How Veronica Burton’s journey led her to this moment

“It definitely instilled a work ethic in me,” Burton told The Next. “My parents both played, and they kind of knew what it took to get to the next level. So, I just followed suit, and it’s kind of what I knew, and then I made it my own once I got to college.”

Burton was born and grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. She was one of four siblings and grew up in a family full of athletes. Her grandfather played football at Northwestern and is in the College Football Hall of Fame. Her father played football at Northwestern, and her mom was an All-American swimmer for the Wildcats. Burton’s two older sisters played basketball at Villanova and Lehigh. She also has a younger brother who went on to be a college quarterback.

Burton remembers her father first putting a basketball in her hands when she was 5 years old. As she got older, basketball games in the driveway between her and her siblings got quite intense. However, it wasn’t just basketball games that were a battle: Everything from Wiffle ball to card games brought out the competitiveness in the four of them. It took until she got to high school before Veronica could beat her older sisters in basketball.

By that time, Veronica had started to become a star in Newton and the greater Boston area on the basketball court. She credits a lot of her success to what she learned playing the game in and around Boston. She thrived at a young age due to the work ethic instilled by her family and the environment she grew up in.

Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton (22) drives by Phoenix Mercury guard Lexi Held (1) during a game at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on June 5, 2025. (Photo credit: Rick Scuteri | Imagn Images)

“I think from a basketball perspective, it’s an IQ level,” Burton said. “I really do think that Massachusetts basketball in general doesn’t always get a ton of credit. I think you have to have the underdog mentality; you almost have to go above and beyond … because there wasn’t always a ton of respect there. When you go to an AAU tournament and you travel the country, you really had to show what Boston basketball can look like.”

As Burton got better, colleges started to take notice. However, Northwestern and head coach Joe McKeown already knew who Burton was. Veronica’s dad, Steve, and McKeown would sit together during Northwestern football games whenever Steve would go back to Evanston. Steve would tell McKeown about his two older daughters and remind him to keep his eyes on Veronica.

During the summer leading into Burton’s junior year of high school, McKeown realized she was special. During an AAU tournament that summer, McKeown went to a Nike event on Saturday night. Burton and her team played the first game the next morning at 7 a.m. McKeown, who describes himself as a night owl, stayed up all night Saturday and made sure he was the first one in the door the next day to watch Burton play. Veronica put up 30 points in that game with McKeown sitting right in front.

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A few weeks after the event, McKeown had Burton and her mom on campus for her official visit. McKeown made sure to impress upon her that despite her family’s legacy at Northwestern, Burton was going to write her own story. He saw the value in her and made sure to prioritize that on the visit, which was something Burton really valued. Relationships are super important to her, and she connected right away with both the players and staff. She committed to Northwestern once she got home from the visit, but McKeown knew from the first time he saw her, she was going to be special.

“The things you notice really are is she’s so unselfish and so smart,” Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown told The Next. “Having now coached her, I understand my initial reads on her game were, ‘Oh, my God, this kid, she plays defense every possession. Her basketball IQ was off the chart. She’s not flashy. She just makes everybody better.’”

Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton (22) dribbles during a game against the Minnesota Lynx at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on June 1, 2025. (Photo credit: Darren Yamashita | Imagn Images)

Burton started every game her freshman year and went on to start all but one of the 115 games she played for the Wildcats. She improved her scoring average every season and finished her career as the 12th-leading scorer in Northwestern history. She scored a career-high 32 points at Clemson in December 2021, knocking down 14 free throws. She finished her career ranked third in program history in free throws made.

However, it wasn’t just the scoring that made Burton great. She consistently stuffed the stat sheet. She finished her career ranked third all-time in assists and second in steals at Northwestern. She also had the third-most steals in a single season at Northwestern with 117 her senior year. It was the defensive prowess that made her so great and led her to earning three Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year awards.

