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Bill Simmons is not a fan of the WNBA’s expansion plans.
On Friday, the WNBA announced that they were adding three new teams in Cleveland, Detroit & Philadelphia by 2030.
The WNBA and NBA Board of Governors have formally approved WNBA expansion teams in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia.
Cleveland will begin play in 2028, Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030. pic.twitter.com/AZ6B2n7bti
— espnW (@espnW) April 10, 2026
Via ESPN
The WNBA is expanding to 18 teams over the next five years, with Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia all set to join the league by 2030.
Cleveland will begin play in 2028, Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia the season after, assuming it gets approval from the NBA and WNBA board of governors. Toronto and Portland will enter the league next year.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert explained the WNBA’s decision to expand to more cities.
“The demand for women’s basketball has never been higher, and we are thrilled to welcome Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia to the WNBA family,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “This historic expansion is a powerful reflection of our league’s extraordinary momentum, the depth of talent across the game, and the surging demand for investment in women’s professional basketball.”
After the WNBA expansion news broke, Simmons ripped into the league for expanding too quickly.
Via ESPN
Staggeringly stupid and an unapologetic money-grab that will immediately make the league worse. You can’t just frantically add new teams like fast food franchises the moment you have a little success. We have 7 decades of evidence. Build slowly and smartly. This isn’t smart.