Golden State Valkyries' Veronica Burton named WNBA Most Improved Player

No WNBA team shocked the league more than the Golden State Valkyries. In their first season, the expansion team went 23-21 and earned a spot in the postseason. Guard Veronica Burton's offensive development is a big reason for that success.

Burton's excellence was rewarded Monday, as she was voted the WNBA's Most Improved Player for the 2025 season.

Burton, 25, wasn't considered a lock to win the award, but a few notable performances throughout the year set her apart from the competition. Against the Phoenix Mercury in August, Burton scored 24 points and dished out 14 assists without a single turnover. She had two other games in which she managed at least 10 assists with no turnovers.

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On the season, Burton averaged 11.9 points, 6.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds. She was one of five players to average over 10 points, five assists and 1.5 made 3-pointers per game, according to ESPN, joining Kelsey Plum, Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu and Skylar Diggins.

Burton came into the season with a reputation for being a strong defensive player. Over her first three seasons in the WNBA, Burton was a part-time player with both the Dallas Wings and Connecticut Sun.

But she took a major step forward with the Valkyries, especially on offense. Burton started 44 games with the team, saw her minutes per game jump from 12.7 to 29.4 and increased her scoring from 3.1 to 11.9 points per game.

That performance earned Burton the WNBA's Most Improved Player award, and established her as a key member of the Valkyries' core moving forward.

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With the win, Burton joins former teammates DiJonai Carrington and Satou Sabally as the most recent winners of the award. Carrington won the Most Improved Player award last season with the Sun. Sabally took home the award in 2023, when both she and Burton were members of the Wings.

Winning the WNBA's Most Improved Player award is generally a precursor to a strong career in the league. A number of future multi-time All Stars have won the award in recent years, including Skylar Diggins, Jonquel Jones, Natasha Howard and Jackie Young, among others. Of that group, Jones stands out as the biggest success story. Four years after being named the league's Most Improved Player, she won the WNBA MVP award.

After being a useful bench player over her first three seasons in the WNBA, the sky is now the limit for Burton following Monday's award.