“She got the respect of her teammates, and she makes everybody better, and she does it in such a humble way,” McKeown said. “Once she learned the strengths of her teammates, I think that was the key, and that’s what she kept getting better at. They got better learning how to play with her, and realized she’s going to get them the ball, she’s going to defend, make great decisions. I think that that was what the growth, she just needed to be around the players that either were here or also came in with her and behind her, and she just makes everybody better.”

Burton finished her career as one of the all-time greats to ever don the purple and white. She helped Northwestern to its second-ever Big Ten regular-season title, but she didn’t get to play in the NCAA Tournament that year due to the COVID-19 shutdown. She got to the tournament her junior year, helping the Wildcats to the second round. Burton departed Northwestern after accumulating 80 wins, the most in a four-year stretch during the McKeown era in Evanston.

Burton went to the 2022 WNBA Draft, where she was selected seventh overall by the Dallas Wings. Burton didn’t play much her rookie year, averaging just 15 minutes a game and scoring in double figures just twice. She saw the same number of minutes her second year and produced at about the same level.

Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton (22) shoots against Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd (24) during a game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on June 7, 2025. (Photo credit: Darren Yamashita | Imagn Images)

She went into camp for her third year with the Wings but was the last cut before the 2024 season. Burton signed a rest-of-season contract with Connecticut Sun in early June and contributed to the Sun’s run to the WNBA semifinals. Despite the up-and-down start to her career, Burton credits the success she’s had in Golden State to what she learned from her two stops.

“I’ve been blessed with tremendous vets from the day I got drafted,” Burton said. “Obviously, having someone like Arike Ogunbowale in your corner, and she was so good to me. I’m really grateful for her. She still texts me to this day. After my career night, she was the first one to text me. When you have people that believe in you, that push you, especially someone of her caliber, it means a lot.”

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“And similarly, when I got drafted, I had Kayla Thornton, and I had Allisha Gray, and they took me in right away. So just learning from people like that what it means to work [and] what it means to not just be too result-based has been huge.”

In December 2024, Burton was selected as the Valkyries’ pick from the Sun in the expansion draft. Like the rest of the players selected in the expansion draft, Burton had to leave what she knew and join a brand-new organization. However, she was excited for the opportunity. Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase remembers Burton showed up to the Bay Area two weeks before training camp started to begin working with her new coaches.

Coming into the season, the Valkyries had a strong point guard room. In the expansion draft, they added Julie Vanloo, who had a phenomenal rookie year with the Washington Mystics and was incredibly experienced. They also added Carla Leite from Dallas, who was an unknown 20-year-old prospect but had a lot of potential. They also had Burton, who hadn’t yet proven herself in the WNBA.

She started the first two preseason games and played well but didn’t have any “wow” moments like some of the other Valkyries did in their opportunities to impress the new fan base. She made the roster but scored just 2 points in 17 minutes on opening night. Despite the slow start, Nakase knew Burton had to play for two main reasons: her defense and her leadership.

Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton (22) makes a 3-pointer over Washington Mystics guard Jade Melbourne (5) during a game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on May 21, 2025. (Photo credit: David Gonzales | Imagn Images)

“Leadership, I don’t think, has an age. It’s more what she knows and what she’s comfortable in saying,” Nakase told reporters about Burton. “As a point guard, as a former point guard myself, point guards usually have to know every single position, all the plays and everything, so that’s just second nature for her. Being a leader for Veronica is nothing new. It’s more to the passion and the energy that she puts behind it that I think is the true value to her.”

It only took until the second game for Valkyries fans to fall in love with Burton. In what would end up being the first win in franchise history, Burton put up a career-high 22 points and nine rebounds against the Mystics on May 21. She came up big late, scoring 8 points in the final 1:38, including two free throws with nine seconds left to seal the victory.

That big performance wasn’t just a blip on the radar for Burton, as she has put up career numbers across the board this season. She has more than quadrupled her scoring average while more than doubling her rebounds, assist and steal averages. She is second on the Valkyries in minutes played, scoring and steals, and she leads the team in assists. Burton ranks in the top 10 in the WNBA in total steals and assists through the team’s first eight games. To say she is making an impact on her new team is an understatement. 

