With their 44-game inaugural season officially in the books, the Toronto Tempo can finally take a sigh of relief.
Gone are the pressures of a debut year, the barrage of franchise firsts to mark, and the never-ending list of injuries the team endured. While the season was celebratory, it feels like everyone can finally shift from the ceremony of it all and focus more on the basketball.
After last Thursday’s final game marked the end of the regular season, and therefore the end of the Tempo’s 2026 run after being eliminated from playoff contention, the focus moves forward. With their 11-33 record, Toronto secured a tie for the top odds in the WNBA Draft Lottery, expected to take place in December.
They share a 29.5 per cent chance at the No. 1 pick in next April’s draft with the Connecticut Sun, whose franchise has been sold and will move to Houston before the 2027 WNBA season. The original Houston Comets team won the first four championships in WNBA history, and this new version will take on the Comets name as well.
The Tempo’s front office knows exactly what is needed to improve the roster next season, and general manager Monica Wright Rogers was clear about that during Saturday’s exit interviews.
“I think the fact that we have clarity moving forward is really positive,” Wright Rogers said on Saturday. “I’m really happy that there’s not an unknown about what we need, and so I think we just put our heads down and do the work.”
The lack of depth in the team’s frontcourt was clear from training camp, but that problem may not be solved through the draft. It’s an extremely guard-heavy group, and if the Tempo can pick first, there’s no doubt they’ll select JuJu Watkins, a shooting guard, out of USC.
“The draft class is what it is for next year,” Wright Rogers said. “There’s nothing you can really change about it… the positions are what they are.”
With the NCAA’s recent rule change to allow all players five years of eligibility, there is also fear that some 2027 top prospects will opt to return to college another year. It makes projecting the draft order more difficult than usual.
But league sources tell TSN that there is belief that both Watkins and Madison Booker out of Texas will choose to come to the WNBA next summer. The duo are projected No. 1 and No. 2 by many in the upcoming draft.
Booker, a 6-foot-1 forward, wouldn’t completely solve the frontcourt problem for the Tempo, but choosing her at No. 2 would continue to set Toronto up for success in the future. Her efficiency, shot making, and defensive capabilities make her a great fit for the system Toronto is trying to build.
The Tempo need size and defence, clear from their bottom-of-the-league defensive rating in 2026 and the way they were often bullied in the paint by bigger teams. Take the Washington Mystics’ 4-0 sweep of the Tempo this season as an example.
“We need better defence,” head coach Sandy Brondello stated in her exit availability. “We’re not a very good defensive team, so we have to bring some defensive-minded players, and some rim protection would be good.”
“I think this is something that’s not a secret,” Wright Rogers added. “I think we were last in the league defensively in terms of statistics, efficiency, net rating, so we need to improve in that area.”
As for pitching to potential lottery prospects on the idea of declaring for a chance to come to Toronto, the Tempo have a unique angle that could engage this generation of business-savvy college athletes. Coming to Canada unlocks an entirely different national market, and therefore different opportunities, than being drafted to the other 14 WNBA markets in the U.S.
“[Working with Sephora Canada], it just it really was a dream come true,” Tempo forward Isabelle Harrison said in her exit availability. “Sephora calling me up, making sure I was in this campaign… Sephora was definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Sephora Canada, the beauty retailer, was a founding partner of the Tempo. The national campaign Harrison was a part of was called “Pretty Badass,” with the messaging being that you can mix beauty and strength in anything you do. Commercials, billboards and ads featuring Harrison and several of her teammates were plastered all over Canada throughout the summer.
The Tempo will use that business angle to intrigue draftees and free agents alike. With a full free-agency period ahead of the team, and not the condensed version delayed by CBA negotiations last season, Toronto has more time to build their team.
They also have the benefit of having a blueprint this year as opposed to building from scratch in their expansion year.
Marina Mabrey, Brittney Sykes, and Julie Allemand (all guards) are all on guaranteed contracts for 2027, with Kiki Rice (guard), Aneesah Morrow, and Teonni Key (both forwards) on non-guaranteed contracts. Nyara Sabally (forward/centre) will be a restricted free agent, meaning Toronto has the right to match any offer she gets. Toronto also has the reserved rights to Maria Conde (wing), Laura Juskaite (forward), Yvonne Ejim (forward), Ornella Bankole (guard) and Zaay Green (guard) – meaning they can send them qualifying offers before full free agency opens.
Harrison (forward), Kia Nurse (guard) and Temi Fagbenle (centre) are then left as unrestricted free agents.
While it’s already clear that Fagbenle won’t be signed back, the futures of Harrison and Nurse are unclear. Harrison had her best season yet in Toronto, scoring 12.8 points per game with 6.9 rebounds – so it wouldn’t be shocking to see interest from both sides in a return for Harrison. Still, the Tempo are left with a serious lack of centres on their roster.
Unfortunately for the Tempo, there is also a lack of centres in the free agency pool.
The biggest name that pops out is Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx, and while not a centre, she would elevate the Tempo’s frontcourt immediately.
Toronto could also take a swing at veteran All-Star Brittney Griner, but Griner missed most of the 2026 campaign with injury. NaLyssa Smith of the Las Vegas Aces showed potential this season, but was injured in the Aces’ game versus Toronto in Vancouver in August. The Aces have not given a timeline on Smith’s recovery, so her status is unknown.
Names like Stef Dolson, Kalani Brown, and Teira McCowan are also possibilities, so the Tempo have options. They also have cap space, especially once Fagbenle’s $1 million from this season frees up.
One name that might be more in reach for the Tempo is Emma Meesseman. The Belgian superstar last played in the WNBA for the New York Liberty in 2025, and historically selectively chooses when to make the trip to North America for a WNBA stint. Her stats alone paint a clear picture: she most recently averaged 21.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game at the FIBA World Cup with Belgium.
She also has ties to Tempo, notably with Allemand. Teammates on both the Belgian national team and on Turkey’s star-studded Fenerbahçe club in the EuroLeague, the two have chemistry as an on-court duo. Add in that Juskaite will be joining them in Istanbul this winter, and perhaps Meesseman could be convinced to return to the WNBA.
Toronto could also take a swing at a restricted free agent, despite the fact that the burn from missing out on Shakira Austin still stings. With cap space to spare, though, Toronto could likely try to outbid a team for a player in their sights.
One player that could be worth that risk is the Wings’ centre, Awak Kuier. The 6-foot-6 native of Finland was in and out of Dallas’s starting lineup this year and could be ready for a change of scenery.
The Tempo will also scour the international scene for potential hidden gems, hoping to land on another success story like Juskaite, Conde and Bankole.
“We’re the WNBA’s only international team, and just as much as it is a priority to have Canadians on our roster, it’s always going to be a priority to have internationals,” Wright Rogers said about scouting internationally. “As this league evolves, you’ll see similar trends as the NBA, where more and more internationals will be a part of it, and I think it’s a good thing.”
All of this paints a pretty clear picture for the Tempo’s off-season. The goals are to draft a future star, add some size, and prioritize defence. With the extreme uncertainty the Tempo experienced in their last off-season, it’s nice to go into the next one with clarity.
