WNBA Announces Expansion to 18 Teams

Today, the WNBA announced that Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia are all getting new teams.

On a historic day in WNBA history, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, along with others, announced that the league would be expanding to 18 teams by 2030. After Toronto and Portland arrive in 2026, Cleveland will receive the next WNBA franchise. Cleveland will return to the WNBA in 2028. Detroit will join next in 2029. Lastly, Philadelphia will come on board in 2030.

For Cleveland and Detroit, who previously had WNBA teams at one point. It is unclear if they will go back to their original team names, the Rockers and Shock, or if they will go with a complete rebrand. The same can be said for the Portland expansion franchise, which has yet to announce its name and branding.

The press conference today was around 30 minutes long and started around the 11:00 minute mark. Commissioner Engelbert and the three team representatives take time to address the crowd. They also answer some Q&A from the onsite media. You can watch the full thing from the link below.

From the WNBA’s Official Press Release, they had this to say.

“The demand for women’s basketball has never been higher, and we are thrilled to welcome Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia to the WNBA family,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “This historic expansion is a powerful reflection of our league’s extraordinary momentum, the depth of talent across the game, and the surging demand for investment in women’s professional basketball. I am deeply grateful for our new owners and ownership groups – Dan Gilbert in Cleveland, Tom Gores in Detroit, and Josh Harris, David Blitzer, David Adelman, and Brian Roberts in Philadelphia – for their belief in the WNBA’s future and their commitment to building thriving teams that will energize and inspire their communities. We are excited for what these cities will bring to the league – and are confident that these new teams will reshape the landscape of women’s basketball.”

About Cleveland

The new WNBA team in Cleveland will be owned and operated by Rock Entertainment Group (REG), the umbrella entity that houses REG Chairman Dan Gilbert’s sports and entertainment properties under the Rock Family of Companies. Dan Gilbert acquired the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2005, and under his leadership, the team has won the Central Division seven times, five Eastern Conference titles, and, most notably, the 2016 NBA Championship. Gilbert's diverse sports portfolio also includes the Cleveland Charge (Cavaliers’ G League affiliate) and the Cleveland Monsters (AHL affiliate of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets). The WNBA previously had a team in Cleveland, the Rockers, from 1997 to 2003.

“The WNBA's return to Cleveland marks a pivotal moment for women's sports. Years from now, we will reflect on this day as a truly monumental point in Cleveland sports history,” said Rock Entertainment Group Chairman Dan Gilbert. “The passion, support and continued commitment of our fans and community for our professional sports teams played an essential role in making this possible. We're confident that this team will honor our city's women's sports heritage, reinvigorate our WNBA fan base and help cultivate the next generation of women's basketball enthusiasts and athletes. We're grateful to the WNBA and Commissioner Engelbert for this opportunity and their unwavering belief in Cleveland.”

About Detroit

The Detroit WNBA ownership group is led by Tom Gores, his wife Holly, and some of the most accomplished women and men in global sports, business, entertainment, media, and finance. Gores is owner of the Detroit Pistons and Chairman and CEO of global investment firm Platinum Equity. The WNBA is also making its return to Detroit, where the Shock played from 1998-2009, winning three championships (2003, 2006, 2008), ranking in the top five in attendance for five consecutive seasons, and setting a single-game attendance record of 22,076 fans at Game 3 of the 2003 WNBA Finals.

“This is a huge win for Detroit and the WNBA,” said Detroit Pistons Owner and Platinum Equity Chairman Tom Gores, who led the WNBA bid and will be the controlling owner of the new franchise. “Today marks the long-hoped-for return of the WNBA to a city with deep basketball roots and a championship tradition. Detroit played a key role in the league’s early growth, and we’re proud to reignite that legacy as the WNBA ascends to new heights. Our plans will bring new energy, investment and infrastructure to our city and the WNBA, and additional resources to our community.”

“We have brought together an impressive array of investors who reflect the strength and diversity of Detroit,” added Gores. “I’m excited about what we can accomplish together to advance women’s professional sports and inspire a new generation of fans. I’m grateful to our exceptional investor group, Commissioner Engelbert, and the WNBA for their trust in our vision and commitment to the people of Detroit.”

About Philadelphia

The Philadelphia WNBA Team will be owned and operated by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and join the organization’s dynamic global sports portfolio. The team will be an extension of HBSE’s commitment to delivering high performing teams that strengthen the communities where they play.

“Philadelphia is one of the most storied basketball cities in the world and our region is home to some of the best women’s players and coaches to ever grace the hardwood. It’s only right that this city gets the WNBA team it deserves, and we’re humbled to help usher in a new era of Philadelphia basketball,” said Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment Managing Partner and Co-Founder Josh Harris. “Thanks to my partners David Blitzer, David Adelman, Brian Roberts and the team at Comcast, and Governor Shapiro and Mayor Cherelle Parker for their collective leadership. We are committed to building a world-class organization, fostering the continued growth of women’s professional sports in this great city, and bringing one of the fastest rising leagues in the world to Philadelphia in 2030.”

Additional Thoughts

It is fascinating to see the WNBA expand this fast. Within a 6-year period, they’ll be growing from 12 teams to 18 teams. Even if the WNBA’s new CBA doesn’t change the number of total roster spots, that will be a minimum of 66 (6 x 11) new roster spots and a maximum of 72 new players added to the league. It’ll be even more than that if the new CBA allows for more than 12 players to make a roster.

Maybe it’s just that social media can be a cesspool, but I feel I’ve consistently seen a lot of people upset with the job Cathy Engelbert has done. By no means do I feel she’s infallible, but to deny the growth of the league under her watch seems disingenuous or uneducated.

