The league has grown from eight teams in 1997 to 15 in 2026, and it is due to reach 18 by 2030. We rebuilt the first season of every team that joined along the way from the league's own game-by-game results, then followed each franchise to its first playoff trip, first WNBA Finals and first title. Schedules grew from 30 games in 1998 to 44 in 2025 and 2026, so the comparisons use winning percentage.
WNBA expansion teams' first season records, ranked
| Team | Season | Record | Pct | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Shock | 1998 | 17-13 | .567 | 4th of 5, East | No, 1 game out |
| Golden State Valkyries | 2025 | 23-21 | .523 | 5th of 7, West | Lost 1st round 0-2 |
| Minnesota Lynx | 1999 | 15-17 | .469 | 4th of 6, West | No, 4 games out |
| Orlando Miracle | 1999 | 15-17 | .469 | 4th of 6, East | No, lost tiebreaker |
| Miami Sol | 2000 | 13-19 | .406 | 6th of 8, East | No, 1 game out |
| Portland Fire | 2026 | 17-27 | .386 | 5th of 8, West | No, 9 games out |
| Portland Fire | 2000 | 10-22 | .313 | 7th of 8, West | No, 10 games out |
| Indiana Fever | 2000 | 9-23 | .281 | 7th of 8, East | No, 5 games out |
| Toronto Tempo | 2026 | 11-33 | .250 | 6th of 7, East | No, 15 games out |
| Seattle Storm | 2000 | 6-26 | .188 | 8th of 8, West | No, 14 games out |
| Chicago Sky | 2006 | 5-29 | .147 | 7th of 7, East | No, 13 games out |
| Atlanta Dream | 2008 | 4-30 | .118 | 7th of 7, East | No, 13 games out |
| Washington Mystics | 1998 | 3-27 | .100 | 5th of 5, East | No, 15 games out |
Only two of the 13 finished above .500. The Detroit Shock's 17-13 in 1998 is still the best first season by winning percentage, and it was not enough: that year only the top two teams in each conference made the playoffs, and the Shock finished fourth in the East, a game behind the Charlotte Sting and the New York Liberty, both 18-12.
Golden State's 23-21 in 2025 earned the No. 8 seed, the last place in a playoff field that takes the league's eight best records, and the Valkyries became the first expansion team to reach the postseason in their first year. The Minnesota Lynx swept them 2-0 in the first round.
Two more came within a game. The Orlando Miracle went 15-17 in 1999, the same record as Charlotte and the Shock, who took the last two of the East's three playoff places on tiebreakers. The Miami Sol finished 13-19 in 2000, one game behind the Washington Mystics for the fourth and last spot.
The worst first seasons by WNBA expansion teams
Four expansion teams finished their first season with the worst record in the league: Washington (3-27) in 1998, the Seattle Storm (6-26) in 2000, the Chicago Sky (5-29) in 2006 and the Atlanta Dream (4-30) in 2008. The Mystics' .100 is the lowest winning percentage of the 13. The Dream lost their first 17 games, the longest losing streak any of them had in year one, and the Sky lost 13 in a row.
None of the last three expansion teams finished at the bottom. Golden State was over .500, and in 2026 both newcomers finished ahead of the Seattle Storm, who went 8-36.
How long WNBA expansion teams take to make the playoffs
The wait after year one is rarely long. Of the 11 expansion teams that have played more than one season, 10 have made the playoffs, eight of them by their third season. Detroit, Orlando, Miami and Atlanta all did it in their second year; Washington, the Indiana Fever and Seattle in their third.
| Team | Seasons | First playoffs | First Finals | First title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Shock (now Dallas Wings) | 29 | 2nd (1999) | 6th (2003) | 6th (2003) |
| Washington Mystics | 29 | 3rd (2000) | 21st (2018) | 22nd (2019) |
| Minnesota Lynx | 28 | 5th (2003) | 13th (2011) | 13th (2011) |
| Orlando Miracle (now Connecticut Sun) | 28 | 2nd (2000) | 6th (2004) | Not yet |
| Indiana Fever | 27 | 3rd (2002) | 10th (2009) | 13th (2012) |
| Miami Sol | 3 | 2nd (2001) | Never | Never |
| Portland Fire (2000-02) | 3 | Never | Never | Never |
| Seattle Storm | 27 | 3rd (2002) | 5th (2004) | 5th (2004) |
| Chicago Sky | 21 | 8th (2013) | 9th (2014) | 16th (2021) |
| Atlanta Dream | 19 | 2nd (2009) | 3rd (2010) | Not yet |
| Golden State Valkyries | 2 | 1st (2025) | Not yet | Not yet |
| Portland Fire (2026) | 1 | Not yet | Not yet | Not yet |
| Toronto Tempo | 1 | Not yet | Not yet | Not yet |
The exceptions took longer or never got there. Minnesota needed five seasons and Chicago eight. The first Portland Fire played three seasons, from 2000 to 2002, without a playoff trip, and neither the Fire nor the Miami Sol played again after 2002.
