Basketball fans in Toronto will soon have a new team to root for. The Tempo, one of the WNBA’s two newest franchises, will start playing this season. They will hold their expansion draft on April 3, select sixth overall in the WNBA Draft on April 13, and play their first regular-season home game on May 9.
Given the state of the W and the new expansion draft rules—pretty much every veteran is a free agent, and the Tempo and Fire can only select one unrestricted free agent each—it might take a while for the Tempo to be really competitive. They will most likely kick off their first season with a mix of veteran role players that other teams felt were expendable, young players who didn’t acquire star status yet, former draft-and-stash selections, and maybe one veteran star. The best free agents in the league don’t have a ton of motivation to sign with an unproven franchise in its first season when they could also chase a title elsewhere.
Nevertheless, Toronto already has a solid foundation for WNBA success. Sandy Brondello is a championship head coach, who won titles with New York and Phoenix, and she and GM Monica Wright both played in the W and understand what it takes to win. Moreover—and this is where Raptors fans will start to hear some familiar names—Larry Tanenbaum, who leads the ownership group, was involved with the Raptors when they won their 2019 NBA title. So was Tempo president Teresa Resch.
The Tempo continued their Raptors-related push for greatness by adding former Raptors GM and president Masai Ujiri as a principal owner. He was instrumental to the Raptors’ title run and will bring experience and expertise to a new franchise.
This first season is all about setting the tone for a bright future, and Masai Ujiri knows what it takes for a franchise to get to the promised land from a team-building perspective. But let’s make sure not to diminish the role Brondello, Wright, and Resch will play in any success the franchise finds.
Scottie Barnes might not be the only young star in Toronto basketball for much longer
Adding Masai Ujiri and his reputation to the ownership group only adds to the promising feeling around the Tempo. The team may not be great for a few seasons, given how difficult it is to build a team from the ground up and how strong the top of the WNBA is right now, but it could quickly land a young star to build around—much like the Raptors are doing with Scottie Barnes right now.
The expansion draft will yield some young talent with players like Carla Leite, Emily Engstler, Laeticia Amihere, Isobel Borlase, Nyara Sabally, or Aziaha James potentially available. So will the college draft since talents like Flau’jae Johnson, Ta’Niya Latson, Gianna Kneepkens, Kiki Rice, Iyana Martín, or Nell Angloma will be well within the Tempo’s range. But the real jackpot is the 2027 WNBA Draft when JuJu Watkins (unless she decides to stay at USC for another year) Zhang Ziyu, Mikaylah Williams, Madison Booker, MiLaysia Fulwiley, Hannah Hidalgo, Mikayla Blakes, Audi Crooks, Khamil Pierre, and Kymora Johnson will all be draft eligible.
There’s plenty of future superstars and franchise centerpieces in that group.