Detroit wants to follow the same path as San Francisco, with its Golden State Valkyries in 2025 and Toronto, which has just obtained a WNBA franchise, which should join the league in 2026. The league had announced an expansion of four teams from here 2028, and so there are only two places left.
Several cities are candidates to recover these two places. Denver has been like this for a long time, but there is also Philadelphia and Nashville. But like the owner of the Rockets, who had expressed the wish to revive the Houston Comets, Detroit would like to bring its former WNBA franchise back to town. On the other hand, the team will not be able to be called Shock since the brand was bought by another league, the WBL.
“The Detroit Shock enjoyed success and won championships during their run in the 2000s and we celebrated the anniversary of their 2003 title at a Pistons game last year,” discusses Pistons communications director Kevin Grigg. “While nothing is imminent, the prospects of bringing a WNBA team back to Detroit are intriguing and we are interested if they open another round of expansion.” We will continue to engage in conversations with the WNBA moving forward. “
A team that ruled the league
The Detroit Shock was already part of the very first expansion, arriving in the league in 1998 with Washington. Subsequently, the franchise had great success with Bill Laimbeer as coach and winning the championship in 2003, 2006 and 2008. It is one of six franchises to have won at least three titles with the Comets , the Sparks, the Lynx, the Mercury and the Storm.
In financial difficulty, the franchise was sold to become the Tulsa Shock. Subsequently, Tulsa also sold the franchise, which is today the Dallas Wings. But a return of a franchise to Detroit appeals to the Pelicans' vice-president of basketball operations, and former champion in 2003 and 2006 with the Shock, Swin Cash.
“I think this town would love it”she says. “It would be nice to see a team come back here to Detroit…The fans not only loved the Shock, the Shock loved the fans. There are so many similarities between women's basketball, men's basketball, the Shock, the Pistons. So, I would love to see a WNBA team there. »
