The expectations for Temi Fagbenle are mighty high in the Bay Area.
The Golden State Valkyries drafted Fagbenle from the Indiana Fever as part of the team's Expansion Draft in December 2024, though she didn't officially commit to the team until April 4, 2025. Part of the delay had to do with overseas commitments, as 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, whose brother stars on the Hulu series The Handmaid's Tale, has also been cast in the film adaptation of the book Children of Blood and Bone. 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. So to say that Fagbenle is busy this year is a bit of an understatement, but she's at Valkyries training camp now, from the sound of it, she's adjusting to a big change.
The Golden State Valkyries see Temi Fagbenle in a different role
As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, Coach Natalie Nakase has a vision for how Fagbenle can impact the team. Part of that means emphasizing Fagbenle's offensive skills first, which includes her shooting capabilities as well as dominating the post. The team isn't known for their size, and at 6'4" Fagbenle will likely adjust to playing as a stretch big.
"We want to get to the rim first, but then it’ll open 3s for us," Nakase told the outlet. "So (the bigs’) ability to shoot has been really key to how we want to run and how we want to play. And credit to them for taking that risk of taking those shots, they’ve taken on that challenge."
Shooting threes isn't necessarily Fagbenle's strong suit, and that's something she will need to develop in training camp and during the regular season for Nakase's vision to pan out. In 2024 Fagbenle made 2 of 12 3-point attempts for the Indiana Fever — and she's only shot 18 3s throughout her entire WNBA career.
But she's also demonstrated that she can handle the task in front of her. Her long range shooting improved while Fagbenle played in Turkey this offseason, giving Nakase an idea of where she can go with the right leadership and plan.
For her part, Fagbenle is looking forward to meeting every challenge the Valkyries — and the WNBA — throws at her. As she told reporters this week, "I love playing fast paced, aggressive, in your face — that’s what gives me life."