KC FC 🇹🇼

Veronica Burton had to wait for the pickleball players at her hometown YMCA to finish before she could get some shots up. Last night, with 5.1 seconds left in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals, everybody was waiting on her. The Dallas Wings had drafted Burton seventh overall, then cut her days before the 2024 opener. At the Y in Newton, Massachusetts, her sister Kayla saw her holding a basketball, staring down the court. Kayla quietly took out her phone. “I recorded it because I wanted her to see it down the road,” she said. A month went by before the Connecticut Sun gave Burton a spot for the rest of the season. That December, when the Golden State Valkyries got to build a team from scratch, they picked her in the expansion draft. Burton wanted to make a good first impression. In her Golden State debut, her only points came on two free throws. Then her new coach, Natalie Nakase, wanted to sit down with her and watch every turnover. “Great, just what I want to do,” Burton remembered thinking. But Nakase could see why she’d made those passes. As Burton remembered it, her coach told her, “These three aren’t even your fault. You’re gonna be fine.” By August, Burton had a game against Phoenix with 14 assists and zero turnovers. A month later, she was the WNBA’s Most Improved Player. Back to Game 7. With Golden State up three, Atlanta forced a jump ball. Burton came up with it, and the Dream fouled her with 5.1 seconds left. Two free throws again. This time she sank them both to seal the Valkyries’ first championship. Man, I’m glad Kayla pulled out her phone that day.