‘Hella excited': Rookie Marta Suarez embraces Valkyries at rookie introduction
OAKLAND — The moment wasn't supposed to belong to Marta Suarez. Not yet, anyway.
Draft night has a script.
Names called. Hands shaken. Futures introduced in neat, televised packages.
Suarez was off to the side, in a green room, riding the high after hearing she was drafted by the Seattle Storm and answering questions.
Then the mood shifted. A voice from across the room cut through: you got traded.
Wait, what?
She turned toward the TV monitor, searching for confirmation as Commissioner Cathy Engelbert stood at the podium. Golden State. Purple on the screen. The Valkyries’ logo flashing in front of her eyes.
The realization hit in real time.
"I got hella excited," Suarez said, recalling the moment at Friday's rookie introductory news conference at the team's practice facility in Oakland. "I was so happy to come home."
And just like that, the night pivoted.
Because this wasn't just a feel-good homecoming. It was a decision. A choice. The kind that organizations get judged on long after the applause fades.
The Valkyries didn't just bring Suarez in. They made her the centerpiece of the biggest storyline of the night, moving off LSU star Flau'jae Johnson in a trade-down maneuver with Seattle that raised eyebrows across the league. Johnson had the spotlight, the following, the inevitability. Suarez had history here - Cal roots, Bay ties, and a game that seemingly fits with the identity of Golden State's team.
General manager Ohemaa Nyanin didn't offer much to bridge that gap, sidestepping the why behind the move in the moments after the draft and leaving the room to sit in the tension of it all.
Nyanin wasn't made available during Friday's rookie introduction of Suarez and fellow second-round pick Ashlon Jackson.
But nonetheless, Suarez is more than happy to be back in the Bay.
"I remember seeing the purple and being like, ‘There's no way,'" Suarez said. "It just kind of made sense. It was a full-circle moment and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity."
Four days after the Valkyries traded down to select Suarez with the 16th overall pick, the decision has still lingered around the second-year franchise.
Johnson felt like a basketball and cultural fit. A defense-first player who can hit 3-pointers at a nearly 40% clip. Not to mention, a budding rap career that would have been bolstered by playing for a Bay Area franchise in the heart of the West Coast rap scene.
But it didn't happen that way.
The Valkyries traded down eight spots with Seattle and picked up Suarez and a 2028 second-round pick. A player who also projects as a basketball fit, but in a different way.
At 6-foot-3, Suarez is a versatile player, who can play each forward position and even some small-ball center. This past season at TCU, the Spanish-born forward averaged 17.1 points and 7.4 rebounds and shot 37% from the 3-point line.
Suarez said she already feels her game will mesh well with the Valkyries' system.
"They love international players," Suarez said. "They run fast, they like versatility and they have a lot of dogs. The way they competed last year is because they had a lot of heart in them. I think that comes across in coach Natalie Nakase in the passion and the hard work."
Gone somewhat unnoticed in Monday's draft drama was the selection of Jackson, a three-year starter at Duke who can fill a need at backup point guard. This past season, Jackson averaged 11.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game and earned All-American honorable mention recognition.
Jackson caught the national spotlight when she hit an incredible buzzer-beating 3-pointer against LSU in the Sweet 16 in Sacramento.
Nakase has seen Jackson up close. During her time as a coach at USA Basketball, Nakase got to see Jackson as training camps were held on Duke's campus.
"She's hardcore," Jackson said of Nakase. "The way she goes about the game, she's a big thinker. She's going to pull the very best out of you."
If there's any easing into this, the rookies haven't felt it.
They're stepping into a roster that already proved it belongs. A team that made the playoffs in its first season and isn't interested in taking a step back.
There are minutes to earn, roles to fight for and expectations that don't bend just because it's their first training camp.
Suarez understands that immediately.
"The expectations are high," Suarez said. "It's not a training camp of like, ‘I'm trying to make the team.' It's a training camp where we're trying to build something special."
Jackson sees it the same way - opportunity paired with urgency.
"We have to come in with that mindset and be focused and ready because at any given moment, our number could be called," Jackson said. "It's going to be hard, but we just have to continue to do what our coaches want us to do."
Notable
Golden State's third-round pick Kokoro Tanaka was not at Friday's rookie introduction.
Tanaka, 20, just finished up a pro season in Japan, where she averaged 5.7 points and 2.5 assists. She is presumably a draft-and-stash player.
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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 5:31 PM.