When the WNBA announced its latest expansion plans, ownership groups all across the country wanted to join the league. The high interest in new WNBA teams was a true testament to the rapid rise of women’s basketball. Candace Parker was also involved in the efforts to bring a WNBA team to her preferred destination. In late January 2025, Front Office Sports reported that Parker, Peyton Manning, and Bill and Crissy Haslam were leading a bid for a WNBA team in Nashville, Tennessee: the Tennessee Summitt.
Nashville was not awarded one of the newest expansion franchises. Instead, Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia will join—or re-join in the case of Cleveland and Detroit—the WNBA between 2028 and 2030. Nevertheless, Parker still believes that Tennessee will have a WNBA team eventually.
When she appeared on the December 3 episode of All The Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Parker said, “I think Tennessee deserves a team just in general. I think women’s basketball is on the map because of Tennessee. Tennessee led the country in attendance from 2004 to 2014. I was there from 04 to 08, and I saw the road attendance, the home attendance…I saw what Tennessee basketball from a college level has meant to basketball in general. And so I feel like what’s delayed is not denied. I think it will still happen.”
Candace Parker played her college basketball for the University of Tennessee
After an outstanding high school career in Naperville, Illinois, Candace Parker took her talents to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Playing under legendary coach Pat Summitt, Parker won two NCAA championships and several individual accolades, like two NCAA Tournament MOPs, the 2008 AP Player of the Year and Naismith College Player of the Year awards, the Wade Trophy, and the John R. Wooden Award.
Parker’s time as a Lady Vol prepared Parker for one of the most decorated WNBA careers in the history of the league. She was the first player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season, made seven All-Star teams, was named the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year, led the league in assists, rebounds, and blocks on several occasions, and won three WNBA titles with the Sparks, Sky, and Aces.
The WNBA could expand even further if it continues its rise in popularity
By 2030, the WNBA will consist of 18 teams. The Golden State Valkyries were the first expansion team since the Atlanta Dream joined the league in 2008. Their first season was more successful than anyone could have imagined. The Valkyries sold out every home game and became the first expansion team to make the playoffs in its first season.
If the next group of expansion teams can replicate even a sliver of the Valkyries’ success on and off the court and the league continues to be a fan magnet, there could be more expansion in the next decade. Houston and Boston are two places the WNBA is certainly eying for expansion teams, but Tennessee could also be in the mix once again.