Angel Reese 'Excited' for WNBA Expansion, Still Focused on 'Prioritizing' CBA Talks

The WNBA announced earlier this week that it would be adding expansion franchise to Philadelphia, Cleveland and Detroit by 2030, bringing the league to 18 teams. Count Angel Reese among the fans of that expansion.

"Obviously it's great," Reese told reporters on Wednesday when asked about expansion. "I'm excited. Philly is obviously close to home [Reese is from Maryland], Cleveland they had the Final Four there. And Detroit's also a great city, obviously [the WNBA] had a team there before. So I'm super excited about that, but still focusing and prioritizing on things that we don't have within the teams right now. I think that's really important and continuing that, we have a new CBA coming up, so I know we're doing a great job emphasizing that, putting the pressure on them about that too. But super excited to continue to grow, and more players need to be in this league because this league is great."

Reese, 23, is one of the young faces of the WNBA, averaging 12.4 points, 12.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game for the Chicago Sky (5-11) this season. She's among the next wave of talents emerging around the league, joining the likes of Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers.

With popularity booming, expansion made sense. Philadelphia, Cleveland and Detroit are joining Portland and Toronto—which will enter the league in 2026—as expansion cities. Detroit previously held a WNBA team, the Shock, between 1998–2009 before the franchise moved to Tulsa for five years and later became the Dallas Wings in 2016.