The Toronto Tempo may have lost their final game to the Connecticut Sun 95 – 81, but they may have won in the long run as they now co-own the best lottery odds in the 2027 WNBA Draft.
We break down the good, bad, and outlook from this game.
The Good
In many ways, this game was a poetic end to the season. For the Toronto Tempo, this game might be the end of their season but this is very much just the beginning for this franchise. For Connecticut, on the other hand, this was the final game in the Mohegan Sun Arena and it is sad to see the first tribal-owned professional sports franchise based in a small market be moved to another big market.
Coming into this game, some Tempo fans also cleverly coined it the Juju bowl. To recap this game’s lottery implications: a Tempo win would have solidified the second-best lottery odds in the 2027 WNBA Draft. A Sun win meant the Tempo will share the best lottery odds with the Sun.
Right from the jump, both teams understood the brief and rested most of their key players. With the understanding that we were never going to be treated to the highest level of competitive basketball, the good from this game comes from the little moments.
We saw Teonni Key have some really good defensive moments and Zaay Green highlights capped off the first AND third quarters. Meanwhile, Isabelle Harrison found lots of success with the pick-and-roll.
However, the star of this game for the Tempo was Kiki Rice. Rice once again showcased how unstoppable she is at driving to the basket with her unique combination of speed, force, and strength. She also showed off her post moves, made long-range shots, and she finished off the final game of her rookie season by setting a new career high of 28 points. In hindsight, getting Rice with the sixth overall pick was an absolute heist. We can’t wait to see how her game develops next season.
The Bad
The same issues that have plagued the team all season long reared its head one last time this season. Simply put, the Sun dominated the paint, outscoring the Tempo 54 – 38. In the first half, Aaliyah Edwards muscled her way for offensive rebounds, layups, and trips to the free throw line.
In the third, the Sun made a consolidated effort to dump it into the post and find the mismatch. Reegan Beers put on a masterclass of how a pure centre can help your team and why the Tempo sorely needed one this season.
The Tempo’s offense was not clicking consistently this game either. They struggled from the 3-point line, shooting just 17% from 3, and made numerous careless initial passes leading to Sun run outs. As a team, the Tempo tallied up just 13 assists and the offensive flow looked quite disjointed, especially in the second half.
The Outlook
And yet, all of that doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that the Tempo now share the best lottery odds for the number 1 pick in the 2027 WNBA Draft with the Connecticut Sun. While it is not guaranteed that Juju Watkins declares for the draft, these odds give Toronto plenty of hope for their short-term and long-term future.
The Tempo will now brace for a very interesting offseason. The inaugural season saw plenty of highs and lows, and it also raised a lot of questions about roster construction and style of play moving forward. How they address those questions this offseason will be fascinating and exciting. One thing is for certain, however. We have no doubts that the Toronto Tempo will come back stronger and (hopefully) healthier next season.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.