Skip to main content
Fansided

Upshot League launches as women’s basketball demand continues to outgrow the WNBA

With a growing demand for women’s basketball, Upshot has positioned itself to serve both players and fans who want more access to high-quality basketball.  
ByLiz Girvan|
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on Reddit
Google Discover
Dallas Wings v Los Angeles Sparks
Dallas Wings v Los Angeles Sparks | Adam Pantozzi/GettyImages

Key Points

Bullet point summary by AI

  • The Upshot League launched its inaugural season with two games this weekend, featuring teams from North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
  • The league aims to provide more professional opportunities for women’s basketball players beyond the limited WNBA roster spots.
  • Plans are already in place to expand to Baltimore, Nashville, and eventually 10 to 12 teams by 2028, backed by $40 million in investments.

The newest women’s professional basketball league launched its inaugural season this weekend with two games on Friday night. 

The Upshot League is composed of four teams across North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida: the Greensboro Groove, the Charlotte Crown, the Savannah Steel, and the Jacksonville Waves. On Friday, the Groove beat the Steel 85-81, and the Waves beat the Crown 103-95. 

The league was co-founded by former WNBA president Donna Orender — whose WNBA tenure lasted from 2005-2010 — and Andy Kaufmann, the CEO of Zawyer Sports, a company that runs a number of minor league soccer, hockey, and baseball teams across the southeastern United States. 

How Upshot can fill the gap around the WNBA

Leadership has described the league as an additional opportunity for players to access high level competition and grow, rather than a direct competitor to the WNBA. Unlike the NBA, which functions alongside the developmental NBA G League, women’s basketball has not had a formal minor league system. With around 5,000 NCAA Division I women’s basketball players and only around 200 WNBA roster spots, many athletes are left without an opportunity to continue their careers professionally in the United States, while a relatively small number either play overseas or are drafted to the WNBA.

Upshot appears to be filling this gap. The league held open tryouts in early March in both Florida and North Carolina. Each team carries an eleven player roster, and most feature a combination of former WNBA players, top college athletes, and former overseas pros. Notable names include former Atlanta Dream player Asia “AD” Durr, the second overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft, Schaquilla Nunn, the 25th overall pick in the 2017 draft, and Jasmine Walker, the 7th overall pick in the 2021 draft. 

The league also arrives amid growing demand from fans. Outside of the Atlanta Dream, opportunities to watch women’s professional basketball in the southeastern United States are limited. Upshot gives fans across the region more opportunities to engage with high-level women’s basketball in person. According to an Upshot press conference, Baltimore and Nashville will add teams in 2027, and the league plans to continue to expand to 10 to12 teams in 2028. 

League investors include big names in the basketball community including Tamika Catchings, Cheryl Miller, and Ann Meyers Drysdale, who have all helped the league raise $40 million. 

All league games are accessible via Upshot’s YouTube channel as the league attempts to carve out a new space within the growing women’s basketball landscape.

More WNBA news and analysis:

Add us as a preferred source on Google
Home/WNBA