Report: Golden State Warriors Nearing Deal to Bring WNBA Franchise to the Bay Area

The NBA's Golden State Warriors are nearing a deal to bring a WNBA franchise to the Bay Area, according to the Athletic's Marcus Thompson II.

The prospective franchise will be headquartered at Golden State's practice facility in Oakland and play its home games played at Chase Center in San Francisco.

"We have had productive conversations with the WNBA and look forward to the possibility of being a part of the league’s expansion plans," the Warriors said in a statement to The Athletic. "However, it would be premature to assume any potential agreement has been finalized.”

If the deal is indeed finalized, it would mark the first professional women's basketball team in the Bay Area since the American Basketball League's San Jose Lasers, which were owned by current Warriors governor Joe Lacob. The ABL shut down in 1998, one year after the WNBA began play in 1997. During the ABL's two-plus seasons in operation, the Lasers went 48-51.

In May, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert told Front Office Sports' A.J. Perez and Andrew Cohen that the league is looking at 10 cities for expansion, with plans to have "a couple" new franchises established ahead of the 2025 WNBA season.

The WNBA has not expanded since 2008, when the Atlanta Dream joined the league. In August, a group of Denver investors met with Engelbert to discuss the possibility of adding a team in the Mile High City, according to The Denver Post's Noelle Phillips.

As of last October, the Warriors — winners of four NBA titles since the 2014 — are the league's most valuable franchise at $7 billion, according to Forbes. Lacob became the team's majority owner in July of 2010.