What could the new WNBA expansion teams be named?
Expansion is finally here, and naming things is really hard
There have been calls for the WNBA to expand for years now (including by myself, back in 2023), as the talent level has exploded and it’s become increasingly difficult for young players to even make it onto a roster.
The league has since begun the expansion process, first expanding from 12 to 13 teams this year with the addition of the Golden State Valkyries, and with the previously announced (and poorly named) Toronto Tempo along with a yet-to-be-named Portland franchise joining the league in 2026.
Yesterday, the league announced they’d be expanding to 18 teams by 2028, with Cleveland and Detroit re-joining the league in 2028 and 2029, respectively, and Philadelphia getting its first-ever team in 2030.
None of these teams have names or logos yet, and it’s hard not to speculate about what they’ll be called. After all, fans are always annoyed by the new team’s branding when it’s not great, even if they eventually get used to it.
So, what might these new expansions teams be named?
When I tried to come up with a list of plausible-sounding names, I thought of a few basic naming conventions, some of which I like more than others:
Teams named after a local animal species (always good. Shout-out to the New Orleans Pelicans)
Teams that pay homage to an old team from the area (fun when done right)
Teams named after a local type of person (examples: New York Knickerbockers, Minnesota Vikings, kind of)
Teams named after a local geographical feature (think Seattle Sounders,
Teams named after something that routinely threatens or ends the lives of locals (so many teams are named the Hurricanes, Earthquakes, or Fire, and it’s always been strange to me)
Teams named after local plants
Teams named for local history (New England Revolution, Philadelphia 76ers, etc)
Names suggested by random people on the internet
Naturally, I’m no local area expert for any of these places, so I had to do a bit of research. I wound up looking at databases of wildlife and plants endemic to these regions (turns out, lots of frogs and snakes with long names live in these areas), and did some research on the cities and states themselves to try to look for inspiration.
I’m not sure I got quite the inspiration that I hoped for, but it is what it is. Anyway, on to the teams, in order of when they’ll be added to the league.
Portland (2026)
Portland has had a few women’s pro teams before and it’s a city that has really showed up to support women’s sports, especially in soccer. Because of Oregon’s scenery and its nature-loving locals, I wanted to lean into nature-themed names a bit here, but I also wanted to show some love to past basketball franchises.
Power
Portland Power is alliterative, and it pays homage to the former American Basketball League team by the same name. I’m not a fan of non-plural team names, and Power is a bit too generic, if I’m being honest.
Also, just look at that list of teams. You can tell the league was created in the 90s even without the handy timeline at the bottom because there are franchises named the Lasers and the fucking Xplosion.
Fire
Portland has actually already had a WNBA team, the Fire, who played from 2000-02, before collapsing due to lack of ownership support. Bringing back the old franchise is an easy solution, but I’ll admit I don’t love the name. It looks like the new team has already filed for the Fire trademark so this is one of the most likely names.
But until they make an official announcement, I am down to keep making shit up.
Pioneers
This one actually borrows a name from an old Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL) team from a different city, as the San Francisco Pioneers existed from 1979-80. I love me some good alliteration but Portland Pilots was already taken by the University of Portland sports teams. Pioneers keeps with the theme established by the NBA’s Trail Blazers, who they’ll share an arena with, without sounding overly similar. But I still feel like they could do better.
Roses
This one may seem a little on the nose, given that the new team will play in The Rose City, which is in the Rose Quarter entertainment district, in a building formerly known as The Rose Garden, but I do like the synergy with the NWSL’s Portland Thorns. Things could get tricky with an Unrivaled team already called the Rose though.
Pride
It’s not plural, but it could work for a city known for being progressive, and it opens up the possibility of some interesting color combinations for jerseys. A lion mascot almost feels too obvious, but why not? There was also a WBL team called the Pride in New Orleans back in the day.
Pikas? Pocket gophers?
Apparently these two animal species are endemic to the area and they’re great, but these just don’t feel like the names of professional teams. The Portland Pocket Gophers would be an incredible minor league baseball name though.
Ospreys
Another local animal, and a pretty damn cool one at that. I’m not sure how the fans would take to it, but I could see an interesting logo design coming from a bird with such a striking image.
Cleveland (2028)
Rockers
The Cleveland Rockers were one of the WNBA’s original eight franchises, playing from the W’s inaugural season in 1997 until they folded in 2003 because of ownership issues. They were pretty good during their short run, winning the Eastern Conference once and finishing with the best record in the east another time. They’re also the only franchise that folded after a playoff season, with the Rockers’ last game coming in a first-round defeat to the eventual champion Detroit Shock.
