The WNBA announced that it would be expanding to 18 teams by the 2030 season. After the Golden State Valkyries joined this season, the Toronto Tempo and Portland team were both expected to join in 2026, with Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia joining in 2028, 2029, and 2030, respectively.
While the game growing and league expanding is generally a good thing, the WNBA missed an opportunity to put teams in a handful of other major cities that would gladly welcome a women's professional team with open arms.
These 3 cities deserved a WNBA expansion team
1. Denver, Colorado
Denver has become a basketball city in recent years due to the success of the NBA's Nuggets. One of the biggest stars in the basketball world, Nikola Jokić, already resides in Denver, and the city recently invested in a stadium for their new National Women's Soccer League team, so the investment should be there.
Far too many WNBA teams are on the eastern side of the United States, and while Portland and San Francisco getting teams was the start of the league's moving west, the negligence to have a team further than the Midwest halted that progress.
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2. Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville was all-in on a WNBA franchise, but unfortunately, they were not granted a team. This would have provided the southern states with a team to call their own, but instead, they will look for other ventures. Bill Haslam, the chairman who spearheaded the city's bid, had this to say:
"While we believe our proposed ownership group put a great foot forward for Nashville and the state of Tennessee with the concept of the Summitt, we understand and accept the WNBA’s decision today in awarding franchises to NBA ownership groups," Haslam said. "This decision does not end our commitment to Nashville and women’s sports fans. We will continue to keep our eye on future opportunities and evaluate them as they present themselves. I am confident that one day Tennessee will be the home of a major professional women’s sports franchise."
3. Miami, Florida
Miami is a cultural hub and has ample support for their NBA team, the Heat. This would be an ideal city for players to want to play in, and it would provide a vacation of sorts for opposing teams when they visit. This bustling town needed a WNBA team, but did not get one.
The Unrivaled League had plenty of success being stationed in Miami this offseason, as the fans down there are clearly embracing women's basketball. However, the WNBA opted to try again in two other cities that had to sell their teams, but not Miami.