Trust the Progress™: A Love Park Philly Moment Six Years in the Making

Standing in Love Park on October 2nd, watching Mayor Cherelle Parker and Unrivaled President Alex Bazzell announce that professional women's basketball has finally secured play dates in Philadelphia, I couldn't help but think: this is what trusting the progress looks like.

For six years, my wife Wanda Sykes, along with Philadelphia Sisters co-founders Ashley Lunkenheimer and Starla Crandall, and I have been working, behind the scenes, always with purpose, to bring women's sports to this city we love. We're just moms with a dream. Moms who got tired of traveling to New York, DC, and LA just to watch the games we loved. Moms who looked around at this incredible sports town—six million people strong, passionate about every team—and asked a question that wouldn't let us go, How is it possible that Philadelphia doesn't have a professional women's sports team?

That question was born at a wedding in New York in 2019. Wanda and I were chatting with a friend who's an NBA executive, and the conversation turned serious.  This had been gnawing at us without us even knowing it. That moment planted the seed for what would become The Philadelphia Sisters.

The four of us got to work and trademarked the Philly Sisters™ and assembled our founding team. What started as a conversation at a wedding became a movement.

Moving Mountains, One Meeting at a Time

The work that followed was relentless. We met with everyone, and I mean everyone. Philadelphia Councilwoman (now Mayor) Cherelle Parker. Former Senator Tom Wolf. David Adelman of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. Legends like Billie Jean King and Dawn Staley. Local Philadelphians who believed in the vision. We lobbied 76ers owners, HBSE, and Comcast. We raised $50 million in soft commitments. We assembled a dream-team advisory board of key players across professional women's and men’s sports and local government.

And then came the meetings. Thousands of them. Zoom calls, phone calls, conversations. So many times when people would ask, "When is Philly getting a team? What's going on?" and all we could say was, "Soon. Trust us. We're working on it." Because that's what you do when you're doing the groundwork, you work behind the scenes, shaking the hands, putting in the hours, and trusting that the light will come.

By 2024, the media began to pick up our story. Our relationships with civic leaders, celebrities, sports executives, and local organizers who believed in our mission started making the movement more visible and more powerful.

Then, in January 2025, everything accelerated. The Philadelphia 76ers ownership formally submitted a bid for a WNBA expansion team. By June 30th, the WNBA announced three new franchises, including Philadelphia, which is set to begin play in 2030. We stood alongside NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Chairman David Adelman, Comcast CEO Brian L. Roberts, and HBSE founders Josh Harris and David Blitzer as they made the historic announcement official. The four of us couldn't have been prouder, standing there, rubbing elbows with the heavy hitters who could actually make this dream a reality.

The First Game Back Since 1998

But here's what made October 2nd so special: Unrivaled wasn't just making an announcement; they were making history. As WHYY News covered, Unrivaled Basketball's tour stop in Philadelphia on January 30, 2026, will mark the first time women's professional basketball has been played in this city since the Philadelphia Rage in 1998. A whole generation has grown up without seeing the best women's basketball players take the floor here. That changes now.

When Wanda and I went to Miami last season to watch Unrivaled's inaugural games, we fell in love with the league, the players, the values, everything they were building. Co-founded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, Unrivaled is revolutionizing women's professional sports with a groundbreaking model centered on investing in its athletes. The league is player-owned, providing participating players equity opportunities and a vested interest in the league's success. 

With its 3-on-3, compressed full-court style of play featuring the world's top women's basketball stars, Unrivaled represents everything we've been fighting for - women athletes taking ownership, earning the highest average salaries for women's team sports, and having the chance to stay home in the U.S. during the WNBA offseason.

So when Commissioner Micky Lawler mentioned they were thinking about touring, I looked her and Alex Bazzell right in the eyes and said: Stop. Come to Philadelphia. Meet our amazing mayor. Visit with Xfinity. See the leaders. You're going to feel the energy.

And I promised them: Come to Philadelphia, and you will not be disappointed. Trust us. We're going to show up, and we're going to break the house.

More than 5,000 tickets sold within minutes of the announcement. The city showed up exactly like I knew it would. 

As Alex Bazell said at the press conference, "The energy and dedication of everyone who helped bring this tour stop to life, combined with the passion of Philadelphia's sports fans, made the city the perfect stage for Unrivaled." He thanked Mayor Parker, The Philly Sisters, Xfinity, Xfinity Mobile Arena, and the entire community for making it happen.

Bringing It Home: Natasha Cloud's Story

One of the most powerful moments that day came when WNBA champion Natasha Cloud took the mic. A Delco kid who played at Cardinal O'Hara in the Philadelphia Catholic League before starring at St. Joe's on Hawk Hill, Natasha is exactly why we do this work. She's an inaugural player for Unrivaled's Phantom BC team and a longtime supporter of the Sisters' mission.

