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How Iliana Rupert’s pregnancy changes Valkyries 2026 ceiling
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SAN FRANCISCO – Things in the WNBA can change on a dime, and the Golden State Valkyries are getting a good taste of that reality.
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The Valkyries announced on Thursday that they've filed for a replacement contract for starting center Iliana Rupert due to pregnancy , essentially signaling that they expect Rupert to miss a majority, if not all, of the regular season this year, which will have significant implications for Golden State moving forward.
But before we dig into what this means for the Valkyries, let's be clear: those implications are far, far less important than what this news means to Rupert.
At the end of the day, the health, well-being, families, and lives of these players come before basketball. Wins, losses, championships, roster moves, contract clauses, and salary repercussions are absolutely secondary to the athletes involved in them.
With that said, Rupert's absence changes a lot for the Valkyries this season.
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In 21 games for the Golden State last year, Rupert averaged 9.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists, finishing third in the league in 3-point shooting percentage at 44.2%. Her sharpshooting from the center position was key to what was an otherwise clunky Valkyries offense, boasting the second-highest offensive rating on the team behind Veronica Burton.
Without her ability to space the floor, the Valkyries lose a significant piece of what made their offense somewhat viable despite being 10th in the league in offensive rating. And as we saw in the playoffs, offense was a huge problem against the powerhouse Minnesota Lynx , as the Valkyries' offense suffered backbreaking droughts throughout the first round series.
To put it in these terms– Rupert was the duct-tape holding together a papier-mache Valkyries' offense. While Burton was the engine that made the car go, Rupert was the oil that kept everything running smoothly.
Options to replace Iliana Rupert's production
Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
And as things stand now, there aren't a lot of options to replace her.
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The Valkyries were already very thin at center, with Kiah Stokes being the only other one on the roster before they prioritized Laeticia Amihere over Kate Martin in their final roster cut. Both players have the skillsets to pick up some of the things Rupert did for the Valkyries, with Amihere being the very intriguing given her youth, athleticism, and finishing abilities around the basket.
However, neither Stokes nor Amihere is close to the kind of sharpshooter Rupert is, which fundamentally changes what Natalie Nakase can do with her lineups. A stretch center is just about the rarest thing in basketball, not only because of the skill set but also because of the demand for that kind of player. If there were a stretch center on the market right now, they'd already be signed because that's how valuable they are.
But the Valkyries will have to put somebody on the replacement contract they filed with the league office. So what are their options?
They can sign a free agent outright. Kalani Brown and Emma Meeseman are among the top-end names out there that could make sense in Golden State's system. Per the old CBA, the financials of a replacement contract are 75% of the minimum salary, so if that rule has remained in the new CBA, the Valkyries can offer around $200,000 to these kinds of players.
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Alternatively, the Valkyries go to the trade market for a solution.
They can't move Rupert, not that they'd want to, as per the new Dearica Hamby rule; teams have to get consent from pregnant athletes to trade them. But they do have the cap space for it as per the pregnancy and childbirth cap exception; pregnant players' salaries are no longer counted against the cap.
That frees up around $600,000 in practical cap space to use in a trade, which gives them some real options on the trade market. Portland's Megan Gustafson and Indiana's Damaris Dantis are two names whose salaries would fit into that cap space.
Is Golden State still a contender?
We'll see what Golden State does to replace Rupert, but ultimately, her absence this season lowers their ceiling. Rupert's importance in their offense, combined with limited paths to adequately replace her, makes the Valkyries' margin for error razor-thin.
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There are ways the Valkyries can offset it– leaps from their younger players like Amihere, Janelle Salaun, and Juste Jocyte would go a long way in replacing Rupert's spacing. And they'll still boast a top-tier defense with the talent they've assembled on the wings and in the backcourt.
But ultimately, in a league where shooting is key and size is everything, the Valkyries will undoubtedly miss Rupert's skill set. They've survived absences before, most notably Kayla Thornton's last season, and made the playoffs regardless. But with this development, just making the playoffs seems like a win now when days ago it felt like an expectation.
Related: Why would Valkyries waive fan-favorite Kate Martin in final roster cuts?
