Kayla Thornton

32-Year-Old ForwardF
 Golden State Valkyries  WNBA
2025 Fantasy Outlook
After helping the Liberty win their first championship, Thornton was selected by the Valkyries during the WNBA Expansion Draft this offseason. Thornton has played for three teams (Washington, Dallas and New York) across nine WNBA seasons. She averaged 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per game with the Liberty over the past two seasons, a significant decline compared to the 8.2 points and 4.9 rebounds in 26.4 minutes per game she averaged across six seasons in Dallas. Golden State's rotation is likely to ebb and flow throughout the season. Still, Thornton has a much clearer path to consistent minutes and usage with her new team than she did when competing for playing time with Breanna Stewart, Leonie Fiebich and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. Read Past Outlooks
Chips in team-high mark in points
FGolden State Valkyries
May 27, 2025
Thornton had 13 points (3-10 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 5-7 FT), six rebounds and four steals in 28 minutes during Tuesday's 95-67 loss to the Liberty.
ANALYSIS
Thornton tied the team-high marks in points and rebounds Tuesday, albeit in a losing effort against her former team. The 32-year-old forward also led the Valkyries in steals and has racked up multiple swipes in three straight games. Over four regular-season outings, Thornton is averaging 12.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.8 steals across 29.9 minutes per game.
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
2022
After spending the first six years of her career in Dallas, Thornton played a reserve veteran role for New York last season. Her stats fell across the board, but she appeared in all 40 games and was still a fantastic presence on the offensive glass, grabbing 2.8 offensive boards per 40 minutes. She did so while also still showing an ability to space the floor, drilling 1.4 threes on 31.3 percent per 40 minutes. Overall, in her 17.3 minutes per game, she racked up 4.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.3 blocks and 0.6 threes while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 76.7 percent from the charity stripe. The best days of her career are seemingly behind her, so fantasy managers should temper expectations in 2024.
Thornton saw considerable playing time with the Wings over the last several seasons and remained consistent in 2022, averaging 8.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in 29.2 minutes per game while starting in 35 of her 36 appearances. Despite her prominent role in Dallas, she was traded to the Liberty in January as part of the deal that sent Jonquel Jones to New York. The Liberty remained active later in the offseason to form one of the two superteams in the WNBA, adding Courtney Vandersloot and Breanna Stewart. Betnijah Laney will also return, and she averaged 33.7 minutes per game during her first year in New York before missing most of the 2022 campaign. Thornton's fantasy value has been mainly derived from sizable playing time in past seasons, and that's hardly a given with the Liberty.
Thornton started 25 of 31 appearances in 2021 and averaged 7.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 27.6 minutes per game during the 2021 campaign. The 29-year-old forward figures to once again operate as the No. 2 forward behind Satou Sabally and should continue to be a consistent producer, though her lack of prolific performances limits her fantasy upside heading into 2022. It's possible that the addition of Teaira McCowan shifts Thornton to the bench, but regardless, she'll likely still be a key part of the Wings' rotation for a sixth consecutive season.
More Fantasy News
Pulls down 10 rebounds
FGolden State Valkyries
May 24, 2025
Thornton had 14 points (4-15 FG, 1-9 3Pt, 5-5 FT), 10 rebounds, one assist, one block and four steals across 30 minutes during Friday's 82-73 victory over the Sparks.
ANALYSIS
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Plays well in win
FGolden State Valkyries
May 22, 2025
Thornton chipped in 18 points (5-14 FG, 2-8 3Pt, 6-6 FT), five rebounds, one assist, one block and two steals across 27 minutes during Wednesday's 76-74 win over Washington.
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Shaky in team debut
FGolden State Valkyries
May 16, 2025
Thornton was good for just six points (3-11 FG, 0-6 3Pt) with four rebounds, one assist and one steal in 34 minutes in Friday's 84-67 loss to the Sparks.
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Displays two-way play in preseason
FGolden State Valkyries
May 11, 2025
Thornton recorded 12 points (4-10 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 2-2 FT), five rebounds and four steals over 23 minutes in Sunday's 84-79 preseason win over Phoenix.
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Heading to Golden State
FGolden State Valkyries
December 6, 2024
Thornton is slated to be selected by the Valkyries during the WNBA Expansion Draft on Friday, Sabreena Merchant of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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