Breaking down the WNBA’s expansion plans

The GIST: The WNBA defined the relationship with three new cities on Monday, announcing expansion to Cleveland in 2028, Detroit in 2029, and Philadelphia in 2030. With an 18-team league looming, here are the green, red, and beige flags surrounding the news.

🟩 The cities, infrastructure, and blueprint: Cleveland, Detroit, and Philly have three important things in common: a rich women’s hoops history and enthusiastic fanbases; established NBA infrastructure, with all three incoming teams backed by ownership groups repping the local men’s counterpart; and a blueprint for expansion success thanks to the thriving Golden State Valkyries.

🟨 More roster spots: At face value, the addition of 60 new roster spots (including those of the Toronto Tempo and Portland in 2026) over the next five years is a major win. Only 20 of the 36 players selected in this year’s entry draft are still in the league…and that’s the highest number in years. Yes, more roster spots could result in talent dilution, but that’s not the biggest concern.

• The league has yet to address roster size, with teams still capped at 12. Five additional 12-player teams leave little room for talent development, and the smaller pool of unsigned players will make inevitable hardship contracts even more difficult to navigate.

🟥 Player movement and scheduling: Starting next year, there will be four expansion drafts in five years, each one potentially resulting in serious upheaval for players and front offices. Plus, integrating five new teams into a jampacked (and tortuous) schedule — one that already increased from 40 to 44 games with the addition of the Valkyries — could pose a major logistical problem.