Why Diana Taurasi backs Boston for WNBA expansion

WNBA veteran Diana Taurasi expressed support for Boston as a potential WNBA expansion market, pointing to the city’s existing basketball culture and interest in the league’s continued growth.

“I would love to see a Boston team. I think Boston, obviously with the Connecticut connection and just the way the East Coast loves basketball, it’s a whole different level of love for the game. And it’d be kind of cool to see that Boston, LA rivalry in the WNBA,” Taurasi said Monday on an episode of Two Goats: A Live Show with Sue Bird & Diana Taurasi | Good Game with Sarah Spain.

Taurasi’s comments come as the WNBA continues to evaluate expansion opportunities, with multiple cities already in line for future teams. While Boston has been linked to WNBA discussions in the past, the league has clarified that it is not currently a priority market compared to other cities that formally participated in the most recent expansion process.

“Relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams,” the WNBA said in a prior statement last August. “As part of our most recent expansion process, in which three new franchises were awarded to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia on June 30, 2025, nine additional cities also applied for WNBA teams and remain under active consideration. No groups from Boston applied for a team at that time and those other cities remain under consideration based on the extensive work they did as part of the expansion process and currently have priority over Boston.”

The WNBA has already begun expanding its footprint, adding the Golden State Valkyries in 2025, with the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo set to join in 2026.

Interest in bringing a team to Boston has included involvement from figures such as Steve Pagliuca and Bill Chisholm of the Boston Celtics, both of whom have engaged with the league about the possibility of securing a franchise. However, without a formal application during the last expansion cycle, Boston remains behind other candidates.

Recent developments have also shifted the landscape. The Connecticut Sun, long rumored as a potential relocation candidate to Boston, are instead set to move to Houston following a sale approved by the league. The franchise will play the 2026 season in Connecticut before relocating in 2027, ending speculation about a move to Massachusetts.

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