WNBA Players’ Favorite Expansion City Unfortunately Left Without a Team

The WNBA is expanding, but not exactly in the direction many of its players were hoping for.

In a recent player survey conducted around the time of the league’s expansion announcement, one city stood out clearly as the top choice among players for a new franchise: Miami. It wasn’t even close. 

Miami received 37 percent of the vote, far outpacing any other potential destination. Yet, when the WNBA revealed that Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia would be awarded expansion teams, Miami was nowhere on the list.

Players were candid about their preference for the Magic City, citing everything from climate and culture to geography and fan potential. 

“It would be so nice to travel [to Miami] in the summer,” one player said.

Another called it a “tropical destination.” Others emphasized how Miami would fill a major gap in the league’s southeastern footprint.

As one player put it, “Atlanta is in an eight-state radius of the next WNBA team. So somewhere else in the Southeast or that area. A Nashville, Miami or South Carolina. We need more basketball around there.”