With the Mile High City still soaking in the glory of the Denver Nugget’s first NBA championship, now’s the time to talk about another pro team calling the city home.
Denver is among the cities that will be front and center in the next round of expansion (from 12 to 14 teams) in the WNBA, along with Philadelphia, the California Bay Area and Toronto.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert told The Athletic she hopes to identify one or two cities for an expansion franchise by the start of the WNBA playoffs in September or by year’s end at the latest. Those new teams could begin to play as early as the 2024 season, she said.
BetColorado.com took a break from covering sports betting in Colorado and developed hypothetical odds of where the next WNBA franchises could be placed.
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WNBA Expansion Odds
| City/Metro | Pct. Chance | Odds |
| San Francisco | 63.6% | -175 |
| Philadelphia | 33.3% | +200 |
| Toronto | 33.3% | +200 |
| Nashville | 25% | +300 |
| Denver | 15.4% | +550 |
| Portland | 12.5% | +700 |
| Others | 16.7% | +500 |
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Denver Among Leading Expansion Contenders
While Denver has hosted a myriad of professional sports teams over the years, from professional football to pro lacrosse, the WNBA and soccer’s NWSL have both stayed clear of Denver so far.
The last women’s team to call the city home was the American Basketball League’s Denver Xplosion in 1996, though that league eventually folded and gave way to the modern day WNBA.
We have Denver at +550, ranking fifth among potential WNBA expansion markets, behind the Bay Area (-175), Philadelphia and Toronto (+200 apiece) and Nashville (+300).
The WNBA’s two current super teams — Las Vegas and New York — lead the league standings. Caesars Colorado has Vegas as a commanding championship favorite (-360). New York is second at +275, while Dallas is a distant third at +1800.
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