WNBA Star Sophie Cunningham Throws Shade at Detroit Expansion

The WNBA is expanding, and a team is coming to Detroit. On Monday, Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores confirmed that he would be a key player in helping with the league’s expansion.

“This is a huge win for Detroit and the WNBA,” Gores said in a statement.

“Today marks the long-hoped-for return of the WNBA to a city with deep basketball roots and a championship tradition. Detroit played a key role in the league’s early growth, and we’re proud to reignite that legacy as the WNBA ascends to new heights. Our plans will bring new energy, investment, and infrastructure to our city and the WNBA, and additional resources to our community.”

The Motor City franchise is expected to begin play in 2029, following the new Cleveland-based franchise, and right before the Philadelphia-based team makes its way in.

There was a lot of excitement for Monday's announcement, as the WNBA continues growing rapidly. While the announcement was mostly celebrated, Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham shared some criticism about two of the three new locations.

Jun 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) during the game between the Dallas Wings and the Indiana Fever at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

“You want to listen your players, where do they want to play?” Cunningham told reporters. “Are they going to get excited to play and draw fans? I think that Miami would’ve been a great one. Everyone loves Florida. Nashville is an amazing city. Kansas City, amazing opportunity where there is a huge arena downtown that no one is using. I think that the women’s soccer league is showing that people draw, you know?

“I’m not so sure what the thought process is there, but at the end of the day, you also want to make sure that you’re not expanding our league too fast. I think that’s also another thing that you don’t want teams to totally dominate, and then have teams that aren’t. I think that it’s kind of a hard situation. But man, I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland].”

Cunningham’s comments have received plenty of pushback, especially considering the Cavaliers and the Pistons have been strong markets, despite being on the smaller side in the NBA.

The City of Detroit’s official X account released a statement, defending the location.

The last time we were home to a WNBA team (Detroit Shock) we ranked top five in attendance for five straight seasons, No. 1 in attendance for three straight seasons and set a single-game attendance record of 22,076 fans at Game 3 of the 2003 WNBA Finals.

Additionally more than… https://t.co/ePZhzQE1f3
— City of Detroit (@CityofDetroit) July 1, 2025

Regardless of Cunningham’s comments, Detroit is set to bring a franchise back to the league for the first time since 2009.

The last time Detroit had a franchise, they were four-time Eastern Conference Champions, and three-time WNBA Champions. The Shock then moved to Tulsa in 2010, before becoming the Dallas Wings in 2016.

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