Canzano: WNBA to Portland... at long last

The worst-kept secret is finally out.

The WNBA is coming to Portland.

The worst-kept secret in the city went public on Wednesday.

The WNBA officially awarded Portland a franchise — the 15th in league history. The unnamed team will begin play in 2026 at Moda Center. It will be owned and operated by RAJ Sports, led by Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal.

This was a big deal in my household. Over breakfast, I overheard my two youngest daughters absorbing the news, debating whether USC sophomore JuJu Watkins might suit up for Portland one day.

My wife, standing not far away, exchanged text messages with a college classmate, who pointed out that the owner’s family were famous inventors.

Fun fact: Paul and David Merage invented the Hot Pocket.

We’re a sports household. The kids follow the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NBA, and college football. But the buzz on Wednesday morning at our kitchen table felt different. It was about something bigger and more personal to them.

It was about a sport — women’s basketball — that they fell head over heels in love with last spring. And they did that all by themselves.

I introduced the kids to the football when they were little. I sat on the sofa and explained the rules. Four downs to go 10 yards. Six points for a TD. Three points for a field goal. An extra point is one. Got it? They’d nod and root.

They saw Angel Reese play in person two years ago in a small gymnasium. She was unforgettable. They watched on TV as Scott Rueck’s Oregon State team reeled off wins last season. They tuned in when the Oregon Ducks played, too. And when the hysteria of Caitlin Clark hit a high point last March, they turned in another direction.

Watkins, the USC star guard, became their favorite player. They saw her play up close at the NCAA Regional tournament games held in Portland last March, following every move.

I observed from press row as my youngest daughter, 8, leaned over the railing at Moda Center alongside a line of other young girls who cried out together: “JuuuuuuJuuuuuu!!!” as Watkins warmed up on the court below.

Our 10-year-old picked up basketball. She works out sometimes at an open gym with a local women’s basketball community college player who is teaching her skills.

I didn’t do any of that.

The kids did.

The sport did.

JuJu Watkins, center, and USC played at Moda Center last March. (Photo: Naji Saker)

I reached out to Jim Etzel, the CEO of SportOregon, to congratulate him on Wednesday morning. His team brought the NCAA Tournament to Portland and won a women’s Final Four bid in 2030. SportOregon helped lay the groundwork for the WNBA effort, too, among other things.

On Wednesday, Etzel said something interesting to me.

“Pretty cool that over the past 18 months, we had three viable ownership groups wanting to own the team,” he said. “Not sure that’s ever happened before.”

The Bhathal family won out. It’s paying a $125 million fee for the WNBA franchise. This is big-time stuff. The buzz in Portland on Wednesday morning proved it. But the scene in our kitchen underscored what it means to a lot of little kids in the region.

JuJu to PDX?

That will have to wait. Watkins has college eligibility. She won’t be draft-eligible until 2027. Who knows what her future holds? But I do know something about mine — I’ll be taking the girls to see some WNBA games.

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