WNBA To Expand to 18 Teams

S. Samek

The WNBA made a big announcement. More expansion is coming to the league.

Three new teams are set to be added to the league after Portland and Toronto join in 2026.

A team from Cleveland is set to be added in 2028. Then a team in Detroit is coming in 2029. A team in Philadelphia will then come in 2030.

The Cleveland team will have the same ownership group as the Cavaliers. It is also a return to Cleveland for the WNBA which had a franchise there from 1997-2003 with the Rockers. It should be interesting to see if they choose a name closer to Rockers or go with something more closely connected to the Cavaliers.

Detroit is another returning city for the WNBA. The Detroit Shock played in the league from 1998-2009. They won three WNBA championships with their last one coming in 2008. The team will have the same ownership group as the Detroit Pistons.

Philadelphia will join the league for the first time in 2030. They share an ownership group with the 76ers.

It’s good to see the WNBA expand even more. Hopefully this trend continues, and we see even more teams coming down the pipeline.