Golden State Valkyries: Five storylines to watch as training camp begins

OAKLAND After an eventful offseason the Golden State Valkyries at last got to take the court on Sunday at their practice facility in Oakland as the WNBA expansion gang opened training camp While expectations won t be high in Year Golden State will use the next two-and-a-half weeks to build a hyper-competitive society before hosting the Los Angeles Sparks at Chase Center on May in its first-ever regular-season championship Everybody has the mindset of win or die Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase reported We want to approach every practice like it s a battle I thought every single player did that the present day Golden State s roster as of now sits at players and will need to be cut down to before the season opener While Sunday s practice marked a historic day for the expansion club the process will look a lot different than the other teams in the league I think this is obviously a different experience than any other training camp second-year guard Kate Martin declared Since it s a brand new band we re all starting from ground zero We re really building something from scratch and so it s a lot different obviously but it s been really fun and it s been really high capacity so far Here are five storylines going into training camp Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase chats with Golden State Valkyries Kyara Linskens during training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland Calif on Sunday April Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group WHO S IN CAMP The Valkyries have a mix of rookies seasoned veterans and everything in between Carla Leite Kaitlyn Chen Shyanne Sellers and Martin headline a gritty group of young guards along with veterans Tiffany Hayes and Veronica Burton Forwards Kayla Thornton and Monique Billings are slated to be veteran leaders who could be top scoring options Just Jocyt the Valkyries first-round draft choice was not named to the company s training camp roster confirming that she will not be joining the squad to start the season Janelle Sala n and Elissa Cunane are expected to join the roster at a later date after they fulfill international commitments Iliana Rupert and Mar a Conde two players selected in December s expansion draft are not expected to join the crew this season Conde suffered an Achilles tear in January while Rupert has been playing professionally in Turkey Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase right stands next to her players during training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland Calif on Sunday April Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group WHAT ROLE WILL THE VETERANS PLAY While the Valkyries entered training camp with a plethora of young talent the organization will be looking toward its veterans to be anchors on both ends of the floor Thornton and Hayes bring a combined years of experience Thornton won a WNBA title with the New York Liberty last season Hayes won the sixth woman of the year award in after averaging points per championship for the Las Vegas Aces Each performer has different tactics of being a leader on the floor I want to bring fun I want to bring leadership I want to be a leader not just by example but also with my voice Hayes mentioned Thornton on the other hand is taking a more measured approach I don t do a lot of talking I kind of just lead by actions Thornton disclosed What I do on the court and whatever help I can give to the young girls and stuff like that I ll lead that way Golden State Valkyries Kayla Thornton puts on her shoes during training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland Calif on Sunday April Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE The Valkyries have made it clear that the crew s identity will start on defense and Golden State has the physical profile to do just that Thornton and Billings provide length on the perimeter while Martin and Hayes are scrappy defenders We know what we want our identity to be and its killers Martin disclosed We want to be gritty We want to be relentless We want to be the ones diving for those balls We want to be getting stops on defense According to Nakase Sunday s practice consisted of all defensive drills and that will likely continue that way as the week progresses Currently was all about defense Nakase revealed It s going to be defense until we feel that it s an appropriate time to move up to offense Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase speaks to the media during training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland Calif on Sunday April Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group ICE BREAKERS The first day of training camp could be a scary sight especially for younger players But the Valkyries made sure Sunday s practice was a light one that included an early film session and a dance competition They made us do a little dance to get the jitters out because selected people were saying they were nervous Hayes explained Sellers added Nowadays was super exciting It wasn t as bad as I thought it was going to be I was just trying to lean on my vets and soak it all in Hayes noted the Valkyries are still in the process of finding where they will have their off-court squad activity but there is one place that she has at the top of her list The first thing I want to do is take them to Alcatraz Island Hayes explained We gotta do that one Golden State Valkyries Tiffany Hayes answers questions during a press conference at training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland Calif on Sunday April Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group A BATTLE OF GUARDS Related Articles Kerr Jimmy Butler questionable for Monday after Warriors Contest win without him Without Jimmy Butler Buddy Hield Gary Payton II step up for Warriors in win over Rockets Steph Curry carries Butler-less Warriors past Rockets in crucial Contest win Around San Francisco Rockets coach has pleasant talks with Warriors fans You re not as brave in person Jimmy Butler injury update Warriors star out for Contest All eyes will be on the guard unit as the band will be looking for a solid rotation to complement Thornton and Billings The organization s current group of guards have strengths as shooters and playmakers but Nakase will be looking for more than a solid offensive encounter We re looking for defense You have to be able to defend Nakase commented about what will separate which guards make the association Golden State Valkyries Kaitlyn Chen shoots a ball during training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland Calif on Sunday April Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group Golden State Valkyries Shyanne Sellers speaks to the media during training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland Calif on Sunday April Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group Golden State Valkyries Kayla Thornton speaks to the media during training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland Calif on Sunday April Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group Golden State Valkyries Kate Martin speaks to the media during training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland Calif on Sunday April Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group Golden State Valkyries Tiffany Hayes answers questions during a press conference at training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland Calif on Sunday April Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group Golden State Valkyries practice during training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland Calif on Sunday April Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group Golden State Valkyries Kaitlyn Chen passes a ball during training camp held at the Sephora Performance Center in Oakland Calif on Sunday April Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group