Angel Reese-backed Brisbane bid to land 10th licence

• 'Angel investor': Superstar Reese joins Brisbane WNBL bid
• Exclusive: Brisbane Bullets reveal plans to be part of WNBL's new era‍
• 'Watch this space': WNBL puts Brisbane in its sights‍

WNBA star Angel Reese and NBL club Brisbane are set to secure the WNBL’s 10th franchise, reports Michael Randall and Matt Logue from Code Sports.

Code Sports has learned the Bullets’ proposal — backed by the Atlanta Dream star — has emerged as the preferred location for the growing women’s league’s next licence, beating out another competing bid to host a club in the city.

Amid heavy interest from prospective buyers in Newcastle, Cairns, and Wellington (New Zealand), an announcement on Brisbane’s WNBL entry could be made as soon as the end of the month.

The move is set to be the culmination of a plan more than three years in the making — Code Sports first reported in November 2023 the Bullets had begun working toward a WNBL franchise.

Less than six years out from the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, it is a massive development for basketball in the Queensland capital, which has not had a professional women’s team in nearly three decades — the Brisbane Blazers died out in 1998.

The new WNBL team will be the third to have alignment with NBL clubs, following the Sydney Flames (Sydney Kings) and new expansion club Tasmania Jewels (Tasmania JackJumpers).

It is expected to use a different name and colours to the Bullets as it forges its own unique identity in the women’s game.

In March last year, Bullets CEO Malcolm Watts spoke exclusively to basketball.com.au about their plans to join the WNBL.

"When I came in as CEO, the ownership group gave me three priorities, and one was for the club to bring a women's team back to the city of Brisbane," Watts told basketball.com.au.

"The ownership group of the Bullets is fully behind this. It is crucial for the maturity of the club that we are heavily involved in driving community outcomes alongside Basketball Queensland for the growth of the game. For young girls to see their heroes, be inspired, and have a pathway to progress into a professional environment is so important.

"There is strong demand and support for women's basketball here.

"With the female talent we have in Brisbane and southeast Queensland, there is no doubt we will be well placed to have an extremely talented roster.

"You look at the standard of the WNBL, the product is extremely strong and now under the direction of the NBL will only build from here."

For the full Crosscourt column on Code Sports Basketball, click here.