The Houston Comets are back, and here’s what it means for the WNBA originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
On Monday morning, the owners of the NBA’s Houston Rockets announced that they had purchased the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun.
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Tilman Fertitta’s Fertitta Entertainment consortium has agreed to pay a WNBA-record $300 million to secure the Sun and relocate the franchise to Houston in 2027 — where they will be renamed the Houston Comets.
The news has prompted mixed reactions online. While some are lamenting the Sun’s departure from their home for the past 23 years, others are celebrating the Comets’ return and the revival of an iconic franchise in league history.
Here is what the Comets’ return means for the WNBA’s future.
The league’s first dynasty is back
When the original Comets folded in 2008 due to financial problems, it brought down the curtain on a franchise whose success defined the WNBA’s infancy.
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The Comets were the WNBA’s first dynasty. Houston won the WNBA championship every year between 1997 and 2000. Eventual Hall of Fame inductees Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson were central to the Comets’ early success; between 1998 and 2000, Houston lost a combined 14 regular season games. That’s it.
In the original Comets’ laters years, one of Houstons’s top players was a guard named Dawn Staley, who is now the extremely successful head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks.
A true rivalry with Dallas
Though the Comets’ comeback still needs approval from WNBA owners, Houston’s return to The W will give the league only its in-state rivalry after the Los Angeles Sparks and the Golden State Valkyries.
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The Comets and the Dallas Wings could be set for years of tense encounters. They are two teams on the rise; the Wings are led by 2025 Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers, while the Sun hope lottery luck in 2027 will give them a budding superstar to cap a youthful core that includes Aaliyah Edwards, Leila Lacan, Aneesah Morrow and Saniya Rivers.
New England loses its team
However, not everyone is thrilled with the Comets’ imminent return.
While the Mohegan Tribe-owned Sun’s facilities were often regarded as the league’s worst, Connecticut boasted a loyal fanbase successful franchise from the late 2010s into the early 2020s. And New Englanders are not too thrilled about how this deal to relocate the Sun has been brokered.
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“I am aware of concerning reports regarding a sale that would move the Sun out of Connecticut at a price far less than what was on the table to keep them here at home,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said. ” We are consulting with our partners in state government and local leaders regarding this disappointing news.”
Last summer, it appeared that Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca was on course to buy the Sun and move the franchise to Boston, where the Sun had played one game during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
However, complications arose that stalled the deal, though rumors continued to swirl that the WNBA was interested in getting the Sun into a major market.
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That goal is pending a formal ratification, but it is all but done: New England will lose its WNBA team, with no clear pathway to getting another one before the 2030s.
“The Connecticut Sun organization understands how emotional this moment is for our fans and community. You have made a home for this franchise for generations, and we are grateful for the passion and support that made us a cornerstone team in the WNBA,” Connecticut Sun team president Jen Rizzotti said Monday. “While the league continues to grow and evolve, our commitment is to honor this legacy—and finishing this final season together with pride.”
