Report: Gores puts in bid for Detroit WNBA franchise
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Tom Gores at LCA before a game. Photo: Nic Antaya/Getty Images
Basketball fans: Don't get too excited yet, but Pistons owner Tom Gores has put in a bid to bring a WNBA franchise back to Detroit, according to Yahoo Sports.
Why it matters: It's been more than 15 years since the beloved Detroit Shock departed Auburn Hills, leaving our city to miss out on the explosion in popularity that women's basketball has delivered in recent years.
- Gores pulled together an A-list group of investors, according to the Free Press, including Lions principal owner Sheila Hamp, former NBA stars Grant Hill and Chris Webber, Lions quarterback Jared Goff and GM CEO Mary Barra.
Between the lines: The pitched franchise would play at LCA and operate out of its own practice center and headquarters, Yahoo reports. It's unclear if the Shock name would be used.
- The league had 12 teams for years, but after expansion teams in Golden State (begin play in 2025), Toronto (2026), and Portland (2026), the league is looking for its 16th franchise.
- Other contenders include Nashville, Philadelphia and about a dozen "very viable" cities.
Flashback: The Shock joined the league as an expansion franchise in 1998 and won three championships (2003, 2006, 2008) with Pistons legend Bill Laimbeer as head coach before Karen Davidson, the widow of former Pistons owner Bill Davidson, sold the team.
- It moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, under new ownership in 2009, and then to Dallas in 2016.
Of note: For those who need their women's basketball fix regardless of the Shock coming back, local star Rickea Jackson, who went to Detroit Edison and plays for the L.A. Sparks, is featured in a new 3x3 basketball league called Unrivaled. It was founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier.
Editor's note: This story was updated with new information about the investor group pulled together for the bid.