The following is a timeline of organizational changes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), a women's professional basketball league in the United States that began play in 1997 with 8 teams and now comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 18 by 2030). This article includes expansions, contractions, and relocations.[1][2]
On June 30, 2025, the WNBA announced that it would expand to Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029), and Philadelphia (2030), bringing the total to 18 teams.[10] Cleveland and Detroit previously were WNBA markets.
The WNBA's exponential growth and popularity in recent years has led to rising expansion fees. The Golden State Valkyries, the league’s 13th franchise that began play in May 2025, paid $50 million to join, while the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire — the 14th and 15th franchises scheduled to begin play in 2026 — paid $115 million and $125 million, respectively.[11]
The deadline for the next expansion bids was January 30, 2025. At the time, the bids were believed to be for a 16th expansion team. League commissioner Cathy Engelbert had said she was aiming to have the league expand to 16 teams by 2028.[12] However, as expansion fees continued to rise, the league rethought its original plan of adding just one more expansion team. Each new team will pay $250 million in franchise fees to join the league.[13]
Cleveland was previously home to the Rockers, one of the WNBA’s original eight members when the league began play in 1997. However, the franchise folded after the 2003 season when former owner Gordon Gund could not sell the team due to tumbling revenue and erratic attendance.
Detroit was previously home to the Shock, one of the WNBA’s first expansion teams when it began play in 1998. Between 1998 and 2009, the Shock won three WNBA championships. However, the team’s low fan attendance led the franchise to relocate to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2009, where it played until 2015. The franchise moved again in 2015, to Arlington, Texas, and is now called the Dallas Wings.[14]
The new team would play at Little Caesars Arena, home of the Pistons.[15] The WNBA coincidentally filed a trademark application for the name “Detroit Shock” the same day Gores submitted his offer, a potential sign of the league’s intentions to revive the team.[11]
^"WNBA.com: History of the WNBA". www.wnba.com. Retrieved May 26, 2025. The Eastern Conference consisted of the Charlotte Sting, Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets and New York Liberty while the Western Conference comprised the Los Angeles Sparks, Phoenix Mercury, Sacramento Monarchs and Utah Starzz.
