REVEALED: Newest WNBA team announced with expansion franchise set to begin playing in 2025 season
The Golden State WNBA team has officially unveiled its logo and confirmed it will be known as the ‘Valkyries’.
Team president Jess Smith announced the news Tuesday on ABC’s Good Morning America.
The Valkyries are the WNBA’s first expansion team since 2008 and Golden State will begin play in the 2025 season.
“Valkyries are a multitude of warrior women who are fearless and steadfast and fly both through the air and over the sea,” the club said. “This brand is Golden State’s modern interpretation of a Valkyrie: strong, bold and fierce.”
The franchise will become an affiliate of the Golden State Warriors, who have won six NBA championships since 2015.
The Valkyries’ games are played at Chase Center, but the team trains in Oakland, where the Warriors were based until 2019.
The team also released a hype video on Tuesday, featuring swords and a teaser narrated by singer-songwriter Kehlani.
‘Born from the bay, gilded with gold. This is where legends take flight,” she said of the video. “But our story still needs to be written.”
The Valkyries website tells the story behind the team name, which reads: ‘Strong, daring, fierce. Valkyries are a defiant symbol of women’s strength.
“Valkyries fights for community and connection and represents the Bay Area’s spirit of unparalleled progress and innovation.
“With a combination of power and grace, the Golden State Valkyries are writing the next chapter in the epic story of the WNBA, a league that has transcended limitations and norms over the past 27 years.”
According to Warriors marketing officials: Basketball fans in the Bay Area were asked for suggestions for the new team name via surveys and social media, with “Valkyries” being a common response.
Last week, the WNBA franchise announced Ohemaa Nyanin as its first general manager. She started work Monday, ahead of the team’s first game next year.
She joined the Valkyries after five years in the front office of the New York Liberty. Her most recent role was as assistant general manager.
Smith, meanwhile, previously worked as a manager for Angel City FC of the NWSL.