Sabrina Ionescu Has High Hopes for WNBA Expansion Franchise in Portland

Ionescu knows the Portland fanbase is ready for their WNBA team.

New York Liberty guard Ionescu talks to media before the Oregon vs. Baylor game at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene. / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sabrina Ionescu is ready for the WNBA to be back in Oregon.

In 2026, the league makes its return to Portland as the city was awarded an expansion team as the WNBA's 15th franchise. The Golden State Valkyries begin play in 2025 as the 13th team. The Toronto Tempo will join the party alongside the currently unnamed Portland franchise in 2026.

Ionescu, the Oregon Ducks alum and WNBA champion last season as one of the New York Liberty's stars, shared her excitement surrounding the league's rapid expansion, which includes multiple new teams close to home. She's a Walnut Creek, Calif. native, which is located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area where the Valkyries will now call home.

The University of Oregon, where Ionescu starred for four years, is about a two-hour drive south from Portland, the WNBA's newest city. She got to know the Oregon fanbase extremely well during her time with the Ducks before the Liberty made her the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft. Now, she's overjoyed to see those same fans get their own team after their previous WNBA franchise, the Portland Fire, dissolved in 2002.

"I'm so excited knowing what that fanbase has kind of, you know, how much they enjoy and love women's basketball," Ionescu said about the incoming Portland franchise in an interview with Front Office Sports. "Just from my time back in Eugene and knowing that they're going to show that team a lot of love and support and continue to push the WNBA forward. I'm very excited for both [Portland and Golden State] to come into this space and create new fans. I think that's the most important part."

The WNBA is making its return to Portland in 2026.@sabrina_i20—who spent 4 seasons with the Ducks—says she is looking forward to seeing how the city continues to push the W forward. pic.twitter.com/dcOGcDmLIi

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) February 11, 2025

Whether Ionescu's WNBA career will eventually lead her back out West, well, we'll have to wait and find out.

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