Warrior women are the inspiration for the name announced Tuesday for the new Bay Area-based Women’s National Basketball Association team, the Golden State Valkyries.

The Valkyries are the WNBA affiliate of the Golden State Warriors NBA team and are the WNBA’s first expansion team since 2008. They will be headquartered in Oakland and begin playing games next year at Chase Center in San Francisco.

The name Valkyries comes from Norse mythology about warrior women who are fearless and unwavering and travel both through the air and by sea, according to the team.

Valkyries-branded clothes and other gear can be found in the team’s online shop and the team is holding a block party from 2-6 p.m. Saturday at Thrive City — the plaza outside Chase Center — featuring live music and other festivities.

Dan McMenamin is the managing editor at Bay City News, directing daily news coverage of the 12-county greater Bay Area. He has worked for BCN since 2008 and has been managing editor since 2014 after previously serving as BCN’s San Francisco bureau reporter. A UC Davis graduate, he came to BCN after working for a newspaper and nonprofit in the Davis area. He handles staffing, including coaching of our interns, day-to-day coverage decisions and management of the newswire.