Thinking Out Loud About WNBA Expansion

Danny Moloshok/Getty Images

The WNBA is a league with a lot of skill and talent already in it. There is a history of great players who have become icons in the sport. In sports, it’s all about who is coming next. For the WNBA, opportunities to break through from the college game are not always available. Draft picks often get cut as a result. After sharing my article about the Aces and cutting their draft picks, so many of you asked me the same question. That question is simply - what are the alternatives? With so little opportunities, what can the WNBA do? Let’s break it all down.

Numbers

First, let’s do some math for a second. If you were told there would be no math, normally you would be correct. We need to crunch some numbers in this case. After the draft, this is the breakdown of draft picks by round who made their squads roster:

17 out of 36 players drafted made a roster

10/12 first rounders

5/12 second rounders

2/12 third rounders

4 players drafted will not play due to injury

Minnesota and Seattle were the only teams not to carry at least one rookie. Seattle cut Evina Westbrook after the preseason. She was picked up by Minnesota and is currently still listed on the roster. Jade Melbourne, who was drafted by the storm in the third round, will wait until next year to join the team as she continues to play in Australia. There are only 36 draft picks in total. In the W, there are 12 on the active roster. In the NBA, there are 15 with the ability to carry 20. If the WNBA were to follow suit, this is a simple way to offer more players opportunities. On average about 75% players chosen in the first round over the last five years are on a WNBA roster today. For those players chosen in the second round, 58%. As for the third round, 8%. There will be about 112 players who will not have an opportunity in the WNBA during the 2022 season. The only real way to ensure more opportunities is to expand.

Expansion Update

Way before the pandemic, it was reported that Toronto filed the necessary paperwork to get a team. Additionally, former WNBAer Alana Beard is leading the charge to get a team in Oakland. Oracle Arena, the former home of the Warriors, could be an option for them. Natasha Cloud has also been pushing for Philly to get a team for the past year and a half. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert believes in the next few years two expansion teams will be added. She also believes that expanding rosters is not the path to take. It’s somewhat odd that she feels that way, and it’ll be interesting to see if her perspective changes over the next two or three seasons.

More On Expansion

As much as it would be nice to bring back some franchises that died, it is not a simple process to get a team - let alone get a team back. There is not a ton of information on how to get a WNBA team to a new city. The only real concrete explanation on how to even start the process is from an article from 2009. Long story short, investors/owners are needed along with a franchise plan, sponsorships, public support, and a venue. Common sense would tell you that since there are plenty of NBA teams and G League affiliates, and that could open some doors. For what it’s worth, there is a perfectly fine arena in Glendale, Arizona right now because the Coyotes (NHL) got kicked out.

We’ve seen the Lynx and Fever gain support from the Timberwolves and Pacers with allowing them to play in their arena. The Sparks and Lakers shared a stadium until recently. If for example the Comets were to come back, one would hope the Rockets organization would help them out. The same can be said if other cities like Detroit, OKC, Cleveland, Sacramento, and San Antonio want another crack at having a franchise. Even if the NBA venues aren’t available, the G League venues should easily be able to accommodate. Think about this, almost every NBA city had a WNBA team at some point. In addition to the teams I just mentioned, Orlando, Utah, Miami, Portland, and Charlotte once housed teams. If they didn’t fold or relocate, we would have 23 WNBA teams. That would allow 276 players to play in the league as opposed to the 144 we’ve become accustomed to. Throw in Oakland, Toronto, and Philly and that would give us 26 teams and 312 players.

Why stop there? Two other locations that have been listed as possibilities are Nashville and Des Moines. Recent reports from Nashville suggest that finding an ownership group in the area is a challenge, and the state may be looking into adding a professional women’s soccer team instead. Des Moines may sound like a throwaway idea, but because of the recent success and popularity of Iowa Hawkeye basketball on both the men’s and women’s side, and the fact that Iowa has no professional teams, it’s not a crazy theory. Tampa Bay also showed they could handle a team when they were the temporary home of the Raptors. Adding Nashville, Des Moines, Tampa Bay, and Glendale would bring the total to 30 WNBA teams and 360 players. Remember when we talked about adding to rosters earlier? 30 teams and 15 to a roster instead of 12 would add up to 450 players. Plus, if the W does get a G League type of developmental system, the possibilities are endless and they could most likely share the space with their NBA G League counterparts. While owners and investors are very important, the venue is just as important and NBA counterparts need to offer their support. In Nashville’s case, the Predators (also NHL) should offer to help. Des Moines may be a little harder.

Final Thoughts

Thanks for hanging in there with me with all the numbers. I felt like they were important to have in an article like this. As WNBA fans, we wish that expansion could come right away. We also wish that expansion was further ahead of the leagues plans. The league has done some great things to try to improve as a brand, and they deserve to be commended for that. No question about that. The W feels as though they are the NBA’s little sister, and it’s fair they want to get out from their shadow. Former NBA commissioner David Stern launched the WNBA in 1997 to allow women the same opportunity to play the game they love at the professional level. The WNBA remains the longest tenured women’s league in sports as they are in their 26th season.

While the NBA continues to support them, it’s time for that support to reach the next level and offer to help more teams to get a start. Don’t do the job for them, but be there offer help, insight, and personnel to help them achieve their goals. The only way both leagues will continue to prosper is if they truly work in tandem in efforts to make the leagues and the game better. This includes equal pay, which is not impossible seeing what USA Soccer was able to do albeit after many years of trying. It can be done, but they need to make the effort to do it. Iron sharpens iron, and we can’t take the next step forward unless we do it together.