Kayla Thornton Signs Multi-Year Contract with Unrivaled, Set to Make Playing Debut in Season Three

WNBA Champion, WNBA All-Star, WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Champion Joins Unrivaled

MIAMI (July 2, 2026) – Unrivaled announced today the signing of Kayla Thornton, a WNBA Champion (2024), WNBA All-Star (2025), WNBA Commissioner’s Cup champion (2023) and Golden State Valkyries forward to a multi-year playing contract, with her debut set for the league’s upcoming third season. Her club will be determined at a later date. Thornton joins Marine Johannès, Bridget Carleton, Flau’jae Johnson, Gabby Williams and Olivia Miles as Unrivaled’s latest signees.

“Be the right person for the right time. Kairos!” said Thornton. “Unrivaled is another opportunity for me to grow as a basketball player while continuing to show people who I am and what I stand for.”

Thornton is currently averaging 8.5 points and 5.2 rebounds in her second year with the Valkyries and eleventh season overall. The forward is coming off a breakout year in 2025 after being selected by the Valkyries in the expansion draft, where she averaged career highs of 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds to earn her first career WNBA All-Star nod, becoming just the seventh undrafted player in WNBA history to receive a selection.

Prior to Golden State, Thornton spent two seasons with the New York Liberty, where she helped the franchise capture its first WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship in 2023 and first WNBA Championship in 2024. Her WNBA career began in 2015 with the Washington Mystics and she later spent six seasons with the Dallas Wings before being traded to the Liberty.

She played at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) from 2010-2014, finishing as the program’s all-time leading scorer (2,441 points) and rebounder (1,262 rebounds).