While the standings might not reflect it, the Toronto Tempo’s introduction to the WNBA was undoubtedly a success this season.
Injuries and inconsistent play hurt them on the court, but it didn’t stop the Tempo from turning in some dazzling performances and packing arenas across the country.
From Marina Mabrey elevating herself to star status to rookie Kiki Rice delivering as the first-ever draft pick in franchise history, here are three reasons why Toronto has the potential to be an impact franchise in the coming seasons.
Mabrey is an All-Star
The Tempo identified Mabrey as someone who could be a game changer on and off the court and that hunch has paid off.
Nabbing her in the expansion draft and signing her to a two-year max deal, Mabrey took her game to new heights this season, averaging a career high in points per game (20.8), blowing her previous mark of 15.0 she set with Chicago in 2023 out of the water.
Her biggest performance of the season came on June 25 against the Los Angeles Sparks, when she dropped 53 points in a 125-97 win. Mabrey’s 53 points tied the WNBA’s single-game scoring record, putting her in the history books alongside A’ja Wilson and Liz Cambage.
Mabrey was not afraid to have the ball for the Tempo in critical moments this season as this year’s highlight pack is filled with three-pointers and key shots by Mabrey to get her team back in a game.
Toronto needed a player to step up and be the focal point in their inaugural season and Mabrey more than answered that call.
Rookie Rice proves Tempo right
UCLA made history 2026 WNBA Draft, with six players drafted on the night, including five in the first round.
Rice was the third Bruin off the board after Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez at sixth overall as the Tempo’s first pick. Despite an ankle injury that cost her nearly two full months, the 22-year-old point guard has made big leaps in her rookie season.
She is averaging 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists and has been playing big minutes since returning at the end of July, including six games of 30-plus minutes as most of the Tempo’s starting lineup is on the injured reserve.
The Tempo are firmly in contention to land a top-three pick in the 2027 WNBA Draft with college stars like Juju Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo and Madison Booker all eligible to turn pro next season. Pairing Rice with another young star in 2027 would take Toronto to the next level.
Tempo not just a Toronto favourite
The Tempo has earned the love from its fans in Toronto, but that adulation has also come from across Canada.
The team played two regular-season games in July at the Bell Centre in Montreal, selling out both games and setting a WNBA single-game record for attendance with 20,996 fans.
While crowds in Vancouver weren’t as large as in Montreal, Tempo players took note of how pro-Tempo the fans on the West Coast were in their two games.
As the expansion era has taken hold in the WNBA with three more cities already scheduled for teams, Toronto has the unique opportunity to continue to build a fanbase across the country as the league’s lone Canadian franchise.
