Julie Vanloo on her Instagram story after the Sparks game: pic.twitter.com/4HkQhZz6WD
— VanlooMuse (@JulieVanlooMuse) July 4, 2025
Playing just two minutes in her Sparks debut, Vanloo did not record a field goal attempt and turned the ball over twice. That said, she has been through a lot the last few days, and will now have some time to regroup before LA returns to action against the Indiana Fever on Saturday.
Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.