On its own, the name may feel a little bit dated, but it’s a great fit for the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Keeping the identify of the old franchise feels like a no-brainer, but I’m going to throw a few other half-baked ideas in here anyway.
Hopefully, when they bring back the Rockers, they’ll update the logo and jersey design. I know 90s nostalgia is in right now, but these are 90s in a bad way.
Cardinals
It turns out the cardinal is Ohio’s state bird, which I did not know before I started writing this. There are already tons of sports teams named after the bird, most notably the St. Louis Cardinals of MLB, but it’s hard to resist jerseys that use that shade of red.
Racers
I consulted the Cuyahoga County wildlife list and found out that the black racer snake is the state reptile.
Reign
This is a nod to the first Superman comic, The Reign of The Superman, made before they redesigned him into a hero and changed his powers. The creators, Jerry Siegel, and Joe Shuster, are from Cleveland. Frankly, it’s too similar to Seattle Reign FC, the NWSL team.
Detroit (2029)
Shock
The Detroit Shock played in the WNBA from 1998-2009 and won three championships (2003, 2006, and 2008). They were also ranked first in the league in attendance three seasons in a row. Despite the protestations of league agitator Sophie Cunningham, Detroit has a track record of WNBA success.
Bringing back the Shock would seem like a no-brainer if the team had simply folded, but the team moved to Tulsa, where they played on as the Tulsa Shock for several years. They have been the Dallas Wings since 2016.
Bringing back the Shock would create a bit of a Cleveland Browns scenario and a debate over who owns the Detroit Shock’s stats and history, which currently sit in the Dallas Wings’ record books. Detroit has also already filed for the trademark, so things may get complicated very soon.
Sadly, this one sits firmly in the “better as a minor league baseball team name” category, but I wanted to showcase a local animal here regardless.
Divas
This one feels a little ridiculous, maybe even more so with the alliteration, but I made a bit of a reach (okay, a massive reach) to find some way to tie the team to Motown and Detroit’s rich music history. And I don’t think they’d be allowed to just call the team the Supremes or the Miracles.
Renaissance
This is a nod to the lesser-known nickname Renaissance City and to the Renaissance Center (a.k.a. RenCen) downtown. It’s also a fitting name for a city that’s making a massive comeback and is on the road to thriving again. This name’s actually growing on me the more I think about it.
Spirit
The Spirit of Detroit, a statue downtown, is one of the most famous sights in the city, along with the Joe Louis fist. Locals love to dress it up in local sports teams’ jerseys from time to time.
Philadelphia (2030)
Philly’s by far the biggest city to have never had a WNBA franchise and it’s also a place that has produced tons of WNBA-caliber hoops talent. It was also, oddly, one of the hardest cities for me to come up with names for. (I’m still struggling to link something to the Rocky movie franchise.)
Jawns
People online have been jokingly suggesting this one since expansion into Philly got announced and, while it’s fun to think about, there’s no way they’d name a team after a word that can mean basically anything.
Belles
C’mon, man. No. I get the appeal of a play on the Liberty Bell, but this feels very 1950s to me.
Revolution
Plenty of people online have suggested this one too, but it’s hard for me to forget that MLS has the New England Revolution playing over in Massachusetts. It’s not a bad name, but it feels like they could come up with something a little more creative here.
Rage
The Philadelphia Rage was an American Basketball League team that played from 1996-98, starring none other than Philly’s own Dawn Staley. The league didn’t last, but they were at least a big enough deal for Staley to get drafted in the first round of the 1999 WNBA draft and shouted out in a rap lyric.
Foxes
The Philadelphia Fox was a WBL team from 1979-80 and they played just 12 games, winning two, before folding. The fox is an underused animal in sports (shout-out to Leicester City Football Club) and foxes and Philly share a beginning consonant sound, which is always nice.
When I was researching local animals, I learned that Pennsylvania is home to the hellbender. The league would NEVER allow this, but it’s fun to think about. Plus, how often do North American sports teams have reptilian mascots? It feels like a missed opportunity.
Stallions
This was my best attempt at a Rocky-themed name. It’s a reference to his nickname, The Italian Stallion. The team won’t (and shouldn’t) do this, but I couldn’t help myself. The city built a statue of him after all, and it’s legitimately one of its most famous landmarks.
Soul
This is actually my favorite name for the Philly franchise. I don’t normally like non-plural sports team names (at least not when using North American naming conventions), but this one feels right. It’s an ode to Philly’s stamp on American music history and the Black artists that shaped it. There is the minor hurdle, however, of the old Arena Football League team that played under the same name.
Any other ideas for team names? Feel free to leave them here: