With more money flowing into the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and many cities showing interest in joining the already thriving National Basketball Association (NBA), expansion is a trending topic in both leagues. Expansion is necessary when there are many players and not enough roster spots. This problem is especially prevalent in the WNBA, where many drafted players are eventually cut from the final roster.
In addition, expansion benefits the league as well as the existing franchises. New teams have to pay an expansion fee to the other owners and, with more games, more revenue is generated for the league in the long term through ticket sales, media coverage, and concessions.
The NBA signed a twenty-four billion dollar media deal expiring next year. Commissioner of the league Adam Silver said they will not add another team until they sign a new media contract.
As for a location, the city most likely to be a home for a new team is Las Vegas. They have a thriving WNBA team, host the NBA Summer League, have hosted an All-Star Weekend, and were the home to last season’s In-Season Tournament. Los Angeles Lakers Star Lebron James has expressed interest in owning this team. Another option is Seattle, which was the home of the Seattle SuperSonics before they moved to Oklahoma City after failing to fund a new stadium in its original location. Lastly, Mexico City would be an interesting location as it would add a third country to the league. While it is still an option, according to Silver, it is unlikely to happen.
The WNBA has not expanded since 2008 and now rests at twelve teams (compared to the NBA’s thirty). It is in dire need of expansion as many skilled players are unable to join the league due to limited roster spots. On top of the difference in the number of teams in the two leagues, there is also a difference in roster sizes: twelve players in the WNBA and fifteen to twenty in the NBA. There are two locations already confirmed to be part of an expansion: Toronto and San Francisco. San Francisco’s team, the Golden State Valkyries, will begin play in 2025. The unnamed Toronto team will have its inaugural season in 2026.
The way this expansion will work has not yet been disclosed, but we can look back to when the league last expanded to make a guess. In 2008, when Atlanta joined the WNBA, there was an expansion draft where each team was allowed to protect six players and the others were entered into a draft, from which the new team would be allowed to build their roster. Although the details may end up different, an expansion draft of some sort is expected.
With both leagues growing and bringing in more revenue each year, expansion is an obvious choice. For the WNBA especially, it will allow more players to participate and bring in more fans. This follows a record viewership year in the college basketball season due to stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Because the NBA and WNBA have not expanded in many years, these additions will open a new chapter in professional basketball.