Source: Warriors close to bringing WNBA franchise to Bay Area

The Bay Area could be home to another professional basketball team in the next few years.

The Athletic's Marcus Thompson II first reported Tuesday, citing sources, that the Warriors are "close to bringing a WNBA franchise to the Bay." Sources confirmed to NBC Sports Bay Area's Monte Poole on Tuesday that there is momentum and confidence within the organization that a WNBA team will land in the Bay Area in the "near future."

Thompson also reported the deal is not completed, but if it is, the team would be based in Oakland at the Warriors' practice facility and would play games at Chase Center in San Francisco.

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The Bay Area last had a professional women's basketball team in 1996 when the San Jose Lasers -- owned by current Warriors owner Joe Lacob -- played in the American Basketball League. The ABL folded in 1998 as the WNBA took off.

The WNBA currently has 12 teams located in Atlanta, Chicago, Connecticut, Dallas, Indiana, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minnesota, New York, Phoenix, Seattle and Washington (D.C.). WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said earlier this year the league would like to add two teams by 2025.

The Warriors, recently estimated to be worth over $7 billion, certainly have the ability to support and grow alongside a women's professional basketball team in the Bay.

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