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The WNBA announced on Monday that it extended to 18 teams by the end of 2030, with franchises heading towards Philadelphia, Detroit and Cincinnati.
It is continuous growth for the League, which has the Golden State Valkyries, its 13th team, playing in its inaugural season. Toronto and Portland are expected to get teams next season.
Despite more opportunities, an WNBA star is not exactly delighted with the move.
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The Indiana Sophie Cunningham fever custody heads the field in a match against the Wings of Dallas at the American Airlines Center on June 27, 2025. (Jerome Miron / Imagn images)
Sophie Cunningham, a Caitlin Clark teammate on Indiana fever, congratulated the League for her efforts, saying: “You also want to listen to your players”, while the doubting players will be delighted to be in the Midwest.
“As, where do they want to play? Where are they going to be excited to play and draw fans? I think Miami would have been great. Everyone loves Florida. Nashville is an incredible city. Kansas City-An incredible opportunity. There is a huge downtown arena that no one uses,” added Cunningham on Tuesday afternoon. “I do not know what the process of reflection is.
“In the end, you do not want to extend our league too quickly. We do not want the teams to dominate completely and some who are not. It is a difficult situation, but, guy, I do not know how excited people are in Detroit or [Cleveland]. “”
Each city that Cunningham mentioned has submitted an offer for expansion.
The Indiana Sophie Cunningham fever in the second half against Connecticut Sun in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on June 17, 2025. (Trevor Ruszkowski / Images Imagn)
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This will mark the second time that the WNBA will be in Detroit. The shock won three WNBA titles before moving to Tulsa in 2010. They then moved to Dallas to become the wings.
Cleveland will start to play in 2028, in Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia the season after, assuming that they obtain the approval of the Council of Governors of the NBA and the WNBA.
“The demand for women’s basketball has never been higher, and we are delighted to welcome Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia in the WNBA family,” said WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “This historical expansion is a powerful reflection of the extraordinary momentum of our league, the depth of talents through the game and the growing demand for investment in female professional basketball.”
The other cities to submit expansion offers were St. Louis, Austin, Denver, Charlotte and Houston, the latter whose comettes, who won the first four WNBA championships.
The Indiana Cunningham Indiana fever goalkeeper poses for a photo on April 30, 2025, during the Indiana Fever Media Day in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Grace Smith / Indystar / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
“There are a variety of cities that obviously submit, and one of those I wanted to cry – because they have such a strong story in this league and their large property group – is Houston,” said Engelbert. “The Houston Comets were just incredible, the first four inaugural championships of the WNBA. So I would say that it is the one, obviously, we have our eye. (The owner) Tilman (Fertitta) was a big supporter of the WNBA, and we will be listening.”
