Veronica Burton was the 7th overall pick in the 2022 draft after she was signed to the Dallas Wings. Though the team waived her in 2024, Burton was in 76 regular season games and started in 19 of them.
The Wings' loss was the Connecticut Sun's gain, and the team signed her to a new contract in June 2024. In December the Valkyries drafted Burton away from the Sun, and she's currently playing for the Bendigo Spirit in Australia.
Veronica Burton has a specific reputation in the WNBA
Burton brings tremendous basketball skill to the Valkyries, but around the WNBA she's known for one thing above all else: her poise. As Wings shooting guard and former teammate Arike Ogunbowale told Queen Ballers in 2022, the thing that she noticed the most about Burton is "Just how poised she is."
"Being a rookie in the league is hard, especially at point guard. I had to do it my rookie year and it was very tough. It’s a bright future for her," Ogunbowale added.
That poise helped Burton adjust to the WNBA a lot easier than some rookies before and after her. Both her parents were athletes, Queen Ballers reported. Her mother was an All-American swimmer and her father was a quarterback. All of her siblings played sports in college — her sisters played basketball, and her brother played football.
So the discipline and grind that comes with being a professional athlete was just part of the Burton family make-up. Early morning workouts were a given and professionalism was instilled from a young age — something the now 24-year-old Burton will be able to impart upon her Valkyries teammates.
Her defensive possibilities are endless
Burton was a logical pick for the Valkyries, especially for a head coach and GM who have repeatedly made it clear they want players who can compete from the beginning of the season. Burton's defensive game is impressive, and that's in part because she's been deliberately working on it since high school.
"I could always get deflections [in high school]," she told Queen Ballers. "I could always get some steals, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I was a great defender. I still had to be able to defend the ball, get through ball screens. I would say I wasn’t the best at that in high school."
"But in college I definitely grew and developed in those areas. I continued with the anticipation, the deflections aspect. But I think I became a better on-ball defender as well throughout my time at Northwestern," Burton added.
Her former coach Vickie Johnson also told the outlet that "ball pressure" is Burton's strongest defensive asset. "The way she can pick up the ball full court and stay in somebody’s space the whole time is very impressive," Johnson explained. "That’s her go-to. When she was guarding [Betnijah] Laney, she wanted to drop off for a second. I told her to get up and put pressure on her and then [Laney] turned the ball over. I’m very impressed. Great draft pick."