It all started with a bit of hesitation to be a 31-year-old rookie in a young league. She had always dreamt of being a part of the W, but never quite believed it could be true. “I … put it in a box, you know?” Vanloo told The Next Hoops. “And I just kept on dreaming about it, but I didn’t really say it out loud.” But 2024’s Winter brought her some exciting news.
It was reported that the Washington Mystics were interested in signing her. However, naturally, she was hesitant to get her hopes high. Enter: her teammate on the Turkish team, Galatasaray, longtime Mystics forward Myisha Hines-Allen. Hines-Allen told her, “No, Julie, it’s for real. You can start thinking about it. You’re coming with me to D.C.”
That marked the beginning of a kind for her as the United States was the 10th country she played in at the club level since 2012. She has also played for the Belgian senior national team since 2009. She appeared in the 2020 Olympics and the 2022 World Cup and even helped the Cats win their first-ever EuroBasket championship in 2023. Apart from this, she has been a part of the GS Valkyries, and something for us to dive into.
Who is Julie Vanloo, and her Role in GS Valkyries?
Julie Vanloo was born on February 10, 1993, in the coastal city of Ostend, Belgium. Proudly upholding her Belgian roots, she has been a longtime representative of her country on the international basketball stage. Soon after her rookie year with the Mystics, the Golden State Valkyries selected the 5’8 guard in the expansion draft to fill out their roster ahead of their inaugural season.
“[Washington] is and will always be THE organization that gave me the opportunity to show the world what I got,” Vanloo wrote in an Instagram story post trade. “It’s with mixed feelings I’m leaving DC … but exciting at the same time. The hard work we put in together opened doors for me and I will never forget my rookie year. All love.”
Since joining, Julie Vanloo appeared in nine games with two starts for Golden State this season, where she averaged 4.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in 20.0 minutes per game. While bringing her into this franchise, the management thought that she would be the perfect player to lead the Valkyries from Day 1. Her experience from overseas will be perfect for her to step right into the brand-new Golden State team.
“Julie is a ball of fire,” Nyanin said. “She has that spunk. She has that aura of trying to win. Her competitive edge — she’s a EuroBasket gold medalist. She competed in the Olympics this year. … What we can see from our seats is that she just seems like she’s a happy person. She seems like her goal is to play basketball and to win games, and she seems like she doesn’t take herself too seriously. And so that’s exactly what we need in terms of an entrepreneurial spirit in wanting to come and be a Valkyrie.”
Apart from the on-court responsibilities, she also played a special role with her ability to speak French, English, Italian, and Flemish fluently. It made her the perfect bridge between teammates. She was the team’s unofficial ‘translator’ and perhaps the most important member of the locker room. But sadly, that special connection has now come to a heartbreaking end.
Why did GS Valkyries waive Julie Vanloo?
Veteran guard Julie Vanloo was out there helping Belgium win the EuroBasket championship. After doing that, she landed in San Francisco with excitement, ready to reunite with her W squad, the Valkyries. But just minutes after stepping off an 18-hour flight, she received the devastating news that the GSV had waived her. The franchise followed it by making a post on X (formerly Twitter) saying a simple, “Thank you, Julie.” Golden State received a lot of backlash on the back of this announcement.
Roster Update: The Golden State Valkyries have waived guard Julie Vanloo.
Thank you, Julie. pic.twitter.com/eoHTspprpX
— Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) June 30, 2025
Many were of the opinion that the Valkyries did Vanloo wrong here; she cut short her celebrations to immediately join the Valkyries, only to receive the news that she had been waived. But HC Natalie Nakase defended the Golden State front office, saying, “From my perspective, I thought it was respectful because whenever a situation like that happens, you bring them in and as a adult you say thanks face to face.” Even so, the decision didn’t come out of nowhere.
We are anticipating that while Vanloo had her moments with the Valkyries, her overall production began to dip. Most notably, she gave a 14-point performance in the season opener against the Sparks. There, she nailed three straight threes to erase a double-digit deficit. However, after that breakout game, she reached double digits only once more. Across her nine appearances, she was averaging 2.6 turnovers and shot only 21.6% from beyond the arc, which ultimately influenced the team’s call to move on.
Whatever the reason might have been, the timing did not sit right with anyone. As Emma Meesseman wrote under Valkyries’ Instagram post, “Nah…making her miss a unique moment in (Belgian flag emoji) is crazy“. And the Bay Area fans might not be happy now, it’s up to the Valkyries to pivot in a way that they are able to justify this move now, so what are they doing?
Full roster update explained
The Golden State Valkyries had already undergone major roster changes following the temporary suspension of guard Julie Vanloo’s contract on June 10. In response, the team had reactivated the forwards Janelle Salaün and Cecilia Zandalasini. It showed their commitment to developing internal talent. Rookie Kaitlyn Chen, the former UConn standout, also saw increased playing time due to Julie Vanloo’s absence and Carla Leite’s back injury.
Chen has also provided a lot of stability. She contributed 4.3 points and 1.5 assists in 19 minutes per game across four appearances, including meaningful minutes in their recent victory against Chicago. Whereas Vanloo’s shooting struggles were apparent. She averaged just 2.6 turnovers and made just 21.6% of her three-point attempts on four shots per game.
Zandalasini returned to the Valkyries after an impressive EuroBasket performance where she earned All-Star honors with averages of 16.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while leading Italy to a third-place finish. Salaün also rejoined the team after helping France place fourth in the tournament. As part of additional roster moves, Golden State released forward Chloe Bibby and guard Bree Hall.
Bibby made notable contributions off the bench. She was averaging 6.4 points and 2.3 rebounds in five games. This was highlighted by a 12-point performance in her debut against Indiana. But Hall saw limited action. She was scoring just three points total in two appearances. The Valkyries’ last complete lineup played in their June 7 win over Las Vegas, and they’ve posted a 6-2 record since then. The team now enters a less demanding July schedule featuring only two home games following their dominant victory against Seattle.
Let’s see what the future holds for them. Till then, drop comments to share how you feel about the whole situation!
The post Why Did GS Valkyries Waive Julie Vanloo? appeared first on EssentiallySports.