SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton entered the 2026 WNBA season as the league’s reigning Most Improved Player. She finished it as a WNBA champion.
Four days after beating the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals on Halloween, the Valkyries and about 400,000 fans celebrated with a championship parade that stretched nearly two miles from the Ferry Building at the Embarcadero to Oracle Park.
For Burton, the day was filled with memorable moments. She hung out with R&B singer Kehlani and shared a float with costars Kaitlyn Chen and Laeticia Amihere, trading jokes, drinking beer and singing Beyoncé’s “Best Thing I Never Had.” It was a celebration that reflected their joy as members of the Valkyries team that won the franchise’s first championship.
The moments of levity between Burton and Chen were familiar to anyone who followed the Valkyries throughout their championship run. Chen brought the same energy to Chase Center before Game 7, arriving dressed for Halloween in a hot dog costume before joining Burton for their iconic pregame dance to “Hit the Quan.”
“I think doing what we’ve done since the beginning of the season has allowed us to settle in and understand that, yes, it’s a big game, but it’s still just a basketball game,” Burton said.
The championship was also the final milestone for Burton in a remarkable year. In March, she won an unrivaled championship title with the Mist Basketball Club, and in June she reached 1,000 points for her career. In October, Burton became the second WNBA goalie to record four blocks in a Finals game, joining Diana Taurasi.
From the work that earned him his place in the league to achieving the biggest moments in the playoffs, Burton can now celebrate what his journey has produced.
“The fact that we were able to capture so much this year is surreal,” Burton said. “And of course, I think that in itself is God’s timing to see from beginning to end. … I think I’ve become more comfortable expressing myself, expressing the ups and downs that I’ve experienced and letting people into a side of me that I probably usually shut down.”
In the final episode of her season-long Andscape video diary, Burton reflects on her journey to winning a WNBA championship and her growth over the course of the season.
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