The WNBA and the NBA board of governors have formally approved expansions teams in Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029), and Philadelphia (2030). Once the three teams join the ranks, it will bring the league’s total to 18 teams for the 2030 WNBA season.
“The demand for women’s basketball has never been higher, and we are thrilled to welcome Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia to the WNBA family,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said as part of last year’s announcement. “This historic expansion is a powerful reflection of our league’s extraordinary momentum, the depth of talent across the game, and the surging demand for investment in women’s professional basketball.”
The Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo are set to make their debut this year following the conclusion of the expansion draft earlier this month.
The WNBA previously announced that it would award franchises to three cities over the coming years as part of the league’s expansion plans. Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia were amongst the favourites to be awarded franchises, with other locations such as Boston, and Miami as other cities that were rumoured to be discussed.
Thursday nights statement from the league now confirms the next 5 seasons worth of expansion plans from the head office.
Up next for the WNBA is the 2026 collegiate draft which will take place in New York City on Monday, April 13th at 7pm ET.
Photo: John Mac. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.