For Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton, family has always been a constant source of support

Long before Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton became a professional basketball player, her family taught her the value of discipline and hard work.

She grew up with a sports legacy that spans multiple generations. Her grandfather Ron Burton was the first-ever draft pick by the then-Boston Patriots of the American Football League. Her mother, Ginni Burton, was an All-American swimmer at Northwestern, and her father, longtime sportscaster Steve Burton, played college football there.

“I think so much of my discipline — my routine, habits, just the way I approach the game, the passion I play it with — comes from [my father],” she said. “I think as a quarterback, it’s very similar to being a point guard in the basketball world, and so in terms of leadership, in terms of commanding a game, I learned a lot of that from him.”

Throughout her WNBA career, Burton’s family has remained a constant source of support. The youngest of four children, she has two sisters, Kendall and Kayla, and a brother, Austin. Her family has celebrated her milestones, supported her through setbacks and reminded her that the person she is away from basketball matters just as much as what she accomplishes on the court.

“My family is always extremely just loving. Like, I know it’s probably cliché, and every family maybe can use that word, but the love that we share, I felt it from day one,” Burton said.

“We are family, and every family has its flaws. … But the love surpasses all of it, and for that, I’m grateful.”

As a mother of four athletic children, Ginni Burton created a special signal years ago so her kids would always know where she was in the stands. She still uses it to this day.

“If my mom’s in town, she does her famous whistle,” Burton said. “No matter where I am, no matter how loud the fans in Ballhalla are, when she does her whistle at the beginning of the game, like before warmups, I immediately look and I find her. And then I wave to her.”

In Episode 3 of her WNBA Diary on Andscape, Burton discusses her family’s impact on her life, and the Valkyries clinching a playoff berth for a second consecutive season.

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