With Veronica Burton, Valkyries found something. Her family legacy rose from ‘Nothing'
Veronica Burton understood her grandfather's impact. Ron Burton overcame a poverty-ridden childhood to become an All-America running back at Northwestern, the first draft choice in New England Patriots history in 1960 and one of the few Black pro athletes in Boston in the early '60s.
Veronica also understood the mark her parents made in college: Steve Burton played quarterback at Northwestern and Ginni (Vath) Burton starred in swimming. Their daughter didn't initially consider their alma mater, but she also wasn't attracting many Power Five basketball offers.
Then Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown, after covert prodding from Steve and Ginni, came to see Veronica play. McKeown successfully recruited her and posed a none-too-subtle challenge.
"That was an important distinction when he asked her: What will your legacy be?" Ginni Burton said last week in a Chronicle interview. "Northwestern was great to Ron Burton, and me and Steve, but it was such an important piece of Veronica's experience to create her own legacy. That's really special."
To fully understand the poised, instinctive, dynamic Golden State Valkyries point guard, it's essential to know her back story. Veronica Burton comes from a family teeming with driven people, accomplished athletes who sharpened their craft by routinely rising at 5 a.m. - a habit started by Ron, the patriarch.
Veronica, the youngest of four kids, need only look around her family for inspiration. Her grandfather spent six seasons in the American Football League, her dad and three uncles played football at Northwestern, her mom competed in the 1984 Olympic trials, her sisters played college basketball at Villanova and Lehigh and her brother played quarterback at UCLA and Purdue.
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That's a lot of high-level athletes in one family.
Take a step back and consider the arc of the Burtons' collective journey. Ron grew up poor in Ohio in the 1940s and '50s, living with his grandmother after his mom died when he was 12. One of Ron's junior high coaches told him he wasn't talented - his nickname was "Nothing," as in no talent - but he could improve by waking up early every morning to run several miles.
So that's what he did. Ron Burton eventually blossomed into a coveted prospect, sparked a run of success for Northwestern football and reached the pros. He also navigated the complicated racial climate of Boston (and the country) in the '60s, no easy task.
Fast forward to 2026, with Burton's granddaughter playing a central role in one of the most compelling stories in the WNBA. It would have been difficult in the 1960s to imagine a women's professional basketball league, much less one with a franchise playing before a capacity crowd of 18,000 boisterous fans at every home game.
But that's what the Valkyries do at Chase Center. And after struggling to find her footing in her first three years in the league, Veronica Burton, 25, now counts as Golden State's on-court leader - extending her family legacy into a fresh frontier.
"Opportunity is an insane thing, and to be blessed with opportunity here is something I don't take lightly," she said this month after practice in Oakland. "I understand what my family and what my grandfather did to put me in a position to be here. That's something I'm really grateful for."
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Three-year-old Veronica also craved opportunity.
Steve Burton long ago started taking his kids on early-morning visits to the church gym, keeping alive his dad's motto of working while others slept. Kendall and Kayla launched shots. Austin threw around the football. Ginni was conflicted, because she knew her youngest child needed to sleep.
But Veronica really wanted to join her brother and sisters, so Ginni relented. Veronica came three days a week, and not to sit on the sideline.
"She had a great handle at 3," Ginni said. "She was frustrated because she couldn't get it through her legs - but the basketball was big and her legs were little."
Veronica deftly did two-ball dribbling drills as a kid, before Stephen Curry introduced the routine to a wider audience. She demanded Ginni remove the training wheels from her bike at age 3 or 4 - and off she went on a two-wheeler, happily and steadily.
She also became the kid bounding onto the basketball court at halftime of her siblings' games, to hoist shots during the intermission. At age 8 or 9, she played in an otherwise all-boys youth basketball league - and earned MVP honors.
It requires no sixth sense to connect this preternatural athletic ability, and her keen mind for basketball, to the presence of Kendall, Kayla and Austin. Veronica not only tagged along, she studied her sisters and brother.
