After 23 years, it’s the franchise’s final season in New England before being relocated to Houston.
Fans cheer during a WNBA game at TD Garden in July, 2025. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
New England’s WNBA era is coming to an end, at least for now, as the Connecticut Sun plays its third annual and final game at TD Garden against the Los Angeles Sparks Tuesday evening.
Tip off is set for 7 p.m. at the Garden between the Sun and Sparks. Aired by NBC Sports Boston, this will be the final WNBA game played in Boston for the foreseeable future.
Here are five things to know as the Sun (8-25) and Sparks (12-22) go head-to-head:
After 23 years, it’s the franchise’s final season in New England before being relocated to Houston, making Tuesday the last of the Sun’s annual TD Garden games (which began in 2024).
The Sun were purchased by the billionaire owner of the Rockets, Tilman Fertitta, who plans to relocate the team to Houston, Texas at the conclusion of the 2026 season. The franchise’s name will also be changed to the Comets.
Despite a period of hope from New England WNBA fans that former Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca would close a deal to purchase the Sun and move the team to Boston, the franchise was sold to Fertitta for a reported $300 million this spring.
The Sun have struggled this season, sitting in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, and were eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the New York Liberty on Saturday.
But they have some talent on their team, including 10-time All-Star Brittney Griner, who was detained in Russia for 10 months in 2022, and former University of Connecticut star Aaliyah Edwards.
The Sparks, who are also near the bottom of WNBA’s standings this season, still have some stars on the roster, including 6-foot-4 Cameron Brink, the second overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft after Caitlin Clark. The Sparks also have veteran forwards Dearica Hamby and Nneka Ogwumike, who’s leading the team in scoring.
The City of Boston has declared Tuesday “Shey Peddy Day,” to honor and recognize the Roxbury native point guard’s achievements as an athlete in the WNBA. Peddy is currently a free agent after being waived by the Sun in May.
Peddy, a METCO student for Melrose High School, was MVP for four years, leading her team to four league titles and finishing high school as the all-time scoring leader among men and women.
“Shey Peddy stands as an inspiration to women athletes across the state and city, an example of what a relentless drive, leadership, and determination can provide,” said the resolution offered by City Councilor Brian Worrell at the Aug. 5 meeting.
Today’s game also comes nearly three years since the Sun hosted the Sparks at the Garden’s first ever WNBA game on Aug. 20, 2024.
This season may be the end for New England’s current WNBA era, but league viewership has increased across the country this year as fans continue to embrace women’s sports and its star athletes.
The WNBA added teams in Toronto and Portland this season, and plans to add three more by 2030, to reach 18 in total. Teams in Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia are all set to join the league by 2030.
Pending approval from the NBA and WNBA Board of Governors, Cleveland will begin play in 2028, Detroit in 2029, and Philadelphia the season after. The Toronto and Portland teams will begin playing in the league next year.
All the teams set to join the league have NBA ownership groups.
Gov. Maura Healey, who played college basketball at Harvard and professionally in Austria, has lobbied to bring a team to Boston in the past, along with the City Council.
After Pagliuca’s offer to buy the Sun was rejected, Healey said in an April interview on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” she’s “not giving up” on a WNBA team in Boston.
“Women’s basketball, to say it’s on the rise is an understatement,” she said. “I mean people love it, and we should have a WNBA team here. I’ll do whatever I can to make that happen.”
Celtics owner Bill Chisholm said he also hopes to bring the WNBA to Boston, eventually.
“I think Boston should have a team,” Chisholm said during his introductory press conference in September. “This is the best sports city in the country and this is the birthplace of basketball, so we should have a team … It’s definitely something we’re going to look at. And I know the NBA has a process. We’ll do what we can to expedite things, but there is a process there. But philosophically it makes so much sense.”
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