New Celtics owner discusses potentially bringing WNBA team to Boston

BOSTON, Mass. — New Celtics owner Bill Chisholm is hoping to bring a WNBA team to Boston, he told reporters at his introductory press conference on Thursday afternoon.

“First of all, I think Boston should have a team,” Chisholm said. “Like I said earlier, this is the best sports city in the country, and this is the birthplace of basketball, so we should have a team.“

Chisholm officially became the Celtics’ majority owner last month, along with Aditya Mittal, who sat besides him at the press conference. For weeks now, it’s been speculated that Chisholm is interested in bringing a WNBA team to Boston.

In early August, the Boston Globe reported that Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca agreed to purchase the Connecticut Sun from the Mohegan Sun tribe, but the WNBA put out a statement to the Globe shortly after:

“Relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams. As part of our most recent expansion process, in which three new franchises were awarded to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia on June 30, 2025, nine additional cities also applied for WNBA teams and remain under active consideration. No groups from Boston applied for a team at that time and those other cities remain under consideration based on the extensive work they did as part of the expansion process and currently have priority over Boston. Celtics’ prospective owner Bill Chisholm has also reached out to the league office and asked that Boston receive strong consideration for a WNBA franchise at the appropriate time.”

The Sun’s sale has gotten murkier since the Globe’s initial report.

A bid led by former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry to move the team to Hartford, Connecticut, has surfaced as well. Meanwhile, the WNBA has reportedly offered the Sun the opportunity to purchase the team and relocate it to Houston. At the same time, Connecticut lawmakers have been vocal about keeping the team in-state, and keeping the league out of negotiations.

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to the WNBA on Monday, warning the league to stay out of negotiations between the Mohegan tribe and prospective new ownership groups. Per ESPN, he noted that “any attempts by the WNBA to block efforts to keep the Sun in Connecticut could violate federal antitrust laws.”

If the Sun sale does not result in a WNBA franchise in Boston, the next-best vehicle would be through expansion.

The WNBA currently has 13 teams (the Golden State Valkyries joined this season). Next season, the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire are joining the league, while Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029), and Philadelphia (2030) are getting their own WNBA franchises by the end of this decade as well.

On August 19th, ESPN reported that the league would consider a potential Boston team in a later round of expansion, and that Chisholm would be the league’s preferred owner for a WNBA franchise.

But that would likely be a few years down the road.

Addressing reporters on Thursday, Chisholm acknowledged that he’s only been in this seat for about a month, but that he’s interested in bringing a team to Boston. The timeline for that type of move remains to be seen.

“It’s definitely something we’re going to look at,” he said. “And I know the NBA has a process — so we’ll do what we can to expedite things. But there is a process there. But philosophically, it makes so much sense.”