The WNBA is expanding to 15 teams, with franchises in Portland and Toronto beginning play in 2026. By 2030, there will be franchises in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia.
The Golden State Valkyries marked the beginning of a time of explosive growth in the WNBA, even making the playoffs in their inaugural season. Until this past season, the league had not expanded since 2008.
So, how will the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire fill their rosters? Following what the league did for the Valkyries, they will have to have an Expansion Draft before the 2026 season.
The league announced in September 2024 that the draft would take place that December. Now that the 2025 WNBA season and WNBA Finals have concluded, fans are still waiting to hear when Toronto and Portland will get to participate in their own Expansion Draft.
The issue preventing the WNBA from announcing the rules and an official date is waiting for the finalization of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Presumably the expansion rules won't be finalized until after that.
The current (CBA) between the WNBA and the players’ union (WNBPA) is set to expire on Oct. 31. Why? The players opted out of the existing CBA early (it was originally to run longer) to renegotiate. Remember that the CBA sets all the rules for the WNBA: salaries, free agency, benefits, revenue distribution, working conditions, travel, etc. Failure to reach an agreement does not necessarily mean there is an immediate lockout. There is still time to agree to extend the term of the current agreement to continue negotiations.
As we wait for a new CBA and a subsequent draft announcement, we can only assume that this upcoming Expansion Draft will follow what the Valkyries did in 2024. Though this would be the first two-team draft, so logistics could be tweaked. Let’s look at some of the potential rules.
What is an expansion draft?
An expansion draft is a process used by professional sports leagues to allow a new team to build its roster by selecting players from existing teams.
What were the 2024 rules?
The Vaklyries were able, on Dec. 6, 2024, to select only one player from a designated pool of unprotected players from each of the (at the time) current 12 WNBA teams.
What players were available in the 2024 Expansion Draft?
According to the WNBA, the existing 12 teams had to submit a Roster List (by Nov. 25, 2024) that included every player they have rights to, covering active, suspended, draft list/reserve, core, and retired lists. Each team was able to protect up to six players from the Roster List who were not available for selection by the Valkyries.
One complicating factor this year is that nearly 80 percent of the WNBA players are free agents this year, as everyone stacked their deals to try and take advantage of the likely salary increase coming with a new CBA. Several teams who even have six players on their roster to protect, and the expansion teams could be working with a much smaller player pool — which could necessitate a different set of rules.
Can a team only build during an Expansion Draft?
After the 2024 Expansion Draft, Golden State was then able to participate in the typical team roster-building activities, including free agency (which began in February) and the WNBA Draft (which was in April). The Valkyries' 2025 draft picks were Justė Jocytė (fifth overall), Shyanne Sellers (17th overall), and Kaitlyn Chen (30th overall).