July 1, 2025
Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia might be including groups over the following 5 years
Following the addition of a franchise staff at first of this season, the WNBA has introduced that three further groups will be part of the league within the coming years.
The Girls’s Nationwide Basketball Affiliation (WNBA) introduced that it’s increasing to a league-high 18 groups. The three cities that might be becoming a member of the WNBA are Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. The league has already authorized groups for Golden State (which debuted its staff, the Valkyries, in Might), Toronto, and Portland (each franchises will play in 2026). The scheduled debut of the opposite groups will stagger, with one staff debuting annually, beginning in 2028 with Cleveland. Then Detroit will comply with in 2029, with Philadelphia making its affect the following yr in 2030.
🚨HISTORIC MOMENT ALERT🚨
The W is leveling UP — three new groups, three new cities, one unstoppable future. ⭐
Say hey to our latest enlargement groups:
🟣 @clevelandwnba – coming 2028
🔵 @DetroitWNBA – coming 2029
🔴 @philawnba – coming 2030New vitality. New legacies. New period.… pic.twitter.com/6ZXaHPxkEw
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 30, 2025
“The demand for ladies’s basketball has by no means been larger, and we’re thrilled to welcome Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia to the WNBA household,” stated WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a written assertion. “This historic enlargement is a robust reflection of our league’s extraordinary momentum, the depth of expertise throughout the sport, and the surging demand for funding in ladies’s skilled basketball.”
“We’re excited for what these cities will carry to the league – and are assured that these new groups will reshape the panorama of ladies’s basketball.”
The league acknowledged that every staff chosen was based mostly on a number of elements, together with potential assist from town’s fan base, the dedication from town and state to advance the game, the possession teams that submitted the bids, and assist from company sponsors, amongst different elements.
The league additionally introduced that the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark and Minnesota Lynx’s Napheesa Collier would be the captains for this yr’s All-Star Sport, which can happen at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on July 19.
The WNBA is presently having fun with its twenty ninth season, having grown in reputation in recent times with the inclusion of some massive names within the sport, particularly final yr’s rookie class, which featured Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, who introduced their faculty rivalry to the skilled stage.
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