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Klay Thompson Shares Heartwarming Post As Portland Adds WNBA Team: 'This Is So Cool'
Klay Thompson is starting a new journey in the NBA with Dallas Mavericks and he wasted no time in giving a shout to WNBA's new team for next season.
Klay Thompson of the Dallas Mavericks expressed his excitement on social media on Thursday after learning that Portland will have a WNBA expansion team. Thompson, who grew up primarily in Oregon, showed off his excitement on Instagram by reposting a Portland Thorns FC post. The NWSL team's statement welcomed the WNBA's return to Portland.
In his post, Thompson mentioned Jackie Stiles, a former player for the Portland Fire, praising her for being a remarkable individual in the league.
“This is so cool, Jackie Stiles was really HER back in the day. ABSOLUTELY CLIP!,” Thompson wrote on his Instagram story, referring to the brief history of the Portland Fire, which folded in 2002 after two years due to financial issues.
The new Portland team will be owned by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal of RAJ Capital, and it is scheduled to make its debut in 2026. The Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA will host their home games at the Moda Center, where the franchise will play.
There's more than Thompson's excitement about this new team. Jackie Stiles, who broke records at Southwest Missouri State and was selected by the Portland Fire with the fourth overall pick in 2000, expressed her excitement about the WNBA's return to Portland.
“I’m thrilled about the news of Portland getting a WNBA expansion team,” Stiles said in an e-mail to Bill Oram of The Oregonian, via Geoffrey C. Arnold. “It’s fantastic to see women’s basketball thriving.” Stiles scored 14.9 points in her WNBA debut season, which earned her a spot on the All-Star team and the league's Rookie of the Year award.
The WNBA team's return to Portland has brought back memories of the Fire, who amassed a devoted following during their brief two-year existence. Having spent his early years in the Portland area, Thompson was obviously struck by Stiles's connection to the city, even though her career was cut short by injuries.
It is anticipated that the Portland expansion team and the recently revealed Toronto WNBA expansion team will both start play in 2026. The Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA's San Francisco expansion team, will start play in the upcoming season. By 2028, the WNBA wants to have 16 teams instead of just 12.
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