Portland To Get WNBA Sister Team for Trail Blazers: Report

As the women's league expands, Portland is apparently joining the fun.

Nov 3, 2023; Portland, Oregon, USA; The Portland Trail Blazers logo at center court before the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports / Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

As the women's league expands, Portland is apparently joining the fun.

Per the very-connected Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report, Portland is slated to add an expansion WNBA squad in time for the 2026 season. The league currently has 12 teams, but is already adding a 13th club in San Francisco, the Golden State Valkyries (governed by Warriors owner Joe Lacob), in 2025. Another NBA market, Toronto, will also be adding a WNBA franchise in 2026. Both previously announced expansion teams cost their owners at least $50 million.

"An official announcement from the Bhathals and the WNBA is expected on Sept. 10, sources say, with the team’s name and logo to be unveiled at a later date," Highkin writes. "It is unknown at this point whether they plan to revive Portland’s previous short-lived WNBA franchise, the Fire, which folded in 2002, or go with a different name."

Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen oversaw the Fire during its brief three-season tenure, from 2000-2002. Money troubles led to the club's folding in 2002, despite the efforts of ex-Blazers Hall of Fame swingman Clyde Drexler and Portland-based businessman Terry Emmert to procure the franchise. Across its three seasons of existence, the Fire went a cumulative 37-59 and missed the playoffs every season.

Portland will mark the league's 15th franchise. A group with a minority ownership stake in the Sacramento Kings, the Bhathal family (led by siblings Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal), have been reported to be this new expansion club's owners, per Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico. The Bhathals have agreed to procure National Women's Soccer League club the Portland Thorns to the tune of $63 million.

According to Badenhausen, the WNBA itself would not officially confirm or deny the presence of an impending Portland club.

“The WNBA remains in active discussions with potential ownership groups across various markets, and the approval of any new expansion teams will be subject to a board vote,” a league spokesperson declared.

As far as the current league goes, the New York Liberty — led by current reigning MVP power forward Breanna Stewart and All-Star shooting guard Sabrina Ionescu, as well as future Hall of Famer Courtney Vandersloot — are the current overall No. 1 seed with a 27-6 record. The league's No. 2 seed, the Connecticut Sun, are 23-8.

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