WNBA Trademark Application Hints at Return of a Portland Team to the League

· Jun 20 - 4 minutes read

The WNBA Has Filed Trademarks, Including ‘Portland Fire,’ Hinting at the Team’s Possible Return

New Team Alert?

With the WNBA news drawing more attention than ever, it’s only natural that the league is eyeing expansion in multiple cities. Reports of recent trademarks suggest the league will bring back the Portland Fire, which was the name of the WNBA’s Portland franchise that played three seasons in 2000-02.

The WNBA already added a 13th team this season in the Golden State Valkyries. The 14th team has been formally announced as the Toronto Tempo, the first Canadian WNBA team that will debut in 2026. The rebirth of the Portland Fire next year would be the league’s 15th team, and there are plans to add a 16th team by 2028 with the possibility of up to 18 teams in the near future with the WNBA looking into Detroit, Philadelphia, and Charlotte as some of the interested cites in adding a team.

WNBA Trademark Application Hints at Return of a Portland Team to the League — A detail of the WNBA logo is seen on a basketball | Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP

The WNBA has filed three new trademark applications related to the Portland Fire. It would appear that the expansion team will be returning to the name the Portland WNBA franchise used from 2000 to 2002. pic.twitter.com/zeU8miW0PM

— Sean Highkin (@highkin) June 19, 2025

The fan reaction in Portland has been solid, with allegedly over 8,000 season ticket holder deposits already recorded. One could say the fans are tired of seeing the Trail Blazers as their only local professional basketball team, and the WNBA is a great summer gap league between the end of the NBA season and the beginning of the NFL season.

This is probably a good time to take advantage of expansion and the Caitlin Clark effect on women’s basketball. Not only do you want more fans interested in the league and watching and attending games, but you’re going to want an influx of talented players who see pro basketball as a lucrative career in the WNBA.

Plus, they’re going to have to fill out those extra rosters, so you want as many good players as possible coming into the league.

The @IndianaFever‘s victory over the @nyliberty on Saturday delivered the 3rd most-watched WNBA game on ABC EVER 👏

🏀 2.2M avg. viewers (2.8M peak)
🏀 WNBA on ESPN up 14% from last season pic.twitter.com/noWzK8RIFf

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) June 17, 2025

Players and Teams to Watch for in the 2025 WNBA Season

As for this current season, here are some players and teams to keep an eye on and possibly bet on the WNBA odds for.

The New York Liberty won their first WNBA championship last season and are still the favorite to repeat, with the team they beat, the Minnesota Lynx, behind them in the odds. But you can’t discount the Fever, who handed the Liberty their first loss when they were 9-0.

Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier is off to a great start with an 11-1 record and has -325 odds at BetUS to win the WNBA MVP award, but the value play is obviously Caitlin Clark (+200) now that she’s returned from injury and can do things like drop 25 points in one half against the top-ranked Liberty defense in a big win last Saturday. Look for this to tighten up as the season goes on.

Dallas’ Paige Bueckers is a heavy favorite in WNBA Rookie of the Year odds (-1000). The Wings are not a good team yet, but she’s a fun bet for WNBA player props after already posting a game with 35 points and another with 10 assists as a future All-Star.

Finally, despite their expansion status, the Valkyrie (6-6) look like a good value pick to make the playoffs (the top eight teams qualify). They weren’t a team people had in their WNBA picks this preseason, but they just defeated Clark’s Fever last night, proving the point that if you build the teams, the fans will naturally come.

They’re also getting scrappy now.