Women's National Basketball Association

The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a professional basketball league in the United States. It is currently composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association (NBA), and league play started in 1997. The regular season is played from May to September, with the All-Star game being played midway through the season in July (except in Olympic years) and the WNBA Finals at the end of September until the beginning of October.

Five WNBA teams have direct NBA counterparts and normally play in the same arena: the Indiana Fever, Los Angeles Sparks, Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty, and Phoenix Mercury.

Teams

The WNBA originated with 8 teams in 1997 and through a sequence of expansions, contractions, and relocations currently consists of 12 teams. There have been a total of 18 franchises in WNBA history. As of the league's 2021 season, the Las Vegas Aces, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty, and Phoenix Mercury are the only remaining charter franchises.

Arenas listed below reflect those intended for use in the league's next season in 2022. These may be subject to change due to COVID-19.

Division	Team	Location	Arena	Founded	First Season
Eastern Conference
Atlantic	Boston Celtics	Boston, Massachusetts	TD Garden	June 6, 1946	1946-47
	Brooklyn Nets	New York City, New York	Barclays Center	February 2, 1967	1967-68
	New York Knicks	New York City, New York	Madison Square Garden	June 6, 1946	1946-47
	Philadelphia 76ers	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Wells Fargo Center	1946*	1949
	Toronto Raptors	Toronto, Ontario	Scotiabank Arena	November 4, 1993	1995-96
Central	Chicago Bulls	Chicago, Illinois	United Center	January 16, 1966	1966-67
	Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland, Ohio	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse	February 6, 1970	1970-71
	Detroit Pistons	Detroit, Michigan	Little Caesars Arena	1941*	1948
	Indiana Pacers	Indianapolis, Indiana	Bankers Life Fieldhouse	February 2, 1967	1967-68
	Milwaukee Bucks	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Fiserv Forum	January 22, 1968	1968-69
Southeast	Atlanta Hawks	Atlanta, Georgia	State Farm Arena	April 24, 1946	1946-47
	Charlotte Hornets	Charlotte, North Carolina	Spectrum Center	April 22, 1987	1988-89
	Miami Heat	Miami, Florida	American Airlines Arena	April 22, 1987	1988-89
	Orlando Magic	Orlando, Florida	Amway Center	April 22, 1987	1989-90
	Washington Wizards	Washington, D.C.	Capital One Arena	1961*
Western Conference
Northwest	Denver Nuggets	Denver, Colorado	Pepsi Center	April 1, 1967	1967-68 (ABA) / 1976-77 (NBA)
	Minnesota Timberwolves	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Target Center	April 22, 1987	1989-90
	Oklahoma City Thunder	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Chesapeake Energy Arena	December 20, 1966	1967-68
	Portland Trail Blazers	Portland, Oregon	Moda Center	February 6, 1970	1970-71
	Utah Jazz	Salt Lake City, Utah	Vivint Smart Home Arena	June 7, 1974	1974-75
Pacific	Golden State Warriors	San Francisco, California	Chase Center	June 6, 1946	1946-47
	Los Angeles Clippers	Los Angeles, California	Staples Center	February 6, 1970	1970-71
	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles, California	Staples Center	1947*	1948
	Phoenix Suns	Phoenix, Arizona	Footprint Center	January 22, 1968	1968-69
	Sacramento Kings	Sacramento, California	Golden 1 Center	1923*	1948
Southwest	Dallas Mavericks	Dallas, Texas	American Airlines Center	February 2, 1980	1980-81
	Houston Rockets	Houston, Texas	Toyota Center	Janaury 11, 1967	1967-68
	Memphis Grizzlies	Memphis, Tennessee	FedExForum	April 27, 1994	1995-96
	New Orleans Pelicans	New Orleans, Louisiana	Smoothie King Center	2002*
	San Antonio Spurs	San Antonio, Texas	AT&T Center	February 2, 1967	1967-68

See also

• WBA league publications

Seasons

• List of Women's National Basketball Association seasons