New York Liberty forward and Unrivaled co-founder Breanna Stewart opened up about former teammate Kayla Thornton while speaking to reporters in Miami last week. Thornton was drafted by the Golden State Valkyries in the team's Expansion Draft in December.
"She’s a dog, she’s a workhorse and really happy for her to continue to kind of lead in a new franchise but obviously sad to have lost her because she was key for us winning and knowing she’s much better playing with than playing against," Stewie explained. The 2024 season was Thornton's second with the Liberty.
In December Stewie went through the five stages of grief after learning of the Valkyries' pick. First came shock, or disbelief. "Bruh," Stewie tweeted within seconds. She then shared a crying and smiling emoji, but soon shifted to anger when she added of her young daughter, "Ruby gonna be pissed."
Yall don’t even have boroughs!!!!!! Papa John’s?!?!
— Stewie (@breannastewart) December 6, 2024
Stewie than tried pleading, or bargaining with the powers that be. "Yall don’t even have boroughs!!!!!!" she wrote, comparing San Francisco to New York City. "Papa John’s?!?!"
Two minutes later, Stewie entered acceptance. "They got a dawg, we love you KT," she concluded, adding a red heart to the message. It turns out that Stewie is just as efficient off the court as she is on it.
Thornton's loss is a big one for the Liberty
Aside from her dependability on the court, Thornton was also a leader for the Liberty in the locker room and had close relationships with her Liberty teammates. This was made abundantly clear by the photos and memories that were shared on social media in the days that followed the Expansion Draft.
Former teammate Nyara Sabally shared a tribute to Thornton in her Instagram Stories that featured a famous meme of Vogue editor Anna Wintour wearing all black and sitting on a box while holding a bottle of what's presumed to be alcohol — the implication being that Thornton was (and is) just as iconic. Kennedy Burke, Roneeka Hodges, and Jonquel Jones all posted their own memories of Thornton as well.
The Valkyries have taken steps to keep Thornton on the team
On January 16 the Golden State Valkyries extended a reserved qualifying offer to Thornton as part of the team's free agency negotiations. If accepted, the offer means can now only negotiate with the Valkyries — other teams are out whether or not the players accept the offer. If an agreement isn't met, the Valkyries will retain the rights to each player until they are traded or negotiated away.