The Golden State Warriors have been awarded a WNBA expansion team that will begin playing in the 2025 season.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that the team, which is the first new franchise to join the WNBA league since 2008, will be owned and operated by Warriors Co-Executive Chairman and CEO Joe Lacob and Co-Executive Chairman Peter Guber. The Warriors’ Oakland Facility will be the new team’s headquarters after it served as the NBA team’s practice facility and front office from 1997 to 2019, and will also be playing their home games at Chase Center.
“We are thrilled about expanding to the Bay Area and bringing the WNBA to a region with passionate basketball fans and a strong history of supporting women’s basketball,” said Engelbert. “Joe Lacob, Peter Guber and their leadership team know how to build and operate a world-class organization, as witnessed by the immense success the Warriors’ franchise has enjoyed from both a business and basketball perspective over the last decade. Their interest in joining the WNBA family is yet another sign of the league’s growth potential.”
“The Bay Area is the perfect market for a WNBA team, and we are thrilled this opportunity has finally come to fruition,” added Lacob. “We have been interested in a WNBA franchise for several years, due in part to the rich history of women’s basketball in the Bay Area, and believe now is the ideal time to execute that vision and build upon the legacy. The WNBA continues to solidify itself as the preeminent women’s professional basketball league, and we look forward to supporting the best women’s basketball players in the world and our team starting in 2025.”
The Warriors is the sixth NBA team to have a WNBA franchise following the Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards.
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