The FIBA Women's EuroBasket line-up for 2025 is set, and it could have major ramifications for the roster the Golden State Valkyries is trying to put together.
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. While that's great news for fans in Europe, it's potentially bad news for the Golden State Valkyries, since six of the team's players have qualified.
The list of qualified countries includes France, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Portugal, Great Britain, Lithuania, Switzerland, Croatia, Slovakia, Latvia, Hungary, Belgium, Montenegro, and Slovenia. Three Valkyries — Carla Leite, Janelle Salaün, Iliana Rupert, Temi Fagbenle, Julie Vanloo, and Kyara Linskens — are expected to represent their teams (France for Leite, Rupert, and Salaün, Great Britain for Fagbenle and Belgium for Vanloo and Linskens). Potential 2025 Valkyries draft pick Dominique Malonga is also likely to be playing for France during the tournament.
It's unclear if Fagbenle will sign a contract with Golden State, despite having been drafted during the team's Expansion Draft. But the team did recently sign both Vanloo and Linskens, and EuroBasket could jeopardize their ability to participate in both the WNBA and the European tournament. Carla Leite has not indicated that she intends to leave France to join the Valkyries this season, something that has remained unchanged since the Expansion Draft in December.
Signing so many international players could have consequences
There are a lot of benefits to signing overseas talent to the WNBA. Players from countries outside of the United States bring their own (often lengthy) experience with high-level basketball and also a different approach and type of basketball IQ to the game. But they also typically come with obligations to their home countries that directly interfere with the WNBA's season.
This is something the Valkyries would have known long before deciding to draft so many international players to the team, and in some ways fans of Golden State will simply have to sit back and trust the process, as they say. But it's not unreasonable to be concerned about how those overseas obligations might play out for a team that is hoping to make a big splash out of the gate.
Most likely, the players who have committed to both playing for the Golden State Valkyries in 2025 and who plan to play for their national teams will simply leave the WNBA for a few weeks in June and return once EuroBasket is finished. It's also likely some of the European Valkyries don't intend to hit the court in the States this year. Either way, the tournament will offer the newest WNBA team yet another opportunity to get creative, something the front office has already demonstrated a willingness to do — and the rest of us will simply sit back and see how it all plays out.