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The Golden State Valkyries are a professional women's basketball team in the WNBA's Western Conference, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, who began play in the 2025 season at Chase Center. Announced in October 2023 by Golden State Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, they were the league's first expansion team since 2008, with a reported $50 million expansion fee. The team's name and logo, unveiled in May 2024, feature the Bay Bridge with wings and a sword, symbolizing their role as the league's 13th team, and their mascot is Violet the raven. After losing their debut to the Los Angeles Sparks on May 16, 2025, they secured their first win against the Washington Mystics on May 21. The Valkyries made history by setting a WNBA record for the most wins by an expansion team in its inaugural season, earning their 18th victory in August 2025 and surpassing the 1998 Detroit Shock. Notable highlights included Veronica Burton scoring the franchise's first 30-point game and a franchise-record 37-point win over the Mystics, despite losing star forward Kayla Thornton to a season-ending knee injury.