WNBA Taps Golden State to Host 2027 All-Star Game

The WNBA is bringing its 2027 All-Star festivities to the Bay Area.

The Golden State Valkyries will host the 2027 WNBA All-Star Weekend July 30–31 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, the league announced Tuesday. It will be the first time the 2025 expansion franchise will host the midseason showcase.

“The Golden State Valkyries have brought incredible energy and excitement to the WNBA from the moment they were announced as an expansion team in 2023, and the response from fans across the Bay Area has been remarkable,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.

This year’s announcement also comes much earlier than it did for the 2026 All-Star Weekend. Chicago was not named the host of this year’s event until last October, a week after the conclusion of the 2025 WNBA Finals. 

Front Office Sports reported a month later that Chicago was the lone bidder for the event, a year after the league had to recruit the Indiana Fever to host 2025’s game. The Fever were announced as hosts in August 2024, similar timing to this year’s announcement.

The Phoenix Mercury hosted the 2024 All-Star Weekend after being announced as hosts during the previous All-Star Weekend. Team president Vince Kozer told FOS that the franchise won the bid over three other bidders. 

But in 2023, the Las Vegas Aces, who hosted three of four All-Star Weekends from 2020 to 2023, were announced just six months before the game. In 2022, Chicago was named All-Star host a few weeks before the start of the season—and fewer than three months before the event.

It’s not clear whether the WNBA received other bids for the event. The WNBA and Valkyries did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Golden State makes sense as an All-Star host given the franchise’s strong start on and off the court since joining the WNBA. 

The Valkyries have sold out all 41 of their home games over their first two seasons at Chase Center, which fits 18,064 fans. Earlier this year, they became the first WNBA team to receive a $1 billion valuation, according to CNBC. 

On Monday, the Valkyries also clinched a second consecutive playoff berth. At 25–9, they have the league’s second-best record and third-best championship odds.

The Valkyries are owned by Joe Lacob, who also owns the NBA’s Warriors, which play in the same arena. That franchise is considered the most valuable NBA team and hosted the NBA All-Star Weekend last year.

Speaking at the Valkyries All-Star announcement event, Lacob called it a “full circle moment” to host the WNBA All-Star festivities. He said the city had been exploring adding a WNBA franchise for a while, but felt this was the “right time.”

“It’s just a tremendous feeling to actually be hosting the main event for the league, the All-Star Game next year. I think we intend to show out as well as we can and put on a tremendous event for the city,” Lacob said.

Golden State will likely be a popular choice among the players. WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike said last month that she’s heard players “want to see” an All-Star Weekend held in the Bay Area.

“I think that would be a good place to be, especially with all these expansion teams, giving these cities an opportunity to host people as they enter this league,” Ogwumike said after the 2026 All-Star Game in Chicago.