HOUSTON — The WNBA is looking to expand from 12 teams to 16 by 2028, according to Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
However, bringing a franchise back to Houston is not part of the plans at the moment. Engelbert announced the league’s plans ahead of the 2024 WNBA Draft Monday.
What happened to the Houston Comets?
Houston has not had a WNBA team since the legendary run of the Houston Comets back in the late 90s when the league was first launched. The Comets won four consecutive WNBA Championships from 1997 to 2000, a feat that has yet to be replicated.
When Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander sold the Comets, things started to go downhill from there.
Houston businessman Hilton Koch told the league he could no longer continue to own the team.
Back then, the league said it had a couple of offers to buy the team, but the potential owners could not put together a deal in time for the upcoming season.
The team was disbanded following the 2008 season.
Will Houston get a WNBA expansion team?
The WNBA is adding a team next year when a Golden State franchise in San Francisco will join the league. Other cities or metropolitan areas that Engelbert said are in the running include Philadelphia; Toronto; Portland, Oregon; Denver; Nashville; and South Florida.
“Our plan and goal is to get to 16 teams in the next few years,” she said.
Engelbert said she got calls last week from two other cities the league hadn't been talking to.
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Golden State will get a chance to build its roster through an expansion draft.
“It will happen before the college draft and we'll share more details when we get closer to that,” Engelbert said. “Talking to general managers and coaches and teams and owners, there will be an expansion draft this year and it will probably be in December.”
WNBA hopes to build off momentum with new stars
Engelbert knows this year's draft has more household names like Caitlin Clark, who helped the NCAA reach its best viewership in history for women's basketball, with nearly 19 million fans watching the title game.
Clark went No. 1 overall in the draft to the Indiana Fever.
Other well-known players drafted included Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and Cameron Brink. Reese and Cardoso are heading to Chicago while Brink is heading to Los Angeles.
The commissioner noted that the WNBA bought ads that ran during NCAA Tournament broadcasts, starting with the Sweet 16.
“I'm thrilled we have household names coming in,” Engelbert said. “We need to market around that.”