The Houston Comets have returned, this time as an evolution of a franchise that was previously known as the Connecticut Sun.
Originally, the Comets were among the eight teams that took part in the inaugural WNBA season back in 1997. That iteration of the Comets won the W’s first four championships and, in the process, featured one of the best teams the league’s seen to date.
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Now, after an 18-season hiatus, the W will once again include the Comets. This version of the team will sport a brand new logo that was unveiled Thursday night.
The Comets’ logo highlights a basketball shooting across the lettering, exhibiting movement illustrative of a comet itself. A smattering of stars can be seen in each variation of the logo. That’s also a callback to the Comets of the W’s past.
Per the team, the logo also features four stars, to honor the team’s four championships that they won consecutively from 1997 to 2000.
As was the case before, the W’s Comets will naturally lean into their celestial name. Houston, of course, is known for its presence in the aerospace industry and, more specifically, for housing NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
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The NBA’s Rockets are also owned by Tilman Fertitta, who spearheaded the purchase of the Sun, reportedly for $300 million.
Back in August, Cleveland’s WNBA team revealed that it will sport the name “Sirens” as a nod to “Lake Erie’s power and pull.” A siren is a mermaid-like being known for its alluring voice in Greek mythology.
But the Sirens, part of the W’s burgeoning expansion efforts, won’t take the court until 2028.
Meanwhile, the Comets will be playing next season, replacing the Sun. After the WNBA added the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire this time around, it will stay at 15 teams for the 2027 campaign.
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The Sirens will expand the league to 16 teams the following year, and then Detroit and Philadelphia are expected to join the fray in 2029 and 2030, respectively.
As for this incarnation of the Comets, they will technically pick up where the Sun left off. The Sun were in existence from 2003-26 and made the WNBA Finals four times but never won a league title. Prior to that 24-season stretch, the franchise launched as the Orlando Miracle and was recognized as such from 1999-2002.
The franchise, most recently owned by the Mohegan Tribe, is now in the hands of the Fertitta family. It’s in Houston, with these new-look but familiar Comets hoping to achieve the success the Comets of old did behind Hall of Famers Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson.
