WNBA fans were thrilled when Commissioner Cathy Engelbert hinted further expansion of the league at last month’s 2024 WNBA Draft. Engelbert teased an expansion to 16 teams by 2028, starting with a Golden State franchise that will enter the league in the 2025 season. This morning we finally learned the team name and logo for the team and it should have Marvel fans excited.
According to Team President Jess Smith, the Golden State franchise will be called the Valkyries. Smith made the announcement on ABC’s Good Morning America earlier this morning.
The team released an exciting hype video on social media to accompany their name reveal. The video highlights the Bay Area, Valkyries imagery, and the team’s purple and black color scheme.
“Valkyries are a host of warrior women who are fearless and unwavering – flying through air and sea alike,” the team said in a press release. “This brand is Golden State’s modern interpretation of a Valkyrie: strong, bold, and fierce.”
Fans of Norse mythology, or the Marvel cinematic universe, are already familiar with Valkyries. Tessa Thompson famously portrayed the comic book character Valkyrie in the MCU for several years now.
The Valkyries will become the 13th WNBA team and the first expansion team to join the league since 2008. They will start playing in the WNBA in the 2025 season.
Golden State will not be the only expansion team in the WNBA for long. According to CBC Sports’ Shireen Ahmed, Toronto is soon to announce a WNBA expansion team. The Toronto team will enter the WNBA in the 2026 season, one year after the Valkyries.
Preview: the 2024 WNBA regular season begins tonight with four excellent matchups
The 2024 WNBA regular season tips off tonight with four stellar matchups, including the WNBA debut for superstar rookie Caitlin Clark.
The night begins at 7PM ET when the New York Liberty travel to Washington to face the Mystics. We will learn a lot about the Mystics in this game. The team lost point guard Natasha Cloud in free agency to the Mercury and will be looking to establish a new identity at the position. They will do so against a Liberty squad that is one of the best in the WNBA.
At 8PM ET, Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever travel to Connecticut to battle the Sun. The Fever are an up-and-coming squad thanks to back-to-back first overall picks in the draft (Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark), but face a tough Connecticut team that finished third in the regular season last year. Connecticut advanced to the second round of the 2023 WNBA playoffs with a first-year head coach in Stephanie White. How far can they go in 2024?
The late window features another pair of excellent games — Minnesota Lynx at Seattle Storm and Phoenix Mercury at Las Vegas Aces.
The Lynx have looked strong in the preseason and are expecting to take big strides this season. They are led by Naphessa Coller. The Storm are looking different than in years past, but could still compete for a WNBA title. Minnesota is a good litmus test for Seattle to begin the regular season.
Finally, the Aces are arguably the best team in the entire league. The back-to-back WNBA champions are the clear favorites against a Mercury team that struggled on defense in 2023. Phoenix will need to improve in all phases if they want to improve their standing in 2024.
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