Slovenian basketball executive Vanja Černivec has been appointed vice president of basketball operations of the newly-established WNBA team Golden State Valkyries. This is a third prominent managerial post in basketball for the 42-year-old former player from Maribor.

The Golden State Valkyries are scheduled to begin play in 2025 as a member of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The team is based in Oakland, California and will play their home games at the Chase Center arena in San Francisco, the home of the seven-time NBA champions Golden State Warriors.

Announcing Černivec's appointment, the team said on its website that she has over eleven years of professional basketball operations experience.

Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin said for the website that "to build the Valkyries with Vanja is an incredible opportunity and dream realized".

"Her basketball knowledge is vast and ... she is an incredible person. Our team is inherently stronger with her diverse experiences helping to lead our front office and team," Nyanim said, also welcoming Černivec in the Slovenian language.

Černivec said she was "deeply grateful and honoured for the opportunity to join such a renowned organization that is known for its winning culture and its commitment to people first."

In the past two season, she was the general manager of the women's team London Lions, which won the most recent EuroCup Women, as the first woman general manager in British women's basketball history.

The former basketball player, who played for Maribor, Ježica and Triglav, and holds a bachelor's degree in international relations, was previously the first international female scout in the history of the NBA, working for the Chicago Bulls.

"There wasn't even a pitch, to be honest....it was just a no-brainer. The majority of people think working on the men's side or in the NBA would be the highlight of my career, but the women's game is on the rise. I'm glad people are starting to think differently," she was quoted as saying by the team.