“She always had an offensive game,” Thornton told reporters after Burton scored a career-high 22 points on May 21. “Just the opportunity now that she has the freedom to do what she needs to do, and I just tell her that she’s in a different position now, and she’s not where she used to be. She’s our point guard, so she has to lead in that way. I just tell her, ‘You have the ultimate confidence. Do what you have to do.’ … I just keep telling her that, and tonight was a proving night of what she’s capable of doing.”

Not only is Burton scoring the ball, but her defensive energy and effort have been outstanding weapons for the Valkyries. She has been asked to defend the opposing team’s best guard every night. She has guarded the likes of Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and Sabrina Ionescu. Those are not only three of the best guards in the WNBA but three players who have very different styles and score in different ways. She held all three of them at least 6 points under their season average in a game this season.

Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams (10) shoots against Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton (22) during a game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on June 1, 2025. (Photo credit: Darren Yamashita | Imagn Images)

Burton’s defensive ability was on full display on Saturday, when the Valkyries dominated the Las Vegas Aces at home. In the first half, the Aces had what looked like a fast break layup opportunity, but Burton sprinted back and deflected the ball out of bounds, not giving them an easy look. 

Throughout the game, the Valkyries were trying to clog up space against reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson. They were doubling or digging down consistently whenever she had the ball one-on-one. As the Valkyries did this, Burton did a great job of helping her teammates who had gone to double Wilson. She would sprint over to guard their player if they left to double the ball and communicated to make sure all five players were covered at a time. Both of Burton’s head coaches agree that her defensive IQ is what sets her apart on that side of the ball.

“She knows what the other nine people are doing every minute they’re on the court,” McKeown said. “Whether it’s the four that are her teammates, she knows exactly where everybody is. She knows what you’re doing before you do it. Her basketball IQ is that far ahead of everybody. She knows what everybody’s thinking, and she studies the game so well. She just anticipates so well … and she’ll know your strengths and weaknesses.”

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“I would say her defensive awareness,” Nakase told reporters. “She could play on ball, she could play off ball, she could play on one of the best offensive players. She can play in [the] post. Her physicality, her ability to call things out on the fly defensively, I think that’s what people don’t see. She and [Thornton] probably lead us in deflections, if we were to count. She creates a lot of extra possessions for us, with her leadership and her ability to kind of call things on the fly.”

Golden State Valkyries center Temi Fagbenle (14) congratulates guard Veronica Burton (22) after Burton made a 3-pointer at the buzzer in the second quarter against the Washington Mystics at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on May 21, 2025. (Photo credit: David Gonzales | Imagn Images)

In the process of being all over the floor on Saturday, Burton did something that she’d never done before in her career. She scored 14 points and dished out 12 assists, good for the first double-double of her career. She added seven rebounds for good measure.

Burton also had a plus/minus of plus-40, which tied for the 13th-highest plus/minus in WNBA history. Through eight games, Burton has cemented herself as a key piece in the young franchise’s first roster. However, she credits her success to the growth that she’s had and the path that she has traveled to this success. It didn’t happen overnight for her; it required the journey for her to reach this point.

For someone who had all the accolades and success in college, it took Burton a while to find a consistent role and spot where she can thrive. The first eight games in Golden State for her have been outstanding and she has done everything she has been asked and then some. Nakase trusts her to lead the team and make decisions on the floor. All her experiences have allowed her to grow, and it is from this growth that Burton has blossomed into a star for the Valkyries.

“This entire league is based off of growth, in my opinion,” Burton told reporters. “I think there’s a humility in the work. That’s what it comes down to and so when you’re not playing, are you still working the same as when you’re playing 30 minutes? When you get cut, are you still working the same as when you’re starting? I think that’s my mentality.

“It’s bigger than me, and I think that my faith is the most important thing to me, and I think that’s what’s allowed me to grow and just enjoy it. Enjoy the process. I’m grateful to be here, to have this opportunity, and how I’ve grown, even just in a short time here, has been incredible.”

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