• Loading stock data...
Monday, September 15, 2025
One Day till Tuned In! Get a Last Second Ticket!

How the Golden State Valkyries Are Walking the Fine Line of Their Warriors Connection

  • The Valkyries name is a spin on the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, but with different colors. 
  • Both teams are owned by Joe Lacob. 

Now that they have their name, the Golden State Valkyries are trying to walk the line other teams that share ownership with an NBA team do: how to both lean into the existing brand while developing your own. 

The Valkyries, who revealed their name and logo Tuesday, will be the WNBA’s 13th team and first expansion franchise (since the Atlanta Dream in 2008) when they start play next season. The team shares ownership (and the Golden State moniker) with the Warriors, under Joe Lacob. The name was developed in part as a tie-in to the NBA team’s nickname: Valkyries are women warriors from Norse mythology armed with swords and shields. 

When developing the name and colors, the organization wanted to create something that could stand on its own. 

“We looked at a lot of different names, categories—we obviously landed in a Warriors-inspired category, so that was a key theme,” Amanda Chin, the Warriors’ senior vice president of marketing told Front Office Sports in an interview. She said Valkyries was the name that came up the most in fan surveys “by a long shot.” The team considered going with the Warriors’ blue-and-yellow color scheme but ultimately went for “a more unconventional approach,” which Chin said came from a place of “wanting to do justice” by the Valkyries name.

The colors, black and purple—or “valkyrie violet” as Chin calls it—are unclaimed in the Bay Area sports scene, where the Niners and Stanford Cardinal both claim red, while the Giants wear black and orange, and the departing A’s wear green and yellow. The Sacramento Kings and formerly the WNBA’s Monarchs have the closest color scheme to the Valkyries. 

The Valkyries will be the sixth current WNBA team to share an NBA owner and market, after the Liberty (Joe Tsai/Brooklyn Nets), Fever (Herb Simon/Indiana Pacers), Mystics (Ted Leonsis/Washington Wizards), Lynx (Glen Taylor/Minnesota Timberwolves) and Mercury (Mat Ishbia/Phoenix Suns). The contrarian basketball writer Ethan Strauss was recently blasted by WNBA fans and media for suggesting on Bill Simmons’s podcast that teams like the Fever should just be named the “W Pacers” instead. (Simmons seemed to agree.) Followers of the women’s game pointed out that the WNBA launched in the ’90s with teams that tried to closely pair their branding with their male counterparts before going their own way in recent years. Chin said she had missed the entire contretemps but that “the WNBA is its own game.” 

“There’s a lot of equity that’s been built up in the Golden State Warriors franchise that I think we want to leverage,” she said. “But a lot of the decisions that we made around the brand identity, I think, speak to the fact that we think it’s its own thing. I think comparing the WNBA and the NBA is something that people really need to stop doing.”

Some of the NBA owners have been able to take advantage of their shared properties in ways that benefit the women’s league. Tsai moved the Liberty—who bounced around the New York metro area while under the indifferent stewardship of Knicks owner James Dolan—permanently to Barclays Center in 2019. Ahead of the ’22 NBA draft, Leonsis’s Monumental Sports pulled off one of the cooler postdraft workout press conferences, trotting out former Duke center Mark Williams with his sister Elizabeth, who then played for the Mystics. Williams was ultimately drafted by the Charlotte Hornets. 

The Valkyries are trying to find ways to do the same without overdoing it. The Warriors have become one of the most recognizable brands in all of sports, having won four NBA titles since 2015. Chin said it’s natural to take some aspects of the Warriors’ business over to the Valkyries, but not everything will translate. The Warriors were founded in 1946, giving them nearly an 80-year head start on their counterparts with name recognition.

Chin said the early returns for the Valkyries have been both promising and surprising. As of Tuesday, the team has more than 7,500 deposits for season tickets despite not having a name or logo until then. 

“It’s a lot of new fans coming in and raising their hands saying they want to participate,” Chin said. “At the moment, there isn’t a ton of overlap with our Warriors season-ticket holder base.”

The Valkyries will share a home with the Warriors in the Chase Center, Lacob’s $1.4 billion arena, which opened in 2019 and can fit roughly 18,000 for a basketball game. Chin said it’s currently undecided if the Valkyries will cap capacity—some WNBA teams only open the lower bowl of large arenas, depending on the opponent—given the early ticket response and the year they have to grow it before starting play. 

