WAVE ONE
Eight teams became sixteen in four seasons.
The WNBA launched in 1997 with eight charter teams. Then it expanded aggressively: Detroit and Washington in 1998, Minnesota and Orlando in 1999, and Indiana, Miami, Portland and Seattle in 2000.
The Original Eight
Charlotte Sting, Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury, Sacramento Monarchs and Utah Starzz.
Detroit + Washington
The Shock and Mystics pushed the league to ten teams.
Minnesota + Orlando
The Lynx and Miracle continued the early expansion sprint.
Four more cities
Indiana, Miami, Portland and Seattle brought the league to 16 teams.
WAVE TWO + THE LONG PAUSE
Growth slowed, but it did not stop.
Chicago Sky
Chicago joined as a new expansion franchise and became one of the league's early independently operated teams.
Atlanta Dream
Atlanta joined for the 2008 season. The league would not add another expansion franchise for 17 years.
Expansion pause
The map still changed through relocations and franchise transitions, but no brand-new expansion team entered after Atlanta until Golden State.
THE MODERN BOOM
The drought ended — then the floodgates opened.
Golden State Valkyries
The Valkyries became the first new WNBA expansion franchise since Atlanta in 2008.
Toronto Tempo + Portland Fire
Toronto became the league's first team outside the United States, while Portland returned to the WNBA map with a revived Fire identity.
Cleveland → Detroit → Philadelphia
The league's next approved wave takes the W to 18 teams, one new franchise per season across 2028, 2029 and 2030.