by Cedric ‘BIG CED’ Thornton
July 1, 2025
The team will start league play in 2029.
The Detroit collective featuring Chris Webber and Grant Hill looking to land a WNBA franchise has done just that, making the the two NBA Hall of Famers minority owners.
The WNBA announced Monday, June 30, that it will add three new franchises: Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia.
Hill, who starred for the Detroit Pistons in the 1990s, and Webber, who was part of the fabled “Fab Five” at the University of Michigan, will share ownership duties with the principal owner and chair of the Detroit Lions, Sheila Ford Hamp and her husband, Steve, chairman of the Michigan Education Excellence Foundation and New Economy Initiative; CEO and chair of the General Motors Company, Mary Barra and her husband, Tony; Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff and his wife, Christen; Arn and Nancy Tellem, and Tom Gores, the owner of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons.
🚨HISTORIC MOMENT ALERT🚨
The W is leveling UP — three new teams, three new cities, one unstoppable future. ⭐
Say hello to our newest expansion teams:
🟣 @clevelandwnba – coming 2028
🔵 @DetroitWNBA – coming 2029
🔴 @philawnba – coming 2030New energy. New legacies. New era.… pic.twitter.com/6ZXaHPxkEw
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 30, 2025
Detroit was home to the WNBA’s Detroit Shock from 1998 to 2009. The team won three championships before relocating to Tulsa. It now plays in Arlington, Texas, as the Dallas Wings.
“This is a huge win for Detroit and the WNBA,” Gores said in a written statement. “Today marks the long-hoped-for return of the WNBA to a city with deep basketball roots and a championship tradition. Detroit played a key role in the league’s early growth, and we’re proud to reignite that legacy as the WNBA ascends to new heights. Our plans will bring new energy, investment, and infrastructure to our city and the WNBA, and additional resources to our community.”
Gores will be the controlling owner of the not-yet-named team. The team is slated to start league play in 2029.
The BIG3 league announced earlier this year that Detroit had been awarded a franchise. The Amplifiers, coached by NBA Hall of Famer George “Iceman” Gervin, made their debut June 14 at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, against the Chicago Triplets. The team’s home opener is Sunday, July 20, at Little Caesars Arena.
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