{"id":3585,"date":"2026-07-02T16:09:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T16:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3585"},"modified":"2026-07-02T16:09:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T16:09:10","slug":"valkyries-kayla-thornton-signs-multi-year-contract-with-unrivaled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3585","title":{"rendered":"Valkyries\u2019 Kayla Thornton signs multi-year contract with Unrivaled"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><span>Valkyries<\/span><span> forward <\/span><span>Kayla Thornton<\/span><span> has signed a multi-year deal with Miami-based 3-on-3 league <\/span><span>Unrivaled<\/span><span>, the league announced on Thursday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3583\">\u2018Passport to Peru\u2019 promotes Bay Area\u2019s Peruvian food scene<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Her debut is set for this upcoming season \u2014 in the middle of the WNBA offseason \u2014 and her club placement will be determined at a later date.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Thornton joins teammates Veronica Burton, Tiffany Hayes and <\/span><span>Gabby Williams<\/span><span> \u2013 who inked a deal with Unrivaled two weeks ago \u2013 as the fourth Valkyries player set to compete in the league this offseason.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cUnrivaled is another opportunity for me to grow as a basketball player while continuing to show people who I am and what I stand for,\u201d Thornton said in a statement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Unrivaled is set to enter its third season in 2027, having accumulated some of the WNBA\u2019s top talent such as Paige Bueckers, Alyssa Thomas and Breanna Stewart. The league has given an option for players in the WNBA to stay stateside in the offseason rather than playing overseas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3581\">Larry Magid: Regulate social media, but don\u2019t ban teens<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Last season, Burton won the Unrivaled championship as a member of Mist BC along with Stewart, Arike Ogunbowale, Alanna Smith, Li Yueru and Allisha Gray.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Thornton had a breakout season with Golden State last season, averaging 14 points and seven rebounds en route to becoming the Valkyries\u2019 first All-Star. A season-ending knee injury limited her to just 22 games played in 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The El Paso, Texas native is currently averaging 8.5 points and 5.2 rebounds in her second year with the Valkyries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Prior to joining the Valkyries, Thornton spent two seasons in New York, where she helped the Liberty win a championship in 2024.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3580\">LeBron James\u2019 10 most memorable moments against Warriors<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thornton joins Golden State teammates Gabby Williams, Veronica Burton, Tiffany Hayes in stateside 3-on-3 league<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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