A former Syracuse basketball player wants to start a new WNBA team in his home state.
According to the Boston Globe, Michael Carter-Williams is part of a new ownership group that includes actor-singer Donnie Wahlberg and is planning to make a bid for a WNBA expansion franchise in Boston. Wahlberg founded New Kids on the Block in Boston, and MCW is a Hamilton, Massachusetts native.
“As a longtime Boston Celtics fan who attended countless NBA games in my lifetime, nothing would bring me more joy than to have a WNBA franchise in the city of Boston,” Wahlberg said in an email to the Globe. “I look forward to the day I can walk into the Garden, along with thousands of the greatest (and most knowledgeable) basketball fans on the planet, to root for Boston’s hometown WNBA team.”
According to NBC Boston, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy, a former Harvard basketball player, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu have both indicated support for the effort. Last summer, the Connecticut Sun sold out a game against the Los Angeles Sparks in Boston’s TD Garden, and they’ll be back this season to face Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever on July 15.
Boston Women’s Basketball Partners, Carter-Williams’ ownership group that includes the NKOTB and “Blue Bloods” star, has not yet applied for a WNBA expansion team. Other cities anticipated to compete for a professional women’s basketball club include Detroit, Philadelphia, Nashville, and Charlotte.
Carter-Williams, 33, was a brilliant guard at Syracuse University for two seasons, leading the team to the Final Four in 2013. The Philadelphia 76ers selected him 11th overall in the 2013 NBA Draft, and in his rookie season, he averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 assists, and 6.2 rebounds per game, earning him the 2014 NBA Rookie of the Year award.
MCW played nine seasons in the NBA, including stints with the Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, and Milwaukee Bucks. He most recently worked on ESPN as a men’s college basketball studio and game analyst.
