The WNBA announced on Monday that Valkyries star Veronica Burton was named the league's Most Improved Player of the 2025 season.
Burton has helped lead Golden State to the playoffs in their inaugural season, a WNBA first.
Burton was coming off a rough 2024 season with the Connecticut Sun when she only started one game and averaged 3.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists. This season with the Valkyries, Burton started in all 44 games she competed in and increased all her averages from the year prior: 11.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.1 steals. The WNBA noted that Burton is the first player in league history to increase her averages by "at least five points, two rebounds and two assists" between two seasons.
Veronica Burton of the @valkyries is your 2025 WNBA KIA Most Improved Player!
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 15, 2025
Burton embraced a new opportunity in Golden State, and went from 3.1 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 1.9 APG and 0.5 SPG a szn ago to averaging career-highs of 11.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 6.0 APG and 1.1 SPG 👏
#KIAMIP | @KIA pic.twitter.com/KQD6bCTpTk
Now Burton is competing in the playoffs with the Valkyries. The guard has competed in the playoffs in all four years of her career so far (she started her career on the Wings in 2022). Golden State lost Game 1 of the first round to the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as WNBA Names Valkyries Star Veronica Burton the 2025 Most Improved Player.
