Golden State Valkyries veteran Kayla Thornton was named as a reserve for the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, the first such honor of her career.

Thornton has been in the league for nine years and finally is getting her chance to play in the exhibition game. She was selected in the expansion draft by Golden State last year from New York and has helped the expansion team get off to a good start.

The 10th year pro for the Golden State Valkyries, a graduate of UTEP and Irvin High in El Paso, was selected as a Western Conference reserve for the game, which will be July 19 in Indianapolis. Her previous all-star appearance was in the last NBA all-star game where she part of the celebrity game.