It's official: Temi Fagbenle is committed to the Golden State Valkyries.
The team drafted Fagbenle as part of the Expansion Draft in December 2024, but that didn't necessarily mean she would actually make her way to San Francisco this year for a few different reasons.
For starters, Fagbenle is also a member of the British National Team and will be expected to play for the country in the 2025 EuroBasket tournament in June. This year's EuroBasket will take place June 18-29 and is the first hosted by four countries (Czechia, Germany, Greece, and Italy), which will hopefully make the competition more accessible for fans who want to attend games.
Fagbenle also has a pretty fun side gig — she was cast in the film adaptation of Children of Blood and Bone in March. Apart from the potential impact on the Valkyries and the 2025 season, Fagbenle's casting in the film version of the popular book Children of Blood and Bone is really fun news for the basketball star. The Gina Prince-Bythewood-directed movie is based on the 2018 book of the same name by author Tomi Adeyemi, and the movie also stars Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Damson Idris, Cynthia Erivo and Amandla Stenberg.
The story focuses on Zélie Adebola, a feisty and stubborn young woman who has the gift of the maji (magic users) and lives in the kingdom of Orïsha. She enlists the help of her brother and two unlikely allies to take down a brutal monarchy that has oppressed the maji and other inhabitants of Orïsha for years.
Temi Fagbenle had a solid season with the Fever
Fagbenle didn't have her strongest season of all time with the Fever in 2024, but she put up great numbers and the 32-year-old has plenty of room to grow. She averaged 6.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in 22 games and started twice last season.
She's also played overseas in Turkey for the last few seasons and has averaged 18.2 points on 57.8% shooting along with 8.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists for her current team, Beskitas.
A look into Temi Fagbenle's 2025 WNBA contract with the Valkyries
Fagbenle entered 2025 free agency as a restricted free agent, so any team in the league could have made an offer to her that the Valkyries would have been required to match. Instead, she signed a contract worth a reported $90,000 (per Spotrac) and will be an unrestricted free agent ahead of the 2026 season.