WNBA fans have long clamored for expansion, and that day is finally here: The league will add a 13th team in the Bay Area, awarded to the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, that will begin play in 2025, the WNBA announced Thursday.
A second expansion franchise is expected to be announced this year, likely Portland, per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. That franchise would also begin play in 2025. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert confirmed in a news conference Thursday the league’s goal is to have 14 teams by 2025.
Engelbert and Warriors personnel declined to reveal the expansion fee the Warriors paid. Engelbert added only that it was “a record-breaking expansion fee” for the league, along with other significant investments that come with starting a WNBA franchise.
The league, which had as many as 16 teams in 2000, has held steady at 12 teams since 2010, after the Sacramento Monarchs folded the previous year. It last had 14 teams in 2008, when both the Monarchs and Houston Comets were still playing.
The long-awaited news of expansion won’t just open up more roster spots — which currently is at a maximum of 144, or 12 per team — but will also reestablish the WNBA in at least one market where the league has already been: The Monarchs were an original franchise and played in Sacramento from…
