Drake wants to bring a WNBA franchise to Toronto, but one major concern could halt plans

• Rapper Drake wants to bring a WNBA franchise to his home city of Toronto.
• The noted basketball fan posted "@WNBA I need a Toronto team" on his Instagram story Wednesday.

Drake wants to bring a WNBA franchise to The Six.

The four-time Grammy-winning rapper is a Toronto, Canada, native and a noted basketball fan. He's long been a staple at Toronto Raptors games, where he famously interacts with players who approach his courtside seats.

Now, it appears Champagne Papi is eager to add a WNBA team to his home city's roster of pro sports teams.

Drake posted an Instagram story Wednesday morning in which he wrote "@WNBA I need a Toronto team," tagging the league in the post.

-Khristina Williams (@Khristina2334) November 3, 2021

Drizzy undoubtedly has the funds necessary to make it happen. According to financial analysis conducted by Her Hoop Stats, one of the most well-regarded statistics sources for women's basketball insights, WNBA teams could be worth anywhere from $17 million to $35 million.

That's just a fraction of what Drake has to his name. In 2019, Forbes reported that he was the fifth-richest rapper on the planet with an estimated $150 million net worth. More recent valuations place his total purse closer to $200 million.

But logistical challenges could get in Drake's way. For years, WNBA teams have run into travel disasters while flying commercial from city to city for games. Most recently, Connecticut Sun head coach Curt Miller - the league's 2021 Coach of the Year - spoke out about his team's grueling travel schedule during the Sun's WNBA semifinal series against the Chicago Sky.

Miller's squad split up to take three flights departing from two airports ahead of Sunday's Game 3 matchup in the Windy City, ESPN's Mechelle Voepel reported. The team was looking to avoid having its players - eight of whom measure more than six feet tall - cram their long legs into middle seats just days before a pivotal contest.

"I want you guys to hear this," Miller said in his postgame news conference at Mohegan Sun Arena following Connecticut's Game 2 victory.

"That's what this league goes through. That's what these amazing women - the best in the world at what they do - go through."

Bringing an international franchise into the mix would necessarily complicate matters. Piling customs wait times on top of the flight delays, cancellations, and baggage-claim issues teams already endure would be a logistical nightmare for all involved. And with quick turnarounds between games, it may be too big an obstacle for the league to overcome at present.

Billionaire New York Liberty owner Joe Tsai, who also owns the NBA's Brooklyn Nets, has been vocal that it's "time to find a constructive solution to this problem!"

He took to Twitter this fall to explain that while the league prevents individual team owners from commissioning charter jets for their teams "because different owners have different financial circumstances," he's made efforts alongside WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert "to find a charter sponsor" for the entire league.

-Joe Tsai (@joetsai1999) October 2, 2021

But until Tsai breaks through and the league exacts transformational change on the travel front, Drake's goal of bringing a WNBA team to Toronto may be too far out of reach.