Latest news with #ValkyrieViolet
USA Today
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Golden State Valkyries' new mascot has landed: Meet Violet the raven
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's ... Violet the raven. The Golden State Valkyries unveiled (or should we say unhatched) their new mascot on Birdwatchers Night at Chase Center during Monday night's game against the Connecticut Sun. Violet confidently strutted onto the court in front of a sold-out crowd at halftime to "Best Friend" by Bay-area artist Saweetie. Violet donned a white and black cheerleader outfit that featured the Valkyries' logo on the front and her name on the back as she executed a perfect cartwheel to much applause. Violet's outfit was complete with a pair of yellow glasses, striped socks and a pair of white sneakers. "heyyyyy besties," Violet wrote on her new social media account. The @valkyries introduce their mascot, Violet 👀 WHAT IS A VALKYRIE? Everything to know about Golden State Valkyries WNBA expansion team Violet just so happens to be named after the team's official color, Valkyrie Violet, which "symbolizes power, ambition, nobility, and women's empowerment, much like purple has been used symbolically in modern history," the team previously announced. 'Something's hatching' Golden State hinted at Violet's arrival and dropped Easter Eggs leading up to Monday's announcement on Birdwatchers Night. A mysterious violet egg was first spotted outside of the Chase Center on Aug. 7 and a wildlife expert hired by the team predicted there's a "bird species" inside. Violet feathers also turned up near the egg. "I got called by the Valkyries to come and take a look at this big egg that showed up on campus. It's a violet color which we don't usually see and it's got very bright gold speckles on it," wildlife management expert Kenny Elvin said in a video shared on social media. "It's far larger than anything else that I've seen before. ... "There are violet feathers. I don't know any birds that are quite that color. We'll see as it evolves. This egg could hatch very soon." Something's hatching. Better keep your eyes open. 🪺🔭👀 Elvin was on to something. The Valkyries brought the egg inside Chase Center for closer inspection and even built a nest for the egg to feel at home. Each fan in attendance for the Valkyries' matchup against the Connecticut Sun even received a pair of Valkyries Binoculars to spot the egg's hatching. Leading up to tipoff on Monday, the Valkyries released a video showing the mysterious violet feathers all over Chase Center as forward Monique Billings warmed up, another clue hinting at Violet's color and origin. Violet is sure to have a cult following. The Valkyries, the league's first expansion team since 2008, have sold out every game at Chase Center this season. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
New York Times
11-08-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
WNBA power rankings: Did the Minnesota Lynx win the trade deadline?
The Golden State Valkyries are hosting Birdwatchers Night on Monday in San Francisco. Every fan will receive binoculars to keep an eye on a large violet egg that has emerged at Chase Center, one that will presumably hatch the first mascot — the guess is a raven, given the ties to Norse mythology — in franchise history. And for good measure, the team's social accounts have been tracking the movement of the egg over the past few days. Advertisement Maybe that all sounds a little silly for a professional basketball organization, but it could also be the latest bit of ingenious branding in what has been a remarkably successful debut season for Golden State. From the ever-present Valkyrie violet to the Ballhalla nickname to the fans who dot the stands with horned headgear, Golden State has nailed every detail in creating a distinct identity and building a community in Year 1. Fourteen straight sellout crowds would agree. Of course, the Valkyries' primary success has come on the court, where they are primed to be the first expansion team in league history to make the playoffs in their first year, even with All-Star Kayla Thornton out for the season. Golden State enters Monday's contest against Connecticut with a net rating of zero, perfectly average in a league in which expansion teams have historically been awful. The Valkyries have the fourth-best defensive rating in the WNBA and just held a Los Angeles Sparks team that had scored at least 100 points in five of its last six games to 59. That victory over Los Angeles — one coach Natalie Nakase called a must-win pregame — clinched a 3-1 series win and the postseason tiebreaker over Golden State's closest current competition for the eighth seed. Owner Joe Lacob's five-year championship plan is increasingly plausible. As most of the league enters free agency this offseason, the Valkyries still have Carla Leite and Kate Martin on rookie contracts, as well as reserved or restricted rights on Veronica Burton, Janelle Salaün and Cecilia Zandalisini. Their 2025 first-rounder, Justė Jocytė, is also yet to arrive in the Bay. Furthermore, with the team's initial success and amenities, Golden State seems to be an attractive destination for the best players on the market. As the WNBA enters its era of expansion, the Valkyries are the ideal template for the next five teams in terms of how to build on and off the court, and they're just getting started. Golden State is still in its incubation stage, and the next phases will be well worth keeping a close eye on. A week ago, the Indiana Fever were rolling on a five-game winning streak, making their way up the standings as they awaited the return of Caitlin Clark. Now, Indiana is without all three of its point guards after Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald suffered season-ending injuries Thursday. That put the point guard duties on the committee of Mitchell, Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull against