The Valkyries Cut Kaitlyn Chen — Now Their ‘Secret Weapon’ Is Finals-Ready
GOATIFYFour days before Golden State’s first WNBA Finals, Kaitlyn Chen turned an ordinary practice drill into a celebration. When teammate Veronica Burton made a shot, Chen mimed an air-guitar strum. Soon the guards were cheering each other through routine repetitions. It was an unremarkable basketball moment with an unusually revealing message: the Valkyries’ reserve guard is helping keep a championship team loose without losing the seriousness that brought it here.
Chen’s route to this stage has been anything but straightforward. She was a decorated Princeton playmaker, became a national champion in a supporting role at UConn, heard her name called late in the 2025 WNBA draft, and was then waived by the very franchise that selected her. Golden State brought her back, made her earn a place again, and now has a dependable guard who can change the energy of a game with a quick three-pointer or a timely possession. The remarkable part is not that she smiles through the uncertainty. It is that the work behind that smile has made her useful when the stakes are highest.
Princeton made her a star; UConn made her a championship teammate
At Flintridge Prep in Southern California, Chen was already the kind of guard who could organize an offense and carry a scoring load. She left as the school’s all-time leading scorer, then chose Princeton even after the coaching change that followed her recruitment. Carla Berube, the incoming coach, got to know her through summer basketball and saw a player whose enthusiasm survived demanding practices. The personality was not a substitute for execution; it was one of the ways she kept herself and her teammates engaged through it.
Chen became an Ivy League Player of the Year and three-time Ivy League Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Her Princeton résumé included 1,276 points and 359 assists, with three trips to the NCAA Tournament. She could create for herself, read a defense and manage a game, but she was also learning a habit that would become crucial later: making the people around her better, even when they were the ones taking the shots. A guard with that combination is valuable to a college team and adaptable to a professional bench.
Her final year of college required a different test. Ivy League rules prevented graduate participation, so Chen transferred to UConn for the 2024–25 season. The Huskies had stars in Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, and Chen was not being asked to reproduce her Princeton usage. She started all 40 games, helped direct the offense and accepted that the right decision might be to deliver the ball early rather than take a contested attempt. UConn’s 82–59 national-title victory over South Carolina gave her an NCAA championship and an education in how a talented roster shares responsibility.
That experience matters now because the WNBA Finals rarely reward a reserve who tries to become a different player under pressure. Golden State does not need Chen to dominate the ball. It needs someone who recognizes when Gabby Williams or Burton has an advantage, protects the spacing around them and is ready to shoot when the defense collapses. The player who learned to fit beside elite college scorers is better prepared to do the same on a deep professional team.
A draft-night high became a roster cut — and then a second chance
Chen did not attend the 2025 WNBA draft expecting to be its central story. She was there to support college teammates, only to hear Golden State call her name with the 30th pick. It was a meaningful milestone for a player who had already changed programs to pursue a title, and for the fans who quickly embraced her. But late-round draft status offers little security in a league with small rosters and experienced players fighting for every position.
Before the regular season, Golden State waived her. The abrupt shift from celebration to unemployment could have been the defining moment of her professional career. Instead, she trained and stayed ready while the Valkyries navigated a season in which international commitments changed their available personnel. A hardship signing opened the door in June 2025. What initially looked like temporary cover turned into a longer stay, and Chen finished her rookie season with 24 appearances. Her two points per game were modest, but the first season established that she could handle the speed, physicality and uncertainty of the league.
Even that return did not guarantee 2026. Golden State signed her to a non-guaranteed training-camp deal, leaving her to compete again for a place on a team that had already reached the playoffs in its expansion season. Chen worked on the details that coaches can trust: ball security, defensive positioning, shooting preparation and the discipline to be effective without a predictable number of minutes. Additional work with head coach Natalie Nakase and Burton helped turn an appealing story into a legitimate rotation option.
There is an important distinction between being a fan favorite and being a player a Finals team can use. The first can come from a personality or a memorable draft moment. The second requires dependable decisions when an opponent pressures the ball, a willingness to defend without fouling and the confidence to take a clean shot without first finding a rhythm. Chen has had to demonstrate those traits repeatedly because every roster decision made her prove the case again. Golden State's reward is a reserve who knows how quickly opportunity can disappear and treats every possession accordingly.
Her shooting gives Golden State options — her energy helps the whole bench
By October 2026, Chen had become a practical piece of the league's most surprising Finals roster. Her outside shooting is the clearest statistical sign of progress. Through the regular season and playoffs, she had made 34 of 79 three-point attempts, approximately 43 percent. That is not the volume of a primary scorer, but it is enough to force an opponent to think twice before leaving her unattended. A defense that overcommits to Williams or loads up on Burton can be punished by a reserve who is prepared to fire on the catch.
Golden State's broader identity helps explain why that matters. The Valkyries reached the championship series in only their second year, finished the regular season 32–12 and built their success on a defense that allows very little easy offense. Their roster is not organized around one player taking every important shot. Janelle Salaün supplies bench scoring, veterans give the group poise and the guards share playmaking responsibility. Chen fits because she does not need the offense rebuilt around her. She can run a set, move the ball, space the floor and return to the bench without disrupting the team's rhythm.
The Finals opponent, Atlanta, brings a particularly demanding defensive test. Angel Reese and Rhyne Howard headline an aggressive group, while Jordin Canada can pressure ballhandlers and turn mistakes into transition chances. Against that kind of team, a backup guard's value may show up in possessions that never become highlights: receiving an outlet cleanly, making the extra pass, getting back to stop a runout or turning a scrambled possession into a reasonable attempt. Chen's ability to make a three matters most when it comes with those smaller decisions.
Her personality is part of the equation without being a substitute for basketball skill. The air-guitar celebration at practice is funny, but its significance is how naturally teammates respond. Burton has described Chen as someone who can bring out a lighter side in almost anyone on the roster. A long postseason creates tension and fatigue, especially for a franchise playing on a stage it has never experienced. The player who keeps practice competitive and enjoyable can make it easier for everyone else to reset after a bad stretch. The challenge is to carry that looseness into the game while staying locked into defensive assignments and scouting details.
Golden State does not need Chen to win a Finals MVP award to influence the series. It needs her to make a few open shots, protect the ball and hold up in the minutes when starters rest. If Atlanta is forced to respect every guard on the perimeter, Williams has more room to attack and the Valkyries can maintain their offensive structure deeper into each quarter. The best version of Chen is the one who can be cheerful before the possession, decisive during it and ready for the next one immediately afterward.
Chen's journey has no single dramatic turning point. Princeton sharpened her game, UConn taught her to win in a different role, the 2025 waiver tested her resolve and the second opportunity demanded that she earn trust through details. Each stage explains something about why she is still on the floor as Golden State enters the Finals.
The Valkyries' championship push is often told through their stars, their defense and the speed of the franchise's rise. Chen offers another way to understand it. A team that can turn a former cut into a reliable bench contributor has built depth that is more than a list of names. Whether her biggest Finals moment is a three-pointer or a timely pass, she has already turned an unlikely route into a role worth watching.
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