At the WNBA All-Star Game, expansion is on the table — and Philadelphia is in the race

CHICAGO — You don’t have to convince WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert that Philadelphia should get an expansion team in her league, at least in theory.

In practice, it’s a different story — even for a Collingswood native who played for Muffet McGraw at Lehigh, and whose father Kurt played for St. Joseph’s in the first Big 5 game ever in 1955.

There’s a lot of competition to join the 12-team league. But at a news conference before Sunday’s WNBA All-Star Game tipped off, Engelbert made it clear that Philadelphia is very much in the race.

The WNBA keeps a list of some 100 cities, she said, and has analyzed their population demographics, fan bases, support for women’s college basketball, and other subjects.

Then, Engelbert said, there are “probably 15 where we think we’ve narrowed the list down to, and Philly’s on that list.”

That’s the good news. It was also the only news when it comes to Philadelphia’s hopes, as Engelbert said nothing about whether she’d met with any potential ownership groups for a Philly team. She only said the league is meeting with “interested ownership groups” in general.

“Lots of cities [are] interested, so that’s the good news,” Engelbert said. “Now we have to find the right ownership groups with the right commitment and financial wherewithal to really be committed to standing up a WNBA team in their city.”

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The current plan, Engelbert said, is “a couple of teams by no later than ‘25. I’d love it in ‘24, but probably looking out to that kind of timeline.”

She mentioned at one point that the WNBA “definitely see[s] the potential in Philly for a market — we have to evaluate whether it is a good market for women’s basketball.”

That should be easy enough for Engelbert personally. But if anyone else at the league office needs advice, they could have found it a few steps from Engelbert’s seat. Dawn Staley was courtside with fellow WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes, drawing a swarm of fans all day.

The two legends signed plenty of autographs, bantered with players after big baskets, and posed for a picture with retiring legend Sue Bird after the final buzzer of Bird’s last All-Star Game.

“I think Philly’s ready,” Staley told The Inquirer. “But if Philly’s going to be ready, they’ve got to go blitz it. And you’ve got to have some sustainability. You’ve got to plan for when the novelty wears off, where you go from there, and you’ve got to keep pumping it.”

In terms of the fan base, Staley believes the city is definitely ready.

“We’ve got the stamina to do it,” she said. “We’re a sports town, we love winners, we love hard workers and we’re loyal.”

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Across the floor, Temple women’s coach Diane Richardson had a prime seat too, behind one of the team benches. The jumbotron cameras caught her and her Temple T-shirt at one point.

“I would love to have a franchise in Philly,” Richardson said. “I think there is enough interest in the city to bring a team there, and we definitely would support it.”

She said she hopes drumming up a conversation will get the attention of potential team owners. And she vouched for Temple’s arena as a potential host venue.

“The Liacouras Center would be ready for them, I believe so for sure,” Richardson said.

At one point, Engelbert was asked if the league would take its All-Star festivities to a city that doesn’t have a team yet. This was intertwined with a question that took expansion beyond the basketball realm: does it factor in expansion discussions if a city or state has banned abortion?

“We certainly will continue to advocate for women’s rights, reproductive rights, choice, and all of that,” she answered. “And we’ll evaluate those kinds of things when we’re looking at cities.”

She also echoed an argument that U.S. women’s soccer players have made often over the years: that it’s a statement for them to go a place that might not be so welcoming, and show off their skills and talents as what women can be.

“WNBA players have such a strong platform,” Engelbert said, “that could they effect change and don’t just run away from a state, but also help effect change in a state where we might be playing?”

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It remains to be seen when or how that question will be answered. For now, Engelbert said, the league is more likely to take preseason games out of its markets than an All-Star Game.

“We want to have our cities, our [team] owners who are supporting the ‘W’ benefit from bringing fandom in for an All-Star weekend,” she said.

But she is open to the idea of taking the big event somewhere new.

“That’s certainly something that we’d consider, and do consider,” she said. “I think in the future, I’d love to think about that and test some cities out for WNBA fandom.”

Word of this was passed along to Kahleah Copper, the North Philly-born star who was an All-Star reserve on Sunday in the arena she calls home with the Chicago Sky.

“Philly? You said Philly?” Copper said, knowing that it had not been said, but she gladly made the point.

“Philly sounds like a good place,” she continued, sporting a big grin. “I would definitely like to see my city do something. I think it would be a great place for women’s basketball to really start [a team], but also for All-Star [events] — it’s a good city, great food, great people.”

A’ja Wilson’s squad topped Breanna Stewart’s squad, 134-112, in a game that featured a 20-second shot clock and some four-point shot spots.

The Sky’s hometown star Candace Parker, Connecticut’s reigning league MVP Jonquel Jones, and New York’s Sabrina Ionescu were among the players who hit four-pointers. Minnesota’s Sylvia Fowles also electrified the crowd with a slam dunk in her final All-Star Game before retiring.

Las Vegas’ Kelsey Plum won MVP honors for scoring 30 points, tying a WNBA All-Star Game record, for Team Wilson. Jones led Team Stewart with 29 points and 30 rebounds, and Copper had 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists.

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