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Valkyries Under Fire After Cutting Preseason Standout

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kevin Borba | Last updated May 14, 2025 6:38 PM ET

With the 2025 WNBA regular season set to tip off on Friday, the league will be welcoming its newest expansion franchise, the Golden State Valkyries.

With a roster constructed out of players selected in the expansion draft, claimed off of waivers or rookies from the draft, the Valkyries are in the beginning stages of building a title contender.

Although they are new to the league, they are already facing the wrath of WNBA fans following a decision they made ahead of their regular season opener on Friday against the Los Angeles Sparks. To trim the roster down to the 12-player limit, the Valkyries ended up cutting five players. While it was inevitable they couldn't keep everyone, a large population of fans are upset about the decision to cut Laeticia Amihere.

Laeticia Amihere had been WAIVED by the Valkyries after scoring 20 points in 19 minutes against the Sparks pic.twitter.com/cbuKPWCzVp
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) May 14, 2025

"They must be dead set on getting JuJu in the future," predicted one fan.

"Cut throat league! ," pointed out another.

"What are they doing over there," questioned one user.

"Her and Deja getting cut after playing how they did is insane to me," wrote a fourth.

"Makes no damn sense & this was off the bench," commented another.

"The wnba needs more teams this is ridiculous," said a sixth.

In her two preseason games with the Valkyries, the 23-year-old forward and former first-round pick of the Atlanta Dream (2023) averaged 12.5 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

She also made 60% of her shots, while shooting 50% from deep.

According to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle, the Valkyries' final roster spot came down to Amihere and Kyara Linskens, who they signed in February and has over a decade of overseas basketball under her belt.

While things didn't work out in Golden State for Amihere, the former South Carolina standout could get a look somewhere down the road.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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