The Golden State Valkyries are an American professional basketball team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Valkyries compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team began play in the 2025 season. While the Valkyries play their home games at Chase Center in San Francisco, their practice facility and front office are located in Oakland.[4] Chase Center is nicknamed "Ballhalla" during Valkyries games, a reference to Valhalla in Norse mythology, where Valkyries bring select fallen warriors.
Valkyrie Carla Leite (#0) throws a free throw during a game against the Indiana Fever at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, in August 2025.Violet waves to the crowd during a game in August 2025.
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), which started in 1997, previously had a team in northern California, the Sacramento Monarchs, which played from 1997 until folding in 2009, despite winning a league championship in 2005.[5] After the Monarchs ended, the WNBA remained steady with 12 teams, although there was often talk of expanding the league.[5]
On October 5, 2023, the expansion team was officially announced, with plans to begin play in 2025, as the first expansion team in the WNBA since the Atlanta Dream in 2008.[7][8][9][10] The expansion fee for the franchise was reported to be $50 million over 10 years.[11] It was reported that the team's name would include "Golden State", with announcement of the name, logos, and uniforms to come at a later date.[10]
Within the first few hours of being announced, over 2,000 season ticket deposits were placed.[10] On January 30, 2024, Jess Smith, an executive with Angel City FC of the NWSL, was hired as the team's president.[12] On April 16, the team surpassed 6,000 season ticket deposits.[13]Ohemaa Nyanin was announced as general manager on May 7.[14] A WNBA expansion draft occurred in early December 2024, and Golden State participated in its first WNBA draft in 2025.[15][16][17]
The team name – Golden State Valkyries – and logos were revealed on May 14, 2024.[18] The logo features the Bay Bridge, symbolizing the connection between San Francisco and Oakland with the cables doubling as wings and the tower doubling as a sword. The thirteen lines from the sword represent the Valkyries as the thirteenth team in the league, and the wings split the space into five triangles to represent the ten players on the court. The outer shape is a V to represent the Valkyries.[18]
The team mascot, Violet the raven, was revealed on August 11, 2025 at Chase Center at halftime.[19][20]
↑ "Valkyries Unveil Secondary Logos". Valkyries.com. WNBA Media Ventures, LLC. December 8, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024. The Valkyrie Figure incorporates gold, the team's secondary color, with golden armor creating a regal, statuesque look. The Valkyrie Violet in the cape ties back to the team's core color, unifying the design.
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2025 Golden State Valkyries season 