the Chicago Sky, with Steph White electing to keep at least two of the trio on the court at all times. All three thrive as play finishers, but only Mitchell has the scoring gravity to bend a defense — that allows her to make plays for others while still looking to score. Advertisement Against the Sky, whenever Mitchell got two feet into the paint, she drew a crowd and could dump off to a big or kick out to one of her shooters. She is the fastest player in the league with the ball in her hands and can easily create in transition, provided one of her teammates runs with her. And Mitchell had the good point guard sense to hand the ball to Hull early in the game instead of taking a pull-up jumper on the break; Hull had missed her last 12 3-point attempts and was 0-for-2 from the field to start the game, and the assist from Mitchell seemed to turn her around. Indiana has three more games against lottery-bound teams before the schedule picks up, allowing the Fever to figure out yet another iteration of their roster. That will also give Odyssey Sims some time to pick up the system and Clark more time in her rehab. More than likely, Mitchell will still be the best point guard option. The eight assists she had against the Sky will have to be a more regular occurrence. After trading for NaLyssa Smith, the Las Vegas starting five of Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd, Jackie Young, Smith and A'ja Wilson had a net rating of plus-18.1 points per 100 possessions. Nevertheless, the team went 4-3 with Smith in the starting lineup, and Becky Hammon replaced Loyd with Kierstan Bell, giving the second unit a little more oomph with an All-Star hub. The Aces have gone 6-1 since the switch, but the starting group is basically a net even (plus-8 through 60 minutes). It prompts the question of whether Las Vegas needed to do anything, or whether the schedule merely got easier, as the Aces have wins over the Dallas Wings, Sparks, Seattle Storm and Connecticut Sun in that stretch. Bell came out on fire in her first game as a starter, scoring 19 points in a 26-point win in Dallas. She hasn't even totaled 19 points in the six games since, and Hammon is giving more of her minutes to Loyd anyway. The upshot of this move has been in Loyd's shooting percentages. Since coming off the bench, Loyd's field-goal percentage has increased from 36.3 to 45.2 overall and 35.4 to 41.2 on 3s. Las Vegas still has a negative point differential for the season and hasn't beaten a team that has a winning record since June. Swapping Bell for Loyd might just be a cosmetic adjustment, but if it hasn't hurt the Aces, there is no need to make another change. 🚨 A'JA WILSON BECOMES THE FIRST PLAYER IN WNBA HISTORY TO RECORD 30+ POINTS AND 20+ REBOUNDS IN A GAME! 🚨 Wilson secures her 20th REB of the game! CON-LVA | League Pass | WNBA Rivals Week presented by @Ally — WNBA (@WNBA) August 11, 2025 Despite being without Napheesa Collier all week, Minnesota is 3-0 since trading for DiJonai Carrington, with wins at Seattle and the New York Liberty and against the Washington Mystics. Carrington is known for her perimeter defense, and Kayla McBride celebrated being able to pass off tough defensive assignments like Sabrina Ionescu onto Carrington for stretches. Carrington has six steals and two blocks through three games and has been a crunch-time fixture because Cheryl Reeve trusts her to hold up on that end. The underrated impact for the Lynx has come on the offensive end. Minnesota doesn't really have a guard who puts pressure on the basket; Courtney Williams likes to get to the midrange, and Kayla McBride does her damage from long distance. Carrington applies rim pressure with her drives and her offensive rebounding. Advertisement When the Lynx blew the game open against New York in the fourth quarter, Carrington had two cuts to the basket and an offensive rebound that led to a second-chance 3-pointer for Alanna Smith. Her 3-pointers are gravy as a career 28.6 percent 3-point shooter, but since Carrington moves off the ball, she at least doesn't compromise Minnesota's spacing too much. Carrington is an ideal trade-deadline acquisition because she doesn't take away from what the Lynx already do well. She generally waits for her opportunities in transition or off ball and amplifies the defense. Minnesota's flow hasn't changed with Carrington on the floor, and it shouldn't, considering how strong the team already was before her arrival. How did Paopao fall to the second round of the 2025 draft? The sweet shooter out of South Carolina is hitting 44 percent of her 3s as a rookie (4 of 8 this past week), and the Dream are 4.7 points per 100 possessions better with her on the court, fourth best on Atlanta. Paopao comes from a system where she didn't get a lot of touches, so she can maintain high efficiency on low usage, and that extends to her assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.04. But what stood out this week is her Gamecock defensive education: Paopao made several defensive hustle plays to help seal the Dream's win in Phoenix on Sunday after Rhyne Howard was ejected. The 5-foot-9 guard blocked 6-foot-1 Kahleah Copper at the rim with 2:18 to play. Paopao helped secure possession on another Copper miss with less than a minute to play, and then she stole the ball on a Sami Whitcomb pass to ice the game on the ensuing play. Getting quality rotation minutes out of a rookie is one reason the Dream are sitting in a tie for second place in the standings. Paopao block on Copper 🫨 [image or embed] — (@ August 10, 2025 at 7:52 PM 'The game was still in the balance at that point,' coach Karl Smesko said Sunday. 'For (Paopao) to lock in, get a hand on the ball, get the steal, I thought that was a big play in the game.' The Aces are 1-8 against the Liberty over the last two seasons and have been mostly unable to deal with New York's size. The Liberty are less imposing without Breanna Stewart in the lineup, as well as having Kennedy Burke and Nyara Sabally unavailable, and they'll be coming to Las Vegas on the second night of a back-to-back. This is the Aces' opportunity to right the ship and prove their starting lineup shift can make a difference against the league's best teams. New York doesn't seem to be too concerned with any of its results at less than full strength, but the Liberty are in danger of falling in the standings — nothing like a matchup against one of their biggest rivals to wake them up. (Photo of Sabrina Ionescu and DiJonai Carrington: Ishika Samant / Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
