dailynewsnblog
It all happened in a flurry.
The Toronto Tempo had their first player. They signed their first free agent. They made their first draft pick. They brought on their first Canadian star. They unveiled their inaugural court.
Just under two years after CBC Sports first broke the news that the WNBA was coming to Toronto, and less than a month after the league and players agreed on a new collective bargaining, the Tempo are no longer just an idea. Now, they are a team.
On Tuesday, the franchise hosted fans for the first time at its Coca-Cola Coliseum home, where in addition to the court reveal, it introduced its dance troupe and held a “fireside chat” with president Teresa Resch, general manager Monica Wright Rogers and head coach Sandy Brondello.
If it wasn’t already clear from the two phases of franchise-building the Tempo have gone through — the long behind-the-scenes laying of the groundwork, and the breakneck assembly of the roster — the trio made no bones about wanting to enjoy and feel the excitement of the inaugural season.
If there was a general philosophy behind the group of players Wright Rogers brought in, it was just that.
“They want to be here. They can’t wait to be here. As we’re talking to them, as we’re texting them and they’re preparing to arrive, they’re nipping at the bud to touch down in Toronto,” the GM said after Monday’s college draft, where the Tempo selected UCLA’s Kiki Rice sixth overall.
“And so I think once you get on that court, you’ll really feel that excitement shine through, especially in games.”
Excitement was palpable
Indeed, even Tuesday night — an event at which just one player, Canada’s Kia Nurse, was publicly visible — the excitement was palpable.
One woman in the stands joyously called out to a friend sitting a few rows down and a few seats over. Some time later, she exchanged hugs with a different group of friends, all of them basking in the glow of professional women’s basketball’s arrival in Canada.
Nurse, of Hamilton, Ont., received the loudest applause — twice over — after officially signing on as the team’s first Canadian playerearlier in the day.
Seated courtside next to her was Tempo principal owner Masai Ujiri, who seemed to be taking photos and shaking hands with nearly everyone who asked.
“I think this is gonna be a very special time period,” Wright Rogers said. “We really have to protect it and cherish it and not rush through it and allow everyone to kind of process through just how special this time is and the experiences for each player.”
Still, the Tempo also seem to know that you can’t subsist on vibes forever.
Across the continent, the expansion Portland Fire have taken a distinctly future-looking approach, headlined by a seventh-overall pick in Iyana Martin, who won’t be with the team until 2027. The Fire staff left Monday’s draft in New York without having a single player to sell to fans this season.
Conversely, Wright Rogers touted Rice as “pro ready.”
“We have an already established backcourt, but she’s going to be a piece that adds to that. She can handle the ball. She can guard the perimeter. She added her shooting late in her college career, which just really made her the perfect fit for us,” Wright Rogers said.
Acting with intention
Second-round pick Teonni Key is also expected to provide front-court depth for the Tempo.
The rookies will fit around Marina Mabrey — the team’s core player, and, per Resch, technically the first $1-million player ever in the WNBA (there are already about 25) — plus free-agent additions Brittney Sykes and Temi Fágnbélé, who arrived with expansion experience having played for the Golden State Valkyries last season.
Fágnbélé’s deal was also reportedly worth $1 million.
Wright Rogers said the Tempo acted with intention during every step of the condensed off-season.
“You don’t have a ton of time to ruminate on your decisions. I think those of us that have done the work and the research and have prepared for these moments, the timeline didn’t really affect us as much. And so I think that was us, right?” Wright Rogers said.
“We had the luxury of being an expansion team. And so the preparation was just exhaustive. And so we were over-prepared. And when we got to this moment, sometimes you do have to sit on a decision and sit with a decision for a long period of time. And we were OK making quick decisions and being gunslingers in certain situations.”
The WNBA draft took place Monday in New York City and Toronto Tempo selected UCLA’s Kiki Rice in the sixth pick in the opening round.
Now, the plan is to come out firing.
While Brondello said in her opening press conference that she would allow the players to dictate style and culture — a quote that Resch repeated on Tuesday — it is clear that the Australian bench boss sought those who could keep up with her pace-and-space philosophy.
Nyara Sabally, expected to start at centre for the Tempo, played for Brondello with the New York Liberty and should be a big part of instilling that system.
Nurse, meanwhile, may no longer be the same player she was when she made her lone all-star appearance in 2019, also as a member of the Liberty. But it would have been malpractice to skip on the chance to have a Canadian on the roster — and the fans clearly supported the decision.
On Tuesday, Nurse did not take the mic or speak to the crowd. Unlike Ujiri, she mostly stayed seated and limited interactions to those around her. When the camera panned toward her, she simply made a heart with her fingers.
The crowd roared.
If all goes accordingly, there will be plenty more where that came from throughout this summer.
