Two years after winning a WNBA title with the New York Liberty on her 32nd birthday, El Pasoan Kayla Thornton is back in in the Finals, this time as a member of the Golden State Valkyries after one of the more surprising two-year climbs in league history.
Widely expected to be the worst team in the WNBA when they drafted the unprotected Thornton in the 2025 WNBA expansion draft, the expansion Valkyries found almost immediate success with Thornton as an all-star, her first appearance in the WNBA's showcase, then made their surprising run to the finals this year.
Thornton is an alum of UTEP and El Paso's Irvin High School, both of whom retired her number (No.
5 at UTEP, No. 11 at Irvin) in the aftermath of her 2024 title with the Liberty.
The No. 2 seed Valkyries take on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream with home court advantage, though the series is essentially rated a toss-up. Games are either on NBC or on USA.
No. 4 seed Atlanta Dream vs. No. 2 seed Golden State Valkyries
Records: Atlanta Dream 30-14, 5-0 in playoffs. Golden State Valkyries 32-12, 5-1 in playoffs
Atlanta vs. Golden State WNBA Finals schedule
Saturday, Oct. 17Game 1: Atlanta at Golden State, 1:30 p.m. MT/2:30 p.m. CT, NBC/Peacock
Monday, Oct. 19Game 2: Atlanta at Golden State, 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT, USA/Peacock/CNBC
Wednesday, Oct. 21Game 3: Golden State at Atlanta, 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT, USA/Peacock/CNBC
Saturday, Oct. 24Game 4: Golden State at Atlanta, 11 a.m. MT/noon CT, NBC/Peacock
Monday, Oct. 26Game 5*: Atlanta at Golden State, 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT, USA/Peacock/CNBC
Thursday, Oct. 29Game 6*: Golden State at Atlanta, 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT, USA/Peacock/CNBC
Saturday, Oct. 31Game 7*: Atlanta at Golden State, 6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT, USA/Peacock/CNBC
* If necessary
WNBA Finals odds
Game 1: Golden State -2.5. Over/under 153.5
Series: Golden State -115, Atlanta -105.
Kayla Thornton height, position
Thornton is a 6-1 forward for the Golden State Valkyries known for her ability to guard all five positions.
Kayla Thornton personal details
Thornton was born on a U.S. military base in Frankfurt, Germany on Oct. 20, 1992, then moved to El Paso as a child. She attended Irvin High, where she was a 2010 graduate. In high school, Thornton scored 1,953 points and had 884 rebounds. As a senior, she helped the team to a pair of playoff wins and was named the El Paso Times' Player of the Year.
Her No. 11 was retired at Irvin on Nov. 6, 2024.
Kayla Thornton at UTEP
Thornton played at UTEP from 2010-14, leaving as the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,679 points and all-time leading rebounder with 1,032. She played for the NCAA tournament team in 2012 and was the star for the WNIT finalists in 2014.
Her number 5 was retired on Nov. 11, 2024, five days after her number was retired at Irvin.
Kayla Thornton WNBA history
Thornton was undrafted out of UTEP in 2014 and earned a tryout with the Washington Mystics. She was a final cut.
She returned to the Mystics in 2015, made the team, played in 10 games and was released. She did not play in the WNBA in 2016.
The Dallas Wings picked up Thornton in 2017 and she played for them for six years, mostly as a starter and as a defensive stopper. In 2023 she was traded to the New York Liberty as part as one of the bigger trades in league history and became the sixth player on their 2023 and '24 WNBA Finals team.
Thornton was on the floor on her 32nd birthday on Oct. 20 when the Liberty won Game 5 and the WNBA title against the Minnesota Lynx.
Shortly after that she was taken in the WNBA expansion draft by the Golden State Valkyries. She was an all-star for them in 2025 before injuring her knee and missing most of the second half of the season.
Thornton made a full recovery and is a starter this season.
Kayla Thornton stats
This season as a starting small forward Thornton averaged 7.8 points, 4.5 rebound per game and 0.7 assists in 24.3 minutes. She is the team's defensive stopper and a team leader.
For her 11-year career spanning four teams, Thornton has averaged 7.6 points and 4.4 rebounds.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: From long shot to WNBA Finals: El Paso's Kayla Thornton eyes second ring