How long it takes an expansion team to win a WNBA title
Six of the 13 have won a championship, and none did it quickly. Counting in franchise years, the Seattle Storm were the fastest, winning in their fifth season, 2004; the Detroit Shock needed six, winning in 2003. Minnesota and Indiana each took 13 seasons, Chicago 16 and Washington 22.
The Atlanta Dream reached the Finals sooner than anyone, in their third season, 2010, and went back in 2011 and 2013, but lost all three. The franchise that began as the Orlando Miracle and became the Connecticut Sun has played in four Finals in 28 seasons, in 2004, 2005, 2019 and 2022, and lost all four.
Half the league's titles since 1998 have gone to expansion clubs: 14 of 28, led by Seattle and Minnesota with four each. Six of this year's eight playoff teams also began as expansion teams, counting the Dallas Wings, who started out as the Detroit Shock.
Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire: the 2026 expansion teams' records
The Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire made 2026 the first season since 2000 in which more than one expansion team began play, and both finished below .500. Portland went 17-27, fifth of eight in the West and ninth in the league, the first team out of the playoffs, nine games behind the New York Liberty (26-18) for the last place. The Fire started 6-4 in May, went 11-23 the rest of the way and were outscored by 4.8 points a game.
Toronto finished 11-33, tied with the Connecticut Sun for the second-worst record in the league and 15 games out of a playoff place. The Tempo were 5-4 at the end of May and then won 6 of their last 35 games, a run that included a 12-game losing streak, and they were outscored by 8.7 points a game.
Against the other expansion teams, Portland's .386 ranks sixth of the 13 first seasons and Toronto's .250 ranks ninth. Every 2026 result is on the 2026 WNBA schedule, month by month with final scores, and the Vertize WNBA hub links the rest of our coverage.
Golden State Valkyries: the best second season by an expansion team
The Valkyries followed their playoff debut with a 32-12 record, the best second season any expansion team has had. Their .727 beat the Miami Sol's 20-12 of 2001 (.625), and it earned the No. 2 seed, one game behind Minnesota (33-11). The biggest jump from year one to year two still belongs to Atlanta, which went from 4-30 in 2008 to 18-16 and the playoffs in 2009.
Golden State opened its first-round series against the Dallas Wings with a 104-80 win on September 27. No expansion team has reached the Finals before its third season or won the title before its fifth, so a Valkyries run to the Finals this fall would beat Atlanta's mark, and a title would beat Seattle's by three seasons. Their season can be followed night by night in the WNBA season simulator, where every 2026 game is now locked with its final score.
Next WNBA expansion teams: Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia
Three more teams are on the way. The league announced in June 2025 that Cleveland would begin play in 2028, Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030, taking it to 18 teams, and the WNBA and NBA Boards of Governors approved the three franchises in April 2026. The Cleveland team already appears in the league's team directory as the Cleveland Sirens.
- 2028, Cleveland Sirens: Cleveland had one of the league's original eight teams, the Rockers, who played from 1997 to 2003.
- 2029, Detroit: the city's first team, the Shock, joined in 1998, won titles in 2003, 2006 and 2008, and moved to Tulsa in 2010 and to Dallas, as the Wings, in 2016.
- 2030, Philadelphia: the 18th team, and the first in the city.
They will also play a longer schedule: the regular season grows from 44 games to 50 in 2027. If the pattern holds, the first year will be the hard one: 11 of the 13 expansion teams finished below .500 in year one, and eight of the 11 that played more than one season were in the playoffs by their third. For what each WNBA page on Vertize does, see our guide to the WNBA schedule and simulator.
WNBA expansion teams: frequently asked questions
What is the best first season by a WNBA expansion team? By winning percentage, the 1998 Detroit Shock at 17-13 (.567). The 2025 Golden State Valkyries, at 23-21, are the only expansion team to make the playoffs in their first season.
What is the worst first season by a WNBA expansion team? The 1998 Washington Mystics, who went 3-27 (.100). The 2008 Atlanta Dream went 4-30 after losing their first 17 games.
How did the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire do in their first season? Portland went 17-27 and finished ninth of 15, one place out of the playoffs. Toronto went 11-33 and finished 13th.
How long does it take a WNBA expansion team to win a championship? Of the six that have won, the Seattle Storm were the fastest, in their fifth season (2004). The others took 6, 13, 13, 16 and 22 seasons.
Which teams are the next WNBA expansion teams? Cleveland in 2028, Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030, which will take the league to 18 teams.
How this was built: every regular-season and playoff game from 1997 to September 27, 2026, from the league's stats site, stats.wnba.com. Records are counted game by game and match the official standings for every team and season; three results missing from the league's game logs, none from an expansion team's first season, come from the standings. First seasons were checked against Wikipedia's season pages and the champions against its list of WNBA Finals. Relocated franchises keep their history. The 2026 Portland Fire, the league's 15th franchise, is counted apart from the 2000-02 Fire, although stats.wnba.com files both under one team ID.