The Golden State Valkyries signed Nadia Fingall on Sunday, waiving Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda to free up a roster spot. The former Stanford player has never had an opportunity to play in the WNBA, but has become one of the most reliable post players in the Spanish league in her six seasons there. It was always likely that the Valkyries would view the roster spot granted to them with Iliana Rupert’s pregnancy as one that could be used flexibly and it makes sense to bring in another player who could be a contributor in the post.
Nadia Fingall
Nadia Fingall played four years at Stanford, starting nearly every game of her senior campaign before the 2019-20 season was cut short. That season was also current Valkyrie Ashten Prechtel’s first season in college as they started alongside one another several times. While she had a solid career, it was not enough for a WNBA opportunity in the pandemic-affected season so she started her professional career overseas. She did not start at the highest level there, signing with Paterna, which played in Spain’s second division, but had ties to Valencia in the top division.
After impressing in her rookie year, she drew interest elsewhere in Spain and signed with Estudiantes, getting a taste of EuroCup play in addition to being a key player on a playoff team. She had an even stronger next season with them and made the move to a championship-level team when she played with Valencia for two seasons. Her last season was spent as a teammate of former Valkyrie Carla Leite at Zaragoza as she played at the EuroLeague level again too. She should fit in defensively with what Golden State is trying to accomplish while also offering a few different ways to be deployed on offense that give them a different look.
Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda
Iliana Rupert’s sudden pregnancy announcement right before the season left the Valkyries needing to make quick decisions with one of their projected starters out for the season. Given that they were granted the ability to replace her quickly, it made sense to sign a player like Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda after she had already been in training camp with the team. She got minutes in a few games that had been decided as a smallball frontcourt option, but with the team starting to understand their roster needs after a few games, it became clear that trying to find a more experienced post player was a priority.
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