USA Today
16-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
What is a Valkyrie? Everything to know about Golden State Valkyries WNBA expansion team
What is a Valkyrie? Everything to know about Golden State Valkyries WNBA expansion team Show Caption Hide Caption Best WNBA games to watch this 2025 season USA TODAY's Meghan Hall breaks down what the best WNBA games to watch this season are. Sports Seriously The Golden State Warriors aren't the only basketball team in town. Meet the Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA's newest franchise, who are set to tip off their inaugural season on Friday. The Valkyries will host the Los Angeles Sparks Friday evening at the Chase Center in San Francisco, marking the second matchup between the two teams in as many weeks. The Sparks narrowly defeated the Valkyries 83-82 in a preseason matchup last week. The Valkyries are the league's first expansion team since the Atlanta Dream joined the WNBA in 2008. Here's everything you need to know about the newest team, from the Valkyries' logo, roster and origin: GOLDEN STATE VALKYRIES: Coach Natalie Nakase building franchise with 'never satisfied' mindset What is a Valkyrie? Golden State selected a name that embodies its 'fierce, bold and strong' identity. The WNBA's 13th franchise is known as the Valkyries, which is derived from Norse mythology. According to Golden State, "Valkyries are a host of warrior women who are fearless and unwavering – flying through air and sea alike." The Valkyries drew inspiration from the franchise's NBA counterpart, the Golden State Warriors. Both clubs are owned by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, who wanted to create synergy between both teams. "We looked at a variety of team names, and we sort of landed in the Warriors-inspired space," said Amanda Chin, the Warriors' Senior Vice President of Marketing. "For anybody who doesn't know, a Valkyrie is a woman warrior. This is a host of women warriors who are responsible for granting an honorable afterlife for the bravest warriors." Warriors head coach Steve Kerr approved: "Fantastic name, beautiful colors, great logo. ... You guys own this look. It's beautiful and distinctive. I think our fans are going to love it." What is the Valkyries' official colors, logo? The team's official colors are Valkyrie Violet — which "symbolizes power, ambition, nobility, and women's empowerment, much like purple has been used symbolically in modern history" — black, white and gold. The Valkyries' logo is a nod to the team's Bay Area roots. It features the Bay Bridge uniquely shaped like wings with 13 suspension cables to represent becoming the 13th WNBA franchise. The bridge also doubles as a sword, which not only symbolizes "courage, power and authority," but showcases the weapon frequently depicted with Valkyries. There are more hidden gems featured in the logo, which Golden State breaks down below: The outer shape of the logo is a V, reinforcing the V in Valkyries, which symbolizes the unity of a group of Valkyries in flight, and standing for victory. The Bay Bridge is depicted to reinforce the team's presence across the Bay, but specifically the tie between the team's homes in both Oakland, where the team's practice facility and front office is located, and San Francisco's Chase Center, where the team will play all home games. The bridge cables double as wings, a strong telegraphic symbol of Valkyries. The five triangles formed within the wings represent the five players facing each other on each side of the court. The 13 lines coming from the top of the sword represent the Valkyries becoming the 13th active team in the WNBA. The Valkyries unveiled a secondary logo in December, which features a golden Valkyrie figure. Who is the Valkyries' head coach? Golden State named Natalie Nakase as the team's first head coach in October. Nakase has worked alongside many brilliant basketball minds throughout her coaching career. Nakase served as an assistant coach under Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon the past two seasons and was a key piece in the Aces' back-to-back WNBA championships (2022, 2023). Before that, Nakase spent 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, working her way up from a video coordinator role to be an assistant coach and player development coach for both the Clippers and their G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers. Golden State Valkyries roster G Carla Leite, 5' 9" F Kayla Thornton, 6' 1" F Stephanie Talbot, 6' 2" F Janelle Salaun, 6' 2" C Temi Fagbenle, 6' 4" C Kyara Linskens, 6' 4" G Tiffany Hayes, 5' 10" G Kate Martin, 6' 0" G Veronica Burton, 5' 9" F Cecilia Zandalasini, 6' 2" F Monique Billings, 6' 4" G Julie Vanloo, 5' 8" Valkyries unveil jerseys, get nod from Draymond Green Golden State offered fans a first look at its inaugural jersey in December. The jersey, which comes in a white and black colorway for home and away games, features the team's logo front and center in Valkyrie Violet. The white jersey is called the WNBA Nike Heroine Edition, while the black jersey is called the WNBA Nike Explorer Edition. Warriors star Draymond Green was spotted wearing the Valkyries' Nike Explorer Edition jersey on the sideline during the Warriors' 99-93 win over the Houston Rockets in December. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
