How many teams are in the WNBA?

By Swikriti Kandel / 16 June 2023 02:34 AM

The League Is The Women Counterpart Of National Basketball Association(NBA) — Source : facebook

How many teams are in the WNBA? There are 12 teams in the WNBA. New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces, L.A. Sparks, and Phoenix Mercury first joined the league.

Dallas Wings and Washington Mystics became a part in 1998. Other remaining teams of the Women's National Basketball Association are as follows:

Chicago Sky
Atlanta Dream
Indiana Fever
Connecticut Sun
Minnesota Lynx
Seattle Storm

The league began its play in 1997 with eight original teams. Among them, Charlotte Sting, Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets, Sacramento Monarchs, and Utah Starrz are dysfunctional.

In 1998, Detroit Sun(now Wings) and Mystics were added. Orlando Miracle(now Sun) and Lynx became an expansion team of the franchise in 1999. The team count in the league reached 12.

Four new teams: Fever, Storm, Miami Sol, and Portland Fire were added in 2000. The total number of teams reached 16 but Sol and Fire did not last long as a franchise.

Chicago Sky became affiliated with the league in 2006. Two years later, Atlanta Dream joined the alliance. Since then, no team has been added to the women's tournament.

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Number Of WNBA Teams

Number of WNBA teams in 2023 is 12. The league began with 8 clubs and reached 16 maximum clubs at one point in time.

The league is currently eyeing to award expansion to one or two teams until the year 2024. The commissioner of the league Cathy Engelbert has marked 10 to 12 cities for the procedure.

As per The Athletic, six of them are top prospects and they are:

Nashville
Oakland
Philadelphia
Portland
San Francisco
Toronto

WNBA Teams List Alphabetical

The list of WNBA teams in alphabetical order is as follows:

Atlanta Dream
Chicago Sky
Connecticut Sun
Dallas Wings
Indiana Fever
Las Vegas Aces
Los Angeles Sparks
Minnesota Lynx
New York Liberty
Phoenix Mercy
Seattle Storm
Washington Mystics

WNBA Teams Map

WNBA teams map joins Connecticut in the East to San Franciso in the West. It is expanded to over 3,000 miles in the United States.

Seattle Storm lies in the Northwest and Atlanta Dream resides in the Southeast corner. 8 out of 12 teams are in the Eastern part of the USA whilst others lie in the West.

Wings Arike Ogunbowale Was Named The 5th Fastest Player To Reach 2500 Points Mark — Source : instagram

The locations of each women's national basketball associations team along with their arena are as follows:

Altanta Dream: 2330 Convention Center Concourse, College Park, Georgia (Gateway Center Arena)
Chicago Sky: 200 E Cermak Rd, Chicago, Illinois (Wintrust Arena)
Connecticut Sun: 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd, Uncasville, Connecticut (Mohegan Sun Arena)
Indiana Fever: 125 S Pennsylvania St, Indianapolis, Indiana (Gainbridge Fieldhouse)
New York Liberty: 620 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, New York (Barclays Center)
Washington Mystics: 1100 Oak Dr SE Washington, D.C. (Entertainment and Sports Arena)
Dallas Wings: 600 S Center St, Arlington, Texas (College Park Center)
Las Vegas Aces: Mandalay Bay, 3950 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, Nevada (Michelob Ultra Arena)
Los Angeles Sparks: 1111 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, California (Crypto.com Arena)
Minnesota Lynx: 600 N 1st Ave, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Target Center)
Phoenix Mercury: 201 E Jefferson St, Phoenix, Arizona (Footprint Center)
Seattle Storm: 334 1st Ave N, Seattle, Washington (Climate Pledge Arena)

Do WNBA Teams Make Money?

Yes, WNBA teams make money from broadcasting rights, corporate sponsorships, merchandise, ticket sales, and food and beverage sales.

However, the league generates comparatively less sum as compared to the NBA. After 13 years of operation, WNBA witnessed its first positive cash flow in 2010.

Three of the teams brought profit to the league in 2011 and six in 2013. With the progressive monetary growth, the league got sponsorship from Boost Mobile.

Some current sponsors of the league are as follows:

AT&T
CarMax
Deloitte
Google
Nike
U.S Bank

The league brought a revenue of roughly $102 million in 2019 as reported by Bloomberg. In 2023, it is projected to bring a sum between $180 million to $200 million.

Despite that, the players can not access revenue sharing until the league makes 20% growth every year. The minimum salary of the athletes is $62,300 and the maximum is $234,900.

How Much Are WNBA Teams Worth?

WNBA teams are worth more than $43.75 million on average. The league itself reached a valuation of $1 billion in 2022 as per Seattle Times.

As of now, Seattle Storm has the highest valuation considering other franchises of the Women's National Basketball Association. The amount is 15 times greater than the former sale price of the clubs.

Previously, the clubs of the association were sold between $2 million and $10 million. Mark Davis purchased the Aces back in 2021 for a little more than $2 million.

With the gradual progress of women in athletics, the net worth of the teams is increasing. The league will witness massive economic growth in the upcoming decade.

What Is The Best WNBA Team?

The best WNBA team is Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm. Houston Comets was one of the promising teams that operated from 1997 to 2008.

All three of the teams have four championship titles each. Despite such extraordinary performance, Comets suspended their operations in 2009 due to the lack of investors.

Minnesota Lynx

Minnesota Lynx was founded in 1999 under the ownership of Glen Taylor. Cheryl Reeve is the current head coach whilst Clare Duwelius is the general manager.

The team secured their first championship title in 2011. They were named champions in 2013, 2015, and 2017 as well. They have been qualified for 13 playoff seasons in their 24 years of career.

Lynx ended their 2022 season as 5th in the Western Conference with 14 wins and 22 losses. As a result, they did not get a chance to compete in the WNBA playoff.

Seattle Storm

Established in 2000, Seattle Storm is owned by Force 10 Hoops LLC. Their head coach is Noelle Quinn and their general manager is Talisa Rhea.

Jewell Lloyd of Storm Holding Basketball On 11 June 2023 — Source : instagram

The team has reached the postseason 18 times in 23 years. They secured the WNBA Finals title in 2004, 2010, 2018, and 2020.

Storm held the second position in the Western Conference during the 2022 season. They reached the playoffs but lost to the Vegas Aces in the semifinals.

WNBA Teams In California

WNBA teams in California are Los Angeles Sparks and Sacramento Monarchs. Monarchs dissolved in 2009 after the owners refused to operate it.

Sacramento was one of the original six teams owned by the Maloof family. During the first two seasons of the play, they landed 3rd and 4th in the Western Conference.

In 1999, the team reached their first WNBA playoff. However, they lost to the Sparks during the Conference semifinals. They finally earned the postseason title in 2005.

When the owner decided not to operate the team, the league tried to relocate it. After an unsuccessful attempt, a dispersal draft was held for the athletes.

Los Angeles Sparks

Los Angeles Sparks was set up in 1997 by businessman Jerry Buss. They played their first game against New York Liberty on 21 June 1997.

Sparks LA Sports LLC is the current owner of the team. Curt Miller is serving as the head coach and Karen Byrant is the general manager.

The team did not qualify for the playoff in the first two seasons. They secured their WNBA Finals title in 2001, second in 2002, and third in 2016.

Sparks finished their 2022 season by placing 6th in the Western Conference. Their game performance has significantly decreased since 2021.

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