The Detroit collective that includes Chris Webber and Grant Hill seeking to land a WNBA franchise has performed simply that, making the the two NBA Corridor of Famers minority homeowners.
The WNBA introduced Monday, June 30, that it will add three new franchises: Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia.
Hill, who starred for the Detroit Pistons within the Nineties, and Webber, who was a part of the fabled “Fab 5” on the College of Michigan, will share possession duties with the principal proprietor and chair of the Detroit Lions, Sheila Ford Hamp and her husband, Steve, chairman of the Michigan Schooling Excellence Basis and New Financial system Initiative; CEO and chair of the Normal Motors Firm, Mary Barra and her husband, Tony; Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff and his spouse, Christen; Arn and Nancy Tellem, and Tom Gores, the proprietor of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons.
🚨HISTORIC MOMENT ALERT🚨
The W is leveling UP — three new groups, three new cities, one unstoppable future. ⭐
Say good day to our latest growth groups:
🟣 @clevelandwnba – coming 2028
🔵 @DetroitWNBA – coming 2029
🔴 @philawnba – coming 2030New vitality. New legacies. New period.… pic.twitter.com/6ZXaHPxkEw
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 30, 2025
Detroit was dwelling to the WNBA’s Detroit Shock from 1998 to 2009. The crew received three championships earlier than relocating to Tulsa. It now performs in Arlington, Texas, because the Dallas Wings.
“It is a enormous win for Detroit and the WNBA,” Gores stated in a written assertion. “As we speak marks the long-hoped-for return of the WNBA to a metropolis with deep basketball roots and a championship custom. Detroit performed a key function within the league’s early development, and we’re proud to reignite that legacy because the WNBA ascends to new heights. Our plans will convey new vitality, funding, and infrastructure to our metropolis and the WNBA, and extra assets to our neighborhood.”
Gores would be the controlling proprietor of the not-yet-named crew. The crew is slated to start out league play in 2029.
The BIG3 league introduced earlier this yr that Detroit had been awarded a franchise. The Amplifiers, coached by NBA Corridor of Famer George “Iceman” Gervin, made their debut June 14 at Allstate Enviornment in Rosemont, Illinois, in opposition to the Chicago Triplets. The crew’s dwelling opener is Sunday, July 20, at Little Caesars Enviornment.
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