Kayla Thornton (born October 20, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Valkyries of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In college, Thornton played for the University of Texas at El Paso.[1][2]
Career
Thornton was El Paso's all-time leading scorer.[3] She led the team to a record 29 wins.[3]
Thornton was not selected in the 2014 WNBA draft. She signed with the Washington Mystics for the 2015 season and played in 10 games. She returned to the WNBA for the 2017 season, signing with the Dallas Wings. She spent six seasons in Dallas before being traded on January 16, 2023 to the New York Liberty in a three-team deal.[3][4][5]
On December 6, 2024, Thornton was selected as the Golden State Valkyries' pick from the New York Liberty's 2024 roster in the WNBA's expansion draft.[6]
Thornton is known for her defensive play, and her ability to guard players in any position.[3][7] In the WNBA offseason, Thornton has played in Australia, Egypt, Israel, Italy, Puerto Rico, Russia and South Korea.[7]
Career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
| † | Denotes season(s) in which Thornton won a WNBA championship |
WNBA
Regular season
Stats current through end of 2024 season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Washington | 10 | 0 | 8.8 | .333 | .000 | .667 | 2.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 2.2 |
| 2016 | Did not play (waived) | ||||||||||||
| 2017 | Dallas | 34 | 1 | 17.2 | .412 | .279 | .800 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 6.8 |
| 2018 | Dallas | 34 | 32 | 28.6 | .447 | .355 | .860 | 4.0 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 9.2 |
| 2019 | Dallas | 27 | 25 | 30.4 | .343 | .272 | .931 | 5.3 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 10.4 |
| 2020 | Dallas | 22 | 14 | 25.3 | .429 | .347 | .875 | 5.1 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 7.3 |
| 2021 | Dallas | 31 | 25 | 27.6 | .421 | .349 | .849 | 5.6 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 7.5 |
| 2022 | Dallas | 36 | 35 | 29.2 | .471 | .329 | .829 | 5.9 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 8.0 |
| 2023 | New York | 40° | 0 | 17.3 | .433 | .313 | .767 | 3.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 4.5 |
| 2024† | New York | 40° | 11 | 20.3 | .379 | .357 | .846 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 5.5 |
| Career | 9 years, 3 teams | 274 | 143 | 23.5 | .411 | .327 | .841 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 7.0 |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Dallas | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | .000 | .000 | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2018 | Dallas | 1 | 1 | 30.0 | .571 | .000 | — | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.0 |
| 2021 | Dallas | 1 | 1 | 16.0 | .000 | .000 | — | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2022 | Dallas | 3 | 3 | 26.3 | .526 | .500 | 1.000 | 4.7 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 8.3 |
| 2023 | New York | 10 | 0 | 10.1 | .444 | .400 | 1.000 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 3.2 |
| 2024† | New York | 11 | 0 | 12.5 | .333 | .176 | 1.000 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2.0 |
| Career | 6 years, 2 teams | 27 | 5 | 13.7 | .405 | .289 | 1.000 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 3.2 |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | UTEP | 30 | 12 | 19.9 | .428 | .143 | .678 | 5.8 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 7.0 |
| 2011–12 | UTEP | 32 | 32 | 24.9 | .480 | .381 | .730 | 7.3 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 9.8 |
| 2012–13 | UTEP | 32 | 31 | 31.2 | .410 | .285 | .705 | 8.7 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 15.3 |
| 2013–14 | UTEP | 34 | 33 | 31.3 | .430 | .277 | .777 | 10.1 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 19.5 |
| Career | 128 | 108 | 27.0 | .433 | .285 | .736 | 8.1 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 13.1 | |
References
- ^ "Kayla Thornton". University of Texas at El Paso. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
- ^ Bloomquist, Bret (May 17, 2018). "Ex-UTEP, Irvin basketball star Kayla Thornton set to open WNBA season with Dallas Wings". El Paso Times. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Magliocchetti, Geoff (May 17, 2023). "Liberty 2023 Player Preview: Kayla Thornton". Sports Illustrated New York Knicks News, Analysis and More. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ Fleurantin, Brian (2023-01-16). "New York Liberty acquire Jonquel Jones and Kayla Thornton in major trade". NetsDaily. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
- ^ "New York Liberty Acquire Frontcourt Duo of Jonquel Jones and Kayla Thornton in Three-Team Deal". liberty.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
- ^ Henderson, Cydney; Horrow, Ellen J. (December 6, 2024). "WNBA expansion draft live updates: Golden State Valkyries pick their players for 2025". USA Today. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
- ^ a b Fleurantin, Brian (February 22, 2023). "Kayla Thornton talks her career, the Liberty, and more on Pull-Up with Myles and Owen". NetsDaily. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ "Kayla Thornton WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference.
- ^ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from WNBA.com and Basketball Reference
- UTEP Miners bio