“We’re waiting to see the fan response to see what the game presentation is going to look like and how we provide availability to folks who want to come and see the game live,” Chin said. “But we know that we want to have an incredible in-game presentation and a huge part of that is a sold-out arena, which is something we’ve done over 500 times on the Warriors side.”

In addition to a name and logo, the Valkyries have had team president Jess Smith, who came from the NWSL’s Angel City FC, as team president since January and recently hired Liberty assistant general manager Ohemaa Nyanin to run the front office. 

“We need a head coach and we need some players,” Chin said. That will obviously be more challenging than creating a brand, and the Warriors’ successes loom even larger there. But judging by the overwhelmingly positive fan response to the new name, the Valkyries’ front office is one-for-one so far.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Jul 27, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Injured Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) looks on from the bench during the first half of a basketball game against the Chicago Sky at United Center.

WNBA Ratings Rise 3% in 2025 Despite Clark’s Absence

Caitlin Clark played in just 13 of 44 regular-season games.
Sep 14, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd (24) gestures to a teammate after scoring against the Seattle Storm in the first quarter during game one of round one for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at Michelob Ultra Arena.

Aces Surge From Collapse to Contention With Dynasty at Stake

The turnaround started after a 53-point loss to the Minnesota Lynx.
Las Vegas Aces

WNBA Playoffs Face ESPN Fall Crunch For Final Time

The games will be spread across three networks next year.

Trump Push to End Quarterly Earnings Has Major Sports Ramifications

U.S. President Trump proposes moving to semi-annual reporting for public companies.

Featured Today

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 19: A detailed view of the MLB Debut patch on the jersey of Patrick Monteverde #44 of the Miami Marlins prior to game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on April 19, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Tiny Jersey Patch at the Center of the MLB Rookie Card..

Autographed cards containing a piece of baseball history have upended the market.
September 11, 2025

Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl Rematch Could Set More NFL Ratings Records

Fox will nationally televise Sunday afternoon’s matchup.
September 10, 2025

ESPN’s ‘MNF’ Ratings Up 8% As NFL Surges to Strong Start

ESPN posts its second-best Week 1 “Monday Night Football” audience.
Sep 7, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills fans react during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium.
September 9, 2025

As Bills Ascend, Their Next Frontier Lies in Canada

Buffalo and the powerful Canadian entity MLSE come together in a new pact.

Warriors $75M Pitch Fails to Sway Kuminga As Season Looms

Kuminga and his representatives want a long-term deal.
Sep 8, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (22) runs to first base during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
September 12, 2025

The $339 Million Mets Are in Jeopardy of Missing the Playoffs

The Mets’ wild-card lead is 1.5 games with 15 remaining in the regular season.
Valkyries
September 15, 2025

Valkyries Will Try to Remake Ballhalla 50 Miles Away

Golden State will try to stave off elimination in an unfamiliar environment.
Sponsored

How World Series Champ Dexter Fowler Became a Premier League Team Owner

Dexter Fowler discusses navigating retirement and embracing new roles as an owner & investor.
Sep 10, 2025; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; Connecticut Sun forward Aaliyah Edwards (8) fights to keep the ball in-bounds during the second half against the Atlanta Dream at Mohegan Sun Arena.
September 12, 2025

Connecticut AG Demands Documents From WNBA About Sun Sale Process

The WNBA reportedly prefers to move the team to Houston.
Mar 3, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier (2) warms up prior to the game against the Washington Wizards at Kaseya Center.
September 11, 2025

Hornets Cancel Sports Betting Night Vs. Heat Over Terry Rozier Tie-In

Terry Rozier is under federal investigation for point-shaving in a 2023 game when he was on the Hornets.
May 3, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) controls the ball in the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets during game seven of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena.
September 11, 2025

Clippers Minority Owner Allegedly Invested in Aspiration to Pay Kawhi

Minority investor Dennis Wong allegedly invested in Aspiration as well.
Sep 10, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; A general view of the main scoreboard at Yankee Stadium during a moment of silence for Charlie Kirk before the game between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers.
September 11, 2025

Yankees Prepare for Security Chaos With Trump at 9/11 Game, Days After..

The team told fans to arrive three hours early without any bags.