WNBA Expansion: Where New WNBA Teams are Landing

The popularity of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBA) has surged over the last few years, thanks in no small part to the arrival of NCAA standouts like Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, LSU’s Angel Reese and UConn’s Paige Bruecker.

In fact, average viewership for WNBA games increased from 440,000 to 1.4 million, according to ESPN and the Associated Press. This trend isn’t unique to the WNBA — the growth of women’s sports across the board is on an upswing the last few years — but it certainly has the league in expansion mode.

That’s why they’re moving quickly to add a new generation of WNBA expansion teams into the mix. The first of those teams, the Golden State Valkyries, started play this season, but there’s a few more confirmed teams and a few rumored expansions on the horizon, too!

Here’s a look at where the next new WNBA teams will be located and where future franchises could end up calling home.

Don’t forget: You can watch WNBA games every day, all season long, on DIRECTV! Don’t have DIRECTV yet? Sign up today!

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How Many WNBA Teams Are There Right Now?

Right now, there are 12 active WNBA teams. The highest number of teams the league has ever had at once has been 16.

Is the WNBA Adding More Teams? 

With the WNBA gaining so much traction, everyone seems to want in on the game. Here’s a look at where new WNBA teams could be located, including which cities have already been awarded teams.

Cities That Are Getting WNBA Expansion Teams

So far, three cities have been awarded WNBA expansion teams: San Francisco, Toronto and Portland, Oregon. Each of those cities also has an existing NBA team: the Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers.

Let’s take a look at the details of each of these new teams:

Golden State Valkyries

Home Arena: Chase Center, San Francisco, California

Ownership: Joe Lacob, Peter Guber, Golden State Warriors

Announced: 2023

Started Play: 2025

The Golden State Valkyries are the newest WNBA franchise, hitting the court for the first time this season. Their roster was built out through the expansion draft held in December 2024, which allowed them to select players from the other 12 WNBA teams, with the exception of players those teams were able to designate as protected. They also got to pick one unrestricted free agent.

Here’s the roster they ended up with:

Player	Former Team	Position
Iliana Rupert	Atlanta Dream	Center/Forward
Maria Conde	Chicago Sky	Forward
Veronica Burton	Connecticut Sun	Guard
Carla Leite	Dallas Wings	Guard
Temi Fagbenle	Indiana Fever	Center
Kate Martin	Las Vegas Aces	Guard
Stephanie Talbot	Los Angeles Sparks	Forward
Cecilia Zandalasini	Minnesota Lynx	Forward
Kayla Thornton	New York Liberty	Forward
Monique Billings	Phoenix Mercury	Forward
Julie Vanloo	Washington Mystics	Guard

Toronto Tempo

Home Arena: Coca-Cola Coliseum

Ownership: Kilmer Sports Ventures, Serena Williams

Announced: 2024

Starting Play: 2026

The Toronto Tempo will be the first WNBA team to be located outside of the United States, joining the Raptors as the only major North American basketball teams to have that distinction. It will be joint owned by tennis legend Serena Williams and Larry Tanenbaum, Chairman of Kilmer Sports Ventures.

Portland

Home Arena: Moda Center

Ownership: Alex Bhathal & Lisa Bhathal Merage

Announced: 2024

Starting Play: 2026

Portland’s expansion team will be the city’s second WNBA franchise in the league’s history. The first, the Portland Fire, shut down in 2002. The Bhathal siblings, who will own the team, also own the Portland Thorns of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

The franchise has not settled on a name yet, but the frontrunners are a revival of the Portland Fire or the Portland Archers, Portland Roses or Portland Swifts.

Cities That Have Put in Bids for WNBA Expansion Teams

The WNBA has said it aims to have 18 active teams by the start of the 2028 season, which means at least three more cities are in the running for a WNBA expansion team to call theirs. Here’s a look at which cities have thrown their hat in the ring so far, and which is expected to net the league’s 16th team.

Most Likely Cities to Get a WNBA Expansion Team

Currently, the frontrunners for new WNBA expansion teams are Cleveland, Ohio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Houston, Texas and Nashville, Tennessee.

Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland, home to the NBA’s Cavaliers, the NFL’s Browns and the MLB’s Guardians, is the most likely city to land the WNBA’s 16th franchise. The city is rumored to have submitted a bid with a record-shattering $250 million expansion fee to host the team, which is widely expected to be named the Cleveland Rockers, after the city’s now-defunct former WNBA franchise.

The franchise would begin play in 2028 and play out of the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philly has a rich sports history, and their resident NFL team, the Philadelphia Eagles, won the Super Bowl earlier this year. Recently, the owners of the 76ers NBA team said it had joined forces with Comcast to enter a bid for a WNBA expansion team.

Houston, Texas: Houston, home to the NBA’s Rockets, is also pursuing a franchise, with the Rockets’ owner leading the charge. A win for Houston would also be expected to bring back a now-defunct WNBA team: the Houston Comets, which saw success in the league’s early days and won the first four consecutive championships.

Nashville, Tennessee: WNBA legend Candace Parker, NFL legend Peyton Manning and Bill Haslam, the owner of the Nashville Predators NHL team, are leading a group that’s pursuing a bid to bring a WNBA team to Tennessee. It would be named the Nashville Summitt, in honor of the late, legendary University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt, who is considered one of the greatest basketball coaches to ever live.

Nashville may be operating at a disadvantage, however: the WNBA has said it wants the new teams to be located in a market with an existing NBA franchise.

Other Teams Bidding on a WNBA Expansion Team

Those are the cities considered the most likely to win an expansion bid, but here’s a look at some of the other cities that are hot on their heels:

Cities with former WNBA teams and existing NBA teams:

• Detroit, Michigan (Detroit Shock, Detroit Pistons)
• Miami, Florida (Miami Sol, Miami Heat)
• Charlotte, North Carolina (Charlotte Sting, Charlotte Hornets)

Cities with existing NBA teams:

• Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Milwaukee Bucks)
• Denver, Colorado (Denver Nuggets)

Cities with no NBA team and no former WNBA ties:

• Austin, Texas
• Kansas City, Missouri
• St. Louis, Missouri

History of WNBA Expansion

The WNBA was founded in 1996 with eight teams and started play in 1997. Of those original eight teams, only three are still active: the Los Angeles Sparks, the New York Liberty and the Phoenix Mercury. One of the original eight, the Utah Starzz, relocated to San Antonio to become the Silver Stars, then relocated again in 2017 to become the Las Vegas Aces.

Between 1998 and 2000, the league added another eight teams. Currently, only the Washington Mystics, Minnesota Lynx, Indiana Fever and Seattle Storm are still active in their original form. Two others relocated and are still active: the Orlando Miracle became the Connecticut Sun, and the Detroit Shock moved to Tulsa, where it became the Tulsa Shock, then to Dallas in 2015 to become the present-day Dallas Wings.

The Chicago Sky joined the league in 2006, followed by the Atlanta Dream in 2008.

The WNBA has had its current 12-team format since 2010.

Watch WNBA on DIRECTV

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