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Ahead of the Golden State Valkyries' inaugural season, the WNBA is not done with its current expansion. Over the next few years, the league is expected to continue adding teams with Cleveland emerging as a recent favorite for the next host city.
Cleveland currently has a “90 percent chance” of becoming the next city with a WNBA team, per Sports Business Journal. An announcement is expected to come before the league begins its 2025 season in May. Should the city land a new franchise, the team would play its home games at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
If the notion gets approved, the city will resurrect the Cleveland Rockers, who were a part of the WNBA from 1997 to 2003. The Rockers made the playoffs in four of their seven seasons before disbanding due to a lack of ownership. While the announcement is expected to come soon, Cleveland's WNBA team would not officially join the league until the 2028 season, the Sports Business Journal reported.
Once the Rockers presumably re-join the WNBA, the league is still far from done with its expansion. They are reportedly eyeing adding another team to increase the team count to 18. Houston, Philadelphia, Miami, Detroit and Nashville are leading candidates for the rumored 18th team. The WNBA applied to trademark the Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets, Miami Sol and Detroit Sol in early February, per Sports Business Journal.
Cleveland Rockers' WNBA history
As the WNBA approaches 30 years of business, the mostly forgotten Cleveland Rockers are a mere blip in the league's history. Several franchises have folded over the years but few were as successful as the Rockers in their short tenure.
During their seven years, the Rockers twice finished as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. However, they managed to win just one playoff series in their four postseason appearances. They never made it past the Conference Finals.
The Rockers' cease of operations in 2003 coincided with another major event in Cleveland basketball history. The Cavaliers drafted generational prospect LeBron James with the No. 1 overall pick of the ensuing draft. James effectively changed the entire course of the league, especially in Cleveland, causing the Gund family — who owned both the Cavaliers and Rockers — to put more focus on their more lucrative investment.
The Cavaliers are now owned by Dan Gilbert, who also is a majority owner of Rocket Mortgage. If the Rockers re-emerge in 2028, there will be another WNBA expansion draft to support their inclusion.