"What's up Philly!" she began, and the crowd erupted. "For those of you who don't know, I'm Natasha Cloud. I'm a Delco kid. I played at Cardinal O'Hara in the Philadelphia Catholic League."

Looking out at the crowd, she spotted representatives from schools across the city—St. Joe's, LaSalle, Nova, Temple, Drexel, UPenn, and so many others, including over 50 kids from local public schools and area youth teams transported by Philly Youth Basketball (PYB). "I see all the Philly schools out here," she said, making sure to call them all out. "There's so many special teams here, and Philly is such a special part of who I am."

Then she said something that hit home: "You truly are a product of your environment, and this city has raised me. It has made me into the dog I am... We get everything out of the mud. Nothing came easy to us. There are no silver spoons here. All we know how to do is work, and that's how I show up on the court every single day. And that is a testament to the city, to everything that you have given to me."

Natasha hasn't played in Philadelphia since her St. Joe's days. Think about that. A WNBA champion, a world-class athlete who grew up right here, learned the game at Cardinal O'Hara, refined her skills on Hawk Hill, and then had to leave home to pursue her professional dreams. For ten years in the league, she's had to go overseas to play.

"I'm eternally grateful to be playing for Unrivaled, to not have to go overseas for eight months and be away from my family and be in situations that aren't necessarily safe to us," she said, giving a shout-out to Brittney Griner. "To be able to stay here, to be able to provide for my family and do it with such top-tier individuals and human beings is the best. To come back home to Philly to play? I'm so excited."

This is what we're fighting for. Athletes like Natasha, who came up through the entire Philadelphia basketball ecosystem, and the next generation of young girls watching her from those same schools deserve to watch the pros play in their own backyards. They deserve to bring their success back to the very neighborhoods where they learned the game, back to the courts where they first fell in love with basketball.

As Natasha said, "You need to be able to see it to be it. I've been able to travel, get a college degree, experience different cultures, provide for my family through this game. Sports has a beautiful way of unifying everyone, and what better place to start with than Philly?"

Philadelphia Is Unrivaled

As Mayor Parker said at Love Park, "Philadelphia is the city of firsts, so it makes perfect sense that the Unrivaled League picked our historical city, with unmatched sports enthusiasts, as its first tour stop." She emphasized that this is more than just games; it's about welcoming a league of women who continue to blaze trails of progress in sports and investments off the court.

And there's a reason Unrivaled chose Philly for its first tour stop, as Natasha reminded us: "It's the best sports town in the world. From the Eagles to the Sixers to the Flyers to now Unrivaled and to the Sisters—we're gonna show everybody what Philly's talking about."

Wanda put it perfectly in her statement: "On behalf of The Philly Sisters, we are thrilled to help bring women's professional basketball to the city we love and call home. Advancing women's pro sports in Philly has been a goal we've passionately pursued for years, and this initiative represents the perfect alignment of purpose and passion."

A Love Letter to This City

I came from beautiful Paris to Philadelphia 22 years ago. Wanda and I chose this town. We are raising our kids here. We just love being here, and we are so proud to have women's basketball coming home.

This moment didn't happen by accident. It happened because we pushed everything we could to make it happen. Because the desire is there. Because the energy of all these leaders is here. And because Philadelphia's passion, combined with our perseverance, never quits.

I have to thank so many people. Mayor Parker, thank you for your leadership and vision. Alex Bazzell and the entire Unrivaled team, thank you for trusting us and choosing Philadelphia. Matt Lederer and everyone at Xfinity and Comcast, thank you for your partnership. Phil Laws and the team at Xfinity Mobile Arena, thank you for welcoming us home. Councilman Thomas, you've been pushing behind the scenes for years—thank you. Beth Divine and the Big Six, thank you. Ashley and Starla, my sisters in this fight—we moved mountains together. Natasha Cloud, thank you for being a champion on and off the court and for showing the world what Philly is made of. Everyone who trusted three moms with a grassroots dream—thank you.

On January 30, 2026, four of Unrivaled's eight clubs will play back-to-back games at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The games tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be simulcast on TNT, truTV, and HBOMax. 

Tell your friends. Tell your coworkers. Tell your family members. Tell your hairdresser. Tell everybody.

Let's sell out Xfinity Mobile Arena and show the world what Philly is talking about. Because we're not just watching history—we're making it.

The best players in the world are coming to this city. They're not going anywhere else—just Philly because Philly is UNRIVALED. 

Trust the Progress™

Learn more about the Philadelphia Sisters and join the movement at https://sisterssportsgroup.com/philly-sisters.

Get your tickets for "Philly is Unrivaled Presented by Xfinity" at Ticketmaster or xfinitymobilearena.com. For more information about Unrivaled, visit unrivaled.basketball.