Kayla Thornton Out for the Rest of the Season
Golden State Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton will be unable to continue in the WNBA season due to knee surgery, the team announced on Friday.
Thornton suffered the injury to his right knee during a practice earlier in the week, in the first week after the All-Star break, where Thornton made his first All-Star appearance.
The team reported that the surgery was successful.
Before the surgery, Thornton was having the best season of his career, leading the team in points (14.0), rebounds (7.0), and steals (1.3) per game.
In this year’s All-Star Game, Thornton, who was part of Team Clark, scored 15 points in 20 minutes, playing as a substitute.
The absence of Thornton represents a hard blow for the expansion franchise, as she has become the leader of the Valkyries’ locker room and their key player on the court. She was selected by Golden State in the expansion draft in December, after winning a title with the New York Liberty in 2024.
