WNBA Permanently To Boston? ‘No-Brainer’ Move To CT Sun Coach

BOSTON -- The WNBA has never been more popular and the Connecticut Sun had evidence of that Tuesday night.

A sold-out crowd of 19,156 fans packed the TD Garden to watch the Sun claw out a 69-61 win over the Los Angeles Sparks. It was the first time ever the WNBA took over the home of the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics are the only professional basketball team to call Boston home at the moment. But could the Sun envision a WNBA expansion franchise coming to the city in the future?

"Absolutely," Sun head coach Stephanie White said. "I think when we think about WNBA and fandom in general, great sports fan base here in the New England area, in the Boston area. I think that this opportunity for us as the Connecticut Sun to expand our footprint into Boston and to see the results with a sold-out crowd, I think it's a no-brainer."

With the influx of young talent like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese -- and more on the way in Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins -- the WNBA saw exponential growth this season.

That could propel the expansion of the league, which currently has 12 teams with another one on the way. The WNBA announced last year that the Golden State Warriors would get a franchise, which will begin play in 2025.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert told reporters in April that she could see the league expanding to 16 teams by 2028. And Sun guard Veronica Burton, who hails from Newton, Mass., believes Boston would be a great candidate for one of those expansion teams.

"Obviously, I'm biased with Boston. I think they deserve a team," Burton said. "I think this is a really good start just getting that exposure up. And I think it's a testament to Boston, just how they sold out the arena and are showing up."

The pending sale of the Celtics by the current ownership group could help bring a WNBA to Boston. The new owner could see attaching a WNBA team to the Celtics as a worthy caveat to buying the storied franchise.

A WNBA team permanently settling in Boston won't happen overnight. But games like Tuesday, with passionate fans, engaged from opening tip to the final buzzer, sure make it seem like a realistic possibility for the future.

"Definitely hope this isn't the last time that there's a women's game here, especially for our team," Sun guard DiJonai Carrington said. "I just think the crowd was incredible. There were lulls for us offensively when we weren't scoring, but the crowd was never out of it. They were chanting the whole entire game. I think they gave us energy, I think they gave us that little boost at the end of the game to finish strong."