The WNBA has not had an expansion team join the league since 2008—a fact fans have often lamented in recent years. After all, more teams mean more roster spots, more players in the league, and more games. Now, the wait is finally over.
The WNBA has three expansion teams gearing up to join the league—one in San Francisco, one in Portland, and one in Toronto. The Golden State Valkyries will be the first team to take the court, joining the league for the 2025 season. They will play at Chase Center in San Francisco, but the practice facility and front office will be located in Oakland. The Bay Area has not had a professional women’s basketball team since 1998, when the ABL and, with it, the San Jose Lasers folded.
In 2025, professional women’s basketball will finally return to the Bay Area and do so in great fashion. From what we know so far, the Valkyries’ locker room at Chase Center and practice facility in Oakland will be incredibly modern and high-quality. That is a luxury WNBA players have not always had and yet another sign of the new era in women’s basketball.
Golden State will select players to start their franchise in an expansion draft on December 6. The Valkyries have the chance to select one player from each team. The rest of the league gets to protect six players and also has the option to make deals with the Valkyries to prevent them from taking unprotected players they would like to keep.
Not every team will get to protect every player they would like to keep around. The Minnesota Lynx, for example, will not be able to protect all of their young players and likely lose an important asset for the team’s future.
The Valkyries will also have the fifth overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft and the chance to land one of the top players in an interesting draft class.
Where does the name “Valkyries” come from?
The Golden State Valkyries are affiliated with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. To embody the same spirit, the new franchise drew inspiration from Norse mythology. In Norse mythology, Valkyries are a group of winged, female warriors who serve the god Odin and choose who dies in battle as well as who is worthy to ascend to Valhalla.
How did the Valkyries logo and color scheme come together?
The Valkyries logo is full of interesting little details that embody the team’s brand and standing in the league. Golden State’s color in the WNBA will be violet, which was chosen to symbolize women’s empowerment, nobility, and strength.
The logo is a violet V on a black background—a shape that features the first letter of the team’s name as well as “the unity of a group of Valkyries in flight” according to the Valkyries brand.
A combination of strength and grace, the Golden State Valkyries are writing the next chapter in the epic tale of the WNBA. pic.twitter.com/25NVgnBmU6
— Golden State Valkyries (@wnbagoldenstate) May 14, 2024
Within that V, one can find the Bay Bridge and thirteen violet lines. The inclusion of the Bay Bridge pays homage to the team’s hometown, and its shape in the logo is reminiscent of a sword, reasserting the Valkyries’ status as warriors. The thirteen lines stand for the number of WNBA teams now that the Valkyries are a part of the league.
While there's plenty of history behind the forming of the franchise, their story is just beginning.