Emerging Valkyries pickups to stream

The WNBA's 2nd week was engaged arsenic rotations are shifting, caller faces are grabbing time, and fast-moving phantasy managers are cashing in. This aboriginal agelong isn't purely speculative the mode the preseason proves; it's wherever minutes substance and surprises hap astir each night.

As injuries look and coaches tweak lineups, streaming players with blistery roles oregon affable schedules tin springiness you an edge. Whether it's rookies rising oregon vets redefining their spots, the adjacent fewer weeks volition abstracted the existent from the hype.

It's inactive early, but the picture's starting to travel into focus. If you privation to enactment ahead, now's the clip to ticker and enactment the waiver wire, not conscionable the headlines. Let's look astatine immoderate wide disposable players with meaningful starts to the caller season.

Backcourt

Veronica Burton, G, Golden State Valkyries (Rostered successful 28.2% of ESPN women's hoops leagues): An enlargement franchise offers minutes and roles to players who mightiness person antecedently not seen specified exposure. Burton has moved astir the league and planetary contention the past respective seasons and is present thriving arsenic a two-way defender for the Valkyries. The astir rewarding portion of her crippled is an elite bargain rate, 1 that dates backmost to conference-leading accumulation successful college. With a rising relation and a caller large enactment successful spot of an ailing Tiffany Hayes, Burton is 1 to ticker from the Valkyries.

Saniya Rivers, G, Connecticut Sun (22.0%): A look astatine her crippled log reveals Rivers is coming disconnected a lackluster showing successful Atlanta implicit the weekend. The rookie's changeable simply wasn't falling successful that nonaccomplishment to the Dream, but she did present double-figure scoring successful her archetypal 2 outings to spell with stellar peripherals. Like with Burton, antiaircraft accumulation drives a bully spot of Rivers' phantasy identity. Unlike Burton, the violative ceiling present is besides reasonably awesome fixed Rivers has a unafraid starting relation with instauration duties successful astir matchups.

Frontcourt

Kayla Thornton, F, Golden State Valkyries (31.0%): Arguably the apical summation successful phantasy hoops astatine the moment, Thornton has topped 30 phantasy points successful consecutive outings for this caller franchise. Thornton's play passes the oculus test, arsenic she's been engaged connected defence and astir the solid connected some sides of the floor. It's not astonishing to find an enlargement roster delivering undervalued production. Act connected this now, arsenic Thornton's ascent appears wholly real. Teammate Janelle Salaun is besides intriguing.

Kennedy Burke, New York Liberty (10.7%): With Betnijah Laney-Hamilton sidelined, the Liberty unit has trusted Burke to service a floor-spacing relation arsenic a scoring forward. Already matching past season's output of double-digit scoring showings, Burke is proving bankable connected a contending squad that needs her minutes. There isn't a precocious ceiling present fixed the endowment astir Burke connected the roster, but a amusive scoring and spacing relation could make implicit the coming weeks.