"It was definitely a birth order thing," Ginni said. "In life, Veronica is a note taker, an observer. She was always watching and understanding the game."
Or, as Steve said, "She had three people in front of her to learn from - she saw their mistakes and their success."
Kendall is seven years older than Veronica, Kayla is five years older and Austin is 2½ years older. So Veronica often hung out with her brother, even more often when their sisters left home for college. She followed him around, whether playing catch or video games.
Once, when Veronica was about 6, Austin tackled her too hard in a backyard football game and broke her arm. He met Veronica in the gap and showed no mercy, he laughingly recalled, though he felt terrible when the result left her in a cast from elbow to hand.
"I almost wanted to make Veronica like a younger brother," Austin said. "Any type of sporting event I was involved in, she was part of it."
They attended each other's events at Newton South High outside Boston, including Austin leading cheers at girls basketball games. Still, his favorite highlight involves her playing football - she once leaped high in a Powderpuff game to make a one-handed, Odell Beckham-style catch for an interception.
Veronica traced one of her standout skills in basketball - disruptive defense - to Austin. She led the Big Ten in steals all four seasons at Northwestern, led the nation her final two years and earned second-team, all-defensive recognition last season from the WNBA. She also won the league's Most Improved Player award.
Some of her defensive success, to hear Veronica tell it, comes from the hand-eye coordination and anticipation she developed playing with Austin and his friends.
"I just played every single sport with him," Veronica said. "I also watched a ton of film growing up, so a feel for the game also allows me to kind of be in the right place at the right time."
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Ron Burton cast a large shadow as a College Football Hall of Famer - Veronica was named after Ron and wears No. 22 because that was his number with the Patriots. Steve Burton has a public profile, too, as longtime sports director at WBZ-TV in Boston.
But make no mistake: Ginni Burton also shaped Veronica in profound ways.
Her swimming background offered a distinctive element to the family sporting tree. She swam back and forth, hours and hours day after day, staring only at the black stripe on the bottom of the pool.
That requires mental fortitude, as Veronica and her siblings realize when reflecting on their mom's athletic career. Ginni is not the boastful type - Austin and Veronica once stumbled upon a large collection of swimming trophies, gathering dust under a cloth, as they sorted through stuff in the basement.
Austin called his mom "the best athlete in our family," partly because of her work ethic. Ginni competed in the 200-meter individual medley and 200 breaststroke, and also swam the 200 freestyle at the '84 trials.
"She taught me a lot about how to get mentally tougher, how to approach the game and how to approach greatness - because she really was great," Veronica said. "I think it's really cool how she carries herself, the humility."
All the Burton kids had no choice but to follow suit. They also received first-hand life lessons at the Ron Burton Training Village, where they spent most summers during their youth.
Ron Burton wanted to give back in the wake of his challenging upbringing. He bought 300 acres in Hubbardston, Mass., in 1985, and built the training village.
It originally focused only on sports but has since expanded to include SAT, STEM and aviation programs. The village now runs year-round and includes about 2,000 kids (mostly underserved) annually, age 11 and older. Steve and Ginni Burton, and his brothers and sisters, run the operation.
The mission, according to the organization's website, is to "equip young people with the skills, resources and attitude to make winning decisions in life. Our programs are designed to build the core values of love, peace, patience and humility."
Not explicitly stated but understood: That's how Ron Burton coped with racism during his life. He grew up on faith, Steve said, especially after his mom died. (Ron Burton died in 2003 at age 67.)
"My dad's grandma was a gospel preacher, so he learned to love people - even his enemies," Steve said. "He said, ‘How you deal with racism is love them anyway.' We said, ‘What?' He said, ‘Love them anyway. Be good to them.'
"That's why Veronica loves her team. We have a motto in our family: ‘Spread the love, build people up.'"
Not a bad legacy to chase.
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This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 10:42 AM.