13
Aug
Expansion
'Watch this space': WNBL puts Brisbane in its sights
Fans cheer during the Round 3 NBL clash between the Brisbane Bullets and Sydney Kings at Brisbane Entertainment Centre on October 5, 2024. Photo: Chris Hyde/Getty Images
Nine clubs, two Brisbane bids on the table, and still no deadline set for awarding a 10th licence.
- WNBL Chief Operations Officer Justin Nelson named Brisbane the league's next expansion target
- The WNBL has nine clubs and the 10th licence has not been awarded to anyone
- Angel Reese is part of the Brisbane Bullets group pursuing that 10th licence
Brisbane is without doubt the hottest sporting city in Australia.
Notwithstanding the 2032 Olympic Games, it has three iconic sporting franchises: the NRL’s Brisbane Broncos, the AFL’s Brisbane Lions, and the storied NBL franchise, the Brisbane Bullets.
The WNBL is now clearing the runway for the league’s 10th franchise.
"A place we'd love to be in the future with a team is here in Brisbane," WNBL Chief Operations Officer Justin Nelson said.
"It is definitely a hot spot for basketball.
"The growth of basketball through South East Queensland has been extraordinary over the last decade, and it's definitely in our sights in the WNBL to have a team here in the future.
"A lot of work, a lot of building to do, but at the same time we see it as an extraordinary opportunity.
"Heading into the 2032 Olympics and with the number of fantastic young players coming through this region, we believe it's a region that is set up for a future WNBL team, so watch this space."
Nelson revealed Brisbane was firmly on the radar at the Brisbane launch of TechnologyOne as naming rights partner of the league's pre-season tournament, the Townsville Tip Off, on Tuesday.
The WNBL will run nine clubs in 2026-27 after the Tasmania Jewels took the ninth licence.
The Brisbane Bullets have been the loudest voice in that chase. In August 2025, the NBL club confirmed it would submit an expression of interest for the 10th licence, and its chief executive Malcolm Watts put the club's intent on the record.
"A Brisbane WNBL team has been a key priority for the Bullets for the past three years," Watts told basketball.com.au.
"We will be making a submission via the EOI."
An expression of interest is not a licence, and the Bullets are not the only party holding one. basketball.com.au reported at the time that a second Brisbane group had also lodged an EOI for the same slot.
The club's ambition runs further back than that. In March 2025, Watts revealed plans to enter a WNBL team as early as 2026-27, backed by the NBL club's ownership group, including a hybrid model in which the women's team played curtain-raisers to the NBL side at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre and additional games at a secondary venue holding at least 3000 people.
In March 2026, the bid picked up a name that travels. WNBA forward Angel Reese, 24, joined the Bullets' ownership group in its pursuit of the licence, alongside Bullets owners Jason Levien and Ben Haan.
Her role is in the bid, not in a club, because there is no Brisbane WNBL team to own. What Reese has invested and what stake she would hold if the bid succeeds have not been made public.
"Angel is a fantastic ambassador for basketball and a globally recognised superstar," Watts said in comments published by basketball.com.au.
"She has proven there is no ceiling for female athletes, and that is a powerful message for kids picking up a basketball in Brisbane."
What Nelson did not give on Tuesday was a date. He set no deadline for a decision, named no season for a 10th team, and offered the 2032 Brisbane Olympics as a horizon rather than a timeline.
Brisbane has been without a WNBL team for almost three decades.
The WNBL27 season tips off on October 15, 2026, when the Tasmania Jewels host the Geelong Venom in Hobart. The TechnologyOne Townsville Tip Off runs from September 17 to 20, 2026.
