The Golden State Valkyries are entering the most crucial stretch of their season, with just two games left before the WNBA playoffs begin. And as it appears, they are making some final preparations, as the franchise has just made a late roster adjustment, waiving a two-time Spanish League champion and bringing another player in.
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As shared on the Valkyries’ X page, the franchise has now waived 6-foot-4 center Nadia Fingall, whom they signed to a rest-of-season contract earlier this season in June. After going undrafted in 2020 and establishing a highly decorated professional career in Europe, Fingall finally made her long-awaited WNBA debut during the 2026 season. However, in all her time with the Golden State Valkyries, she featured in only 10 games, averaging just 3.2 minutes per game and registering an average of 1.1 points per game.
Prior to signing with the Golden State Valkyries, Nadia Fingall spent six years playing at the highest levels in Spain. And she did well enough to carve out a reputation as an impactful EuroLeague big woman. As it turns out, even though her four-year collegiate basketball career, during which she played 115 games and averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds at Stanford University, was not enough to land her a WNBA contract, her exploits in Europe did.
Her most dominant stretch came with Valencia from 2023 to 2025. She led the team to two Liga Femenina titles and two Supercopa de España championships, while also taking home Supercopa de España MVP honours in 2024. And directly before arriving in the WNBA, she averaged 8.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, helping Casademont Zaragoza capture a bronze medal in the Final Six.
All of that certainly caught the eyes of the Golden State Valkyries front office, and so they decided to sign her to a rest-of-season contract. Of course, she was not brought in with the expectation that she would immediately become a key piece in the team. In fact, at best, it was a move to provide some additional frontcourt depth. And as it turns out, she did not exceed expectations. Or perhaps, she simply did not have the chance to.
Fingall was mostly restricted to the bench and only enjoyed limited minutes off the bench at best. And given her performance as well as the competition for spots on the roster, the most objective expectation was always that she would be leaving at the end of the season upon the expiry of her contract. But as it appears, the Golden State Valkyries are not even waiting until then, as they have now waived her.
The waiver, however, appears to be motivated by the signing of another center, Aminata Gueye, also to a rest-of-season contract. It is quite clear that the Golden State Valkyries have brought her in as a replacement for Fingall. Hopefully, she will do enough to stay beyond this season.
Who is Nadia Fingall’s Replacement, Aminata Gueye?
Aminata Gueye is a rising 6-foot-4 French center, known for her high-intensity rebounding, physical low-post presence, and extensive European tournament experience. Interestingly, she was a previous teammate of Fingall’s. And like Fingall, she is now also making her WNBA debut. Unlike Fingall, however, she was born and raised in France and developed through local French youth clubs.
Gueye began her professional development in the youth academy of USO Mondeville before moving up to Toulouse Métropole. Her true breakout, however, came with ESB Villeneuve-d’Ascq, where she posted a dominant 13.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game to lead the team to a EuroCup title in 2025.
Gueye would then move to Casademont Zaragoza, where she averaged 10.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Alongside Carla Leite and Nadia Fingall herself, she guided Zaragoza to the Supercopa de España title, a first-place regular-season finish, and a third-place finish at the 2026 EuroLeague Women Final Six.
However, while Fingall got the Golden State Valkyries call, Gueye signed a contract for the 2026/27 winter season with European powerhouse ZVVZ USK Praha in the Czech League. And following Fingall’s waiver, the Valkyries have now brought her in as Fingall’s replacement for the rest of the season. Hopefully, she will be a valuable addition and an advantage for the Golden State Valkyries‘ playoff run, and maybe eventually become a valuable part of the Golden State Valkyries’ frontcourt beyond this season.