The Houston Comets were the first dynasty in WNBA history, winning four consecutive championships from 1997 to 2000. As the franchise prepares to return in 2027, how can Houston secure a fifth WNBA title? Perhaps a current member of the basketball media can offer some valuable insights.
Kevin Pelton, an ESPN basketball reporter and advanced-analytics guru since 2013 who is known as “The Machine” inside ESPN circles, has begun a new role as the assistant general manager and vice president of analytics for the Comets, according to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. The Comets will officially return to Houston next year, when the Connecticut Sun moves to Houston following their final season in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Pelton tells Chron that he “will be in Connecticut” with the Sun front office in 2026, where he’ll assist in two key matters for the club: the upcoming WNBA expansion draft early next month, followed by WNBA free agency.
This spring and summer will mark Pelton’s second foray into front-office work after previously working as a consultant for the Indiana Pacers. He joined ESPN in 2013 and spent the last decade-plus as the outlet’s premier advanced analytics basketball analyst. Pelton’s “trade grades” after each NBA trade are widely read by fans and front-office members alike, in which Pelton uses some of the game’s most advanced statistics to analyze deals made by each team. The Comets will now be the beneficiaries of Pelton’s analysis, in which he’ll look to aid Houston in particular rather than inform the entire basketball public.
The Comets will play their first games since 2008 next spring. The team is expected to play its home games at Toyota Center and use the same Comets branding as when the franchise played in Houston from 1997 to 2008.