The Golden State Valkyries Sign Temi Fagbenle

On Wednesday, the WNBA website listed Temi Fagbenle as having signed with the Golden State Valkyries on Tuesday. While this had been expected after the team acquired her restricted free agency rights from the Indiana Fever in the Expansion Draft, she had not signed yet, leading to speculation about whether she might skip this season. She had a good last season as a backup post, her fourth in the league since being drafted back in 2016 after a college career at Harvard and USC.

Contract Details

Shortly after her signing became public, Richard Cohen of Her Hoop Stats confirmed that her contract was unguaranteed with a base salary of $90,000 and is for this season only as is the case with most signings this offseason. After her restricted qualifying offer expired last month, the team did still retain her exclusive negotiating rights and they just had to agree on a contract. The amount is for more than the minimum the Valkyries could have offered her, which seems reasonable given their immense cap space and they will still retain some flexibility for further moves this season. The signing takes the team up to 15 players under contract even before the upcoming draft so many transactions will still be necessary to get the team to an opening day roster after training camp.

Current Season

After her last WNBA season, Fagbenle headed to Besiktas in Turkey where she has had an excellent season. She was injured on national team duty in February, but returned in time for the playoffs and helped them advance in the first round. Regardless of how far the team goes, she will be available for the start of training camp, which is important as her years of service in the league make her subject to the rules of the WNBA’s Prioritization clause.

National Team

Even though Fagbenle was born in the United States, most of her childhood was spent in the United Kingdom and she has always represented Great Britain for national team play. While she missed the end of the qualification process, the team did grab a spot in this summer’s EuroBasket tournament. British players do not always take time off from the WNBA for these tournaments, especially given how much of an underdog the team is to advance out of the group stage, but being under contract now means that she can only leave the team for Germany as early as June 5th and must return within 48 hours of the end of their last game.