There are a ton of other factors, of course. Superstars like Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, and Breanna Stewart have helped usher in a new era. The Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) from the college game to the pros has helped build women’s basketball’s popularity significantly.

It is amazing to see the league grow so much. For years, the league seemed to be stuck in a rut. After the Sacramento Monarchs folded operations in 2009, the WNBA remained at 12 teams from 2010 through 2024. The Golden State Valkyries became the first WNBA expansion franchise since the Atlanta Dream in 2008. Next year, the league will grow to 15 teams with the additions of Toronto and Portland. By 2028, they will be at 16 teams, which was a goal for Commissioner Engelbert. And by 2030, the league will have 18 franchises as women’s basketball continues to grow in popularity.

With growth, there are growing pains. And that comes in a variety of different ways. The increased income and growth resulted in the prioritization rule, which forced players to choose between playing in the WNBA or internationally. Something many players, like Gabby Williams, were against. Growth also means more games. The league expanded from 34 games per season to 36 games to 40 games, and now 44 games. Players are now complaining about the number of games they have to play and the limited amount of rest they’re able to have in between games. I can almost guarantee you that with the next CBA, as part of higher salaries, owners are going to want even more games, so that they can sell tickets to more games and get more from TV revenue. I fully expect the WNBA is going to get to 50 games per season, potentially as early as 2026. And I wouldn’t be shocked if they even get to 55-60 games at some point.

There have been additional growing pains. With player salaries needing to increase significantly, ticket prices for fans have also gone up. While most WNBA games are still reasonably priced, the growth has priced some fans out of the arena. Beyond that, the growth of the league has attracted many new fans. Some of those fans have taken a liking to certain players and spewed vitriol at the other players. This is a larger sports problem, but sports gambling has brought the worst individuals to the arena. At a recent LA Sparks game, the TV audio caught a fan heckling Rickea Jackson and demanding that she get more points so he could hit his parlay. You could overhear both Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby tell the fan to “Shut the F*** up!”

While not all of the growth has led to positives. Overall, it has been a great thing that the league has become so popular that the league has several cities putting bids in to become the next expansion franchise. We don’t know the next official salary numbers for the next CBA, but the league has already increased max player salary from $115,000 prior to 2020 to now around $250-260,000. I would be shocked if the next max salary isn’t at least $400,000 to $500,000. And I think it is possible we may see our first $1 million contract handed out soon.

Location Choices

With the additions of Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia, we have three more teams located in the Eastern Conference, or the eastern side of the country. When looking at the first three expansion teams, two were on the West Coast with Golden State and Portland. Four of the expansion teams are from the East, and just two are in the West. Once the WNBA gets to 18 teams, there will be eight in the Western Conference and 10 teams in the Eastern Conference. Unless the league does something weird like move the Chicago Sky to the West. Of course, for the most part, it’s a moot point unless the WNBA changes its playoff format back to choosing the top four teams in each conference.

With the choices of Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia, I’m not too surprised to see those cities selected. There had been reports that Cleveland was a done deal for several months now. It’s not a surprise to me that Cleveland becomes the 16th WNBA franchise. I felt Philadelphia made a ton of sense, and so I’m not surprised by their selection. Detroit is the one I didn’t necessarily predict, but they have the most history. The Detroit Shock won the WNBA Championship three separate times. As many of you know, the Detroit Shock franchise still exists under a new banner. Detroit relocated to Oklahoma to become the Tulsa Shock. Tulsa then relocated to Dallas and were renamed the Wings. Once the new Detroit franchise comes back into existence, will they own the Shock’s history, or will it still belong to the Wings?

I was a bit surprised that we didn’t see Houston or Denver selected as one of the new expansion cities. In the press conference that I linked above, it sounded like Houston was under serious consideration. If/When the league expands to 20 teams, I would be pretty surprised if Houston isn’t one of those two teams.

Looking at the WNBA Expansion map pictured above, there are still some locations that could be very attractive. Houston and Denver make a lot of sense to me for the western side of the country. Per reports, Denver’s bid lost out because it’s not involved with the Denver Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke, and they wouldn’t have access to the Nuggets/Colorado Avalanche arena. Commissioner Engelbert favored franchises that had NBA ties.

Other potential western cities that could work, in my opinion, include Utah, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, and Vancouver (Canada). Similar to Detroit and Cleveland, some of those cities previously hosted WNBA teams. Vancouver is hosting a regular season WNBA game between the Seattle Storm and Atlanta Dream later this year.

Once the league gets to 18 teams, 10 of those teams will be on the eastern side of the country. To me, it would make sense to expand west with the cities I listed above. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some strong options back east. Nashville made a bid and came up short, but I could see Tennessee getting an expansion franchise eventually, considering the Lady Vols are one of the most popular and successful women’s college basketball programs in history. The Unrivaled league was based out of Miami, and I could see Miami or Orlando being potential options for the WNBA. The Miami Sol and Orlando Miracle both existed at one point in time.

Speaking of the Miracle, that franchise relocated to Connecticut to become the Sun. With the Sun’s ownership group exploring the option to sell the team, if that happens, the franchise will be relocated. Most expect the team to be moved to Boston if a sale does take place. However, I don’t think we can fully rule out other cities, including Nashville, Charlotte, or Miami.

What do you all think? Were you surprised that the WNBA announced three new expansion cities today? Are you happy to see Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia added to the league over the next five years? Do you think the league is growing too fast, too soon? Which cities would you like to see next if the WNBA eventually grows to 20 or more teams?

Notes:
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