Dawn Staley hopes WNBA expansion leads to a franchise in Philly: ‘We’re ready’

The Knicks-Sixers series has been a showcase for Philadelphia basketball — and there are few better ambassadors of the city than South Carolina coach Dawn Staley.

Staley won her third NCAA championship with the Gamecocks earlier this month, and the proud North Philly native rang the bell ahead of the Sixers’ Game 4 matchup at the Wells Fargo Center, sitting courtside next to Sixers legends Julius Erving and Allen Iverson.

Could the next frontier for Philadelphia basketball be a WNBA franchise? The city has no women’s sports franchises, but the WNBA is looking to expand to 16 teams and is in the process of selecting three new cities. At the WNBA draft, commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Philadelphia was on the list of cities the league was considering for its next round of expansion.

“I think we’re more ready than we’ve ever been, I do,” Staley told The Inquirer. “I think the city is buzzing right now for sports, so I think we’re ready. I hope we’re one of the lucky cities that will get a WNBA franchise.”

Staley and the Sixers ultimately went home unhappy on Sunday, losing by 97-92 thanks to a 47-point performance from former Villanova star Jalen Brunson, whose father, Rick, played at Temple, where Staley coached. Staley is a longtime friend of the Brunson family, and gave Jalen a hug before Game 4.

“If you look at who we have out there on the floor, who the Knicks have out there on the floor, it’s been Philly guys, so we’re super proud of that,” Staley told The Inquirer. “Obviously they play some great basketball here around Philly, and it’s unfortunate they’re using it against us in this series, but proud of Jalen.

“I’ve seen him grow up — someone just sent me a picture of he and I, a long, long time ago — and to see what he’s doing, and the impact that Rick [now a Knicks assistant coach] has in his life, it’s been great to watch, because you’re a little guard, he’s a little guard, you see him out there going to work and as a basketball enthusiast, you want to see this. Just, when your heart is for the Sixers, it’s hard to take.”

It wasn’t just Brunson who hurt the Sixers on Sunday. The Knicks grabbed 18 rebounds in the fourth quarter, including seven offensive rebounds, limiting the Sixers’ possession time down the stretch, and Joel Embiid scored just one point in the final 12 minutes.

Staley’s Gamecocks just capped off an undefeated, championship-winning season. So what does she think the Sixers need to do to pull off the improbable comeback, down three games to one?

“The glaring thing is just, offensive rebounds killed us today,” Staley said. “Brunson is a handful. If we somehow cut his production — I don’t know how, because there are a lot of defensive schemes going on out there, but we’re trying. We’re trying, we’ve got to put some more points on the scoreboard.”