Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia are set to join the WNBA as expansion franchises starting in 2028

NEW YORK (AP) — A look at the three expansion teams that the WNBA is adding over the next few years:

First year of play: 2028.

Majority ownership group: Dan Gilbert, who owns the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Where they'll play: Rocket Arena, home of the Cavaliers.

Practice facility: Retrofit a facility in Independence, Ohio, that is currently used by the Cavaliers.

What they're saying: “They're a ready-made operation, arena, demographic, the psychographic, all the data, those numbers,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “I’m a data geek. All the data we’ve been looking at as it relates to what would make a successful franchise and obviously look no further than what we already did in the Bay Area.”

First year of play: 2029.

Majority ownership group: Tom Gores, who owns the Detroit Pistons.

Minority owners: Grant Hill, Chris Webber, Jared Goff.

Where they’ll play: Little Caesars Arena, home of the Pistons.

Practice facility: Building a new facility.

What they’re saying: “I think this will be bigger than just the basketball team coming back. It’s recognition of all the things that are happening in the city. And finally, I think it’s going to have a real economic impact," Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem said.

First year of play: 2030.

Majority ownership group: Josh Harris, who owns the Philadelphia 76ers.

Where they’ll play: A new arena being built in downtown Philadelphia.

Practice facility: The 76ers have a practice facility in Camden, New Jersey.

What they're saying: “Philly fans are passionate, they are full on. They hold you accountable and they hold everyone accountable, the players, the team, the ownership and, you know, we embrace that and embrace them," said Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment Managing Partner and co-founder Josh Harris, who owns the 76ers. “There’s a lot of names who’ve come out of Philly women’s and men’s basketball, and there are a lot of girls playing basketball in Philly right now and this is something that needed to happen.”

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Nic Barlage, representing the Cleveland Cavaliers, and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert listen during a news conference, Monday, June 30, 2025, in New York, announcing WNBA basketball expansion teams in Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland. (AP Photo/Doug Feinberg)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)