WNBA fans are relighting the conversation about expansion and it’s getting more heated than ever before. After 15 years of stagnancy, the league desperately needs to get around to adding something else in its field.
A big topic of conversation that comes with expansion is where will the teams go, and what stadiums will they call home?
Right now, six WNBA teams are sisters to an NBA team, meaning they’re within the same market. This includes the Nets and Liberty, Pacers and Fever, Lakers and Sparks, Timberwolves and Lynx, Suns and Mercury and Wizards and Mystic. However, of these teams, the Sparks are the only ones with completely separate ownership.
Three teams are within the same market, but not siblings with an NBA team, including the Sky and Bulls, Wings and Mavericks and Dream and Hawks.
And five teams are within the same market as an NBA G League team, including the Dream, Mystics, Sparks, Wings and Liberty.
So, that’s where the logistics come in. If we’re looking at places that might be ideal to add a WNBA team to the mix, I think there’s a good chance it can be within a pre-existing, healthy and thriving basketball market.
Let’s take a look at what cities are rumored to call the WNBA home sometime soon and when the last time the league tried expansion…
