Pistons owner Tom Gores puts in bid for Detroit to receive WNBA franchise: Sources

Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores submitted a bid for the city to receive a WNBA franchise, sources tell Yahoo Sports.

The Detroit Shock were a big part of the early WNBA history, winning three championships in 2003, 2006 and 2008 before moving to Tulsa in 2010 — before being rebranded as the Dallas Wings.

The Shock set records for attendance in the 2003 WNBA Finals as 22,076 fans filled the Palace of Auburn Hills to see Game 3 against the Los Angeles Sparks, and matched that mark again in the 2007 Finals. It was recently broken by a game featuring Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever against the Washington Mystics this past season.

Nashville announced a bid for a WNBA franchise, the Tennessee Summit, earlier in the day Thursday. Friday is the last day for bids and at least six cities are expected to make bids for franchises — scheduled to begin play in 2028.

The potential Detroit franchise would be expected to play at Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit, sources say, which is where the Pistons have been since the 2017-18 season. The Pistons also have a practice facility and headquarters two miles away from the arena that was built in 2019, and it’s expected the WNBA franchise would also have its own facility and headquarters as well, should the bid be accepted.

Whether they would take back the Shock nickname hasn’t been determined. Players like Swin Cash, Deanna Nolan, Cheryl Ford and Katie Smith left their mark during those title years, with former Bad Boy Piston Bill Laimbeer serving as head coach.

There’s been a groundswell of support in recent years and Gores has responded with a bid and commitment to putting together a competitive franchise in a legacy city — which could give them a leg up among the competition.

The Golden State Valkyries will begin play this season and another franchise, in Toronto, will begin play in 2026.

That brings the league to 14 teams at the moment, with a 15th on the way. There’s plenty of competition for it as the league continues to grow. Detroit and its ownership group are now throwing their hat in the ring.