WNBA Team Getting Boost as Former First-Round Pick Returns to League originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Nearly every WNBA team has lost at least one player over the past month due to international duty at the 2025 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup in Santiago, Chile. With the tournament ending on Sunday, players are returning to their teams.

For the Golden State Valkyries, they are set to get a boost with the return of a player from EuroBasket. According to Tom Compayrot of Dicodusport, France’s Iliana Rupert is expected to join the team around July 15 after not playing in a WNBA game since 2023.

Rupert, a 2021 first-round pick of the Las Vegas Aces, played one season with the team in 2022. The 6-foot-4 center averaged 3.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game as the Aces won the WNBA title.

She was waived in the offseason and picked up by the Atlanta Dream, where she played one season in 2023, averaging 1.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per game.

In 2024, Rupert opted out of the WNBA season to focus on training and competing with the French National Team ahead of the Paris Olympics.

Her eventful WNBA journey didn’t stop there. In December 2024, she was selected by the Valkyries in the expansion draft.

The Frenchwoman continued playing with her national team into 2025, representing France at EuroBasket in Turkey. She has yet to appear in a game for the Valkyries but with Compayrot’s report, Rupert will finally join the team soon.

Rupert is expected to get minutes behind Golden State starting center Temi Fagbenle. The Valkyries are 9-7 in their inaugural season under head coach Natalie Nakase, which puts them in fourth place in the Western Conference. They face the league-best Minnesota Lynx (15-2) at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Related: Potential New Expansion Team Revealed After WNBA Files Trademark

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 5, 2025, where it first appeared.