7 Names the Toronto WNBA expansion team should consider

Category 3: Movie Names

The Toronto Raptors got their team name from the No. 1 movie in 1993, Jurassic Park. Could the WNBA team take a page out of their playbook and do the same?

No. 6: Toronto Barbies

This may seem like a joke of an entry, and perhaps it is to some extent, but naming an NBA team after dinosaurs from a movie was somewhat of a joke as well. The No. 1 movie in 1993, the year before the team name was announced, was Jurassic Park; if we apply the same chronology to the present, the No. 1 movie in 2023 was Barbie.

There are some obvious thematic connections as well, as the summer blockbuster hit was not afraid to ask tough questions about feminism and patriarchy, and as the WNBA slowly expands the contrast between women's sports and men's sports is only highlighted further. The artwork and color scheme would be memorable.

In the end, the name is too silly and to many female athletes and fans likely communicates the wrong kind of message, more about the doll than the movie. This one can't be seriously considered.

No. 7: Toronto Twisters

If we move the scope to this year instead and look ahead to summer blockbusters, one in particular stands out: Twisters, something of a remake and sequel of the 1996 thriller about chasing tornados. The 2024 movie will star Glen Powell, currently the exploding star of Holly wood, and could be the hit of the year.

Toronto and south-central Canada overall do get a fair amount of tornado activity, even if they aren't defined by it as the Great Plains states are. It certainly fits more to have a team in Iowa or Oklahoma take up that name. Yet the alliteration rolls off the tongue, it has the cinematic tie-in, and it would be easy to build some exciting logos and artwork. In a weak category, it takes the prize.

Honorable Mentions: Toronto Doubtfires (another top 1993 film); Toronto Bene Gesserits (Dune 2 in 2023)

Winner: Toronto Twisters