All star weekend is here! With that, the Toronto Tempo get a much-needed break before we enter into the latter half of this season. Let’s take this moment to reflect on the Tempo’s inaugural season. We offer five observations:
1. Marina Mabrey was the best pick in the expansion draft
While Carla Leite might have a chance at being the best expansion pick in a few years, there is no question that the Tempo selected the best player in the expansion draft in Marina Mabrey. Here are just some of Chef Mabrey’s accomplishments this season:
- Selected as an all-star
- Tied the WNBA record with 53 points scored in a single game
- Leads the league in overall 3-pointers made (with 82) and 3-point field goals made per game (with 3.3 per game), shooting the ball pretty efficiently at just under 40%.
- Ranks fourth amongst players in scoring at 21 points per game. This is a career high for her (she only averaged between 14 to 15 points per game over the past three seasons).
Chef Mabrey is accomplishing all this while taking on the responsibility of being a number one option for the first time. Sabreena Merchant further noted, “Mabrey has played the most composed and disciplined basketball of her eight-year career and produced at her highest rate.”
Why Connecticut left her unprotected in the draft continues to boggle our minds. Regardless, the Tempo benefitted greatly.
Beyond Mabrey, however, looking back at the expansion draft, we have to be honest…in hindsight, it was kind of a let down. After our tally, 60% of the players the Tempo drafted have either been waived or aren’t playing this season because they haven’t come over from overseas.
Yes, the 40% remaining (i.e. Julie Allemand, Nyara Sabally, Maria Conde, and Marina Mabrey) have been significant contributors to the team. However, we can’t help but wonder if the Tempo could have selected Sarah Ashlee Barker (who is averaging career highs and who we had selected in our mock expansion drafts), Emily Engstler (who is averaging career highs for the Fire and would bring the toughness that we lack), or Kaitlyn Chen (who is having a breakout year for the Valkyries).
2. The Tempo would be in the playoffs if we had Shakira Austin
Folks might remember that, during free agency, the Tempo made a big splash by signing Shakira Austin to a max contact. Because of Austin being a restricted free agent, the Washington Mystics could and did match Toronto’s offer to retain Austin, which they did on the day of the rookie draft. The Mystics subsequently drafted Lauren Betts who plays the same position that Austin does.
From Washington’s perspective, we get it. It would be a mistake to let a talent like Austin go, especially since she played incredibly well in this past season of Unrivaled where she looked like she was ready to take the next leap as a player. And, this proved to be the right decision. Austin is averaging career highs in points, rebounds, and assists this season, and is nearly averaging a double-double in 14.5 points and 9.7 rebounds. Also, with a frontcourt of Austin, Kiki Irafen, and Lauren Betts, the Mystics is the best rebounding team in the WNBA and amongst the best in defensive rating.
And, boy oh boy, could the Tempo benefit from her at the center position.
Tempo is bottom three in points in the paint. Austin operates in the paint. Toronto is also bottom three in rebounds. Austin is ranked third in grabbing rebounds. We like Temi Fagbenle and think that, when healthy, she has a lot to offer this team, but Shakira Austin would have been perfect for this team.
3. The Toronto Tempo do not feel like an expansion team
Let’s take this opportunity to give a round of applause to the Tempo and the fans. From setting a new WNBA record for regular season attendance of 20,966 fans at the Bell Centre in Montreal to consistently selling out the Coca Cola Coliseum, Toronto and Canada at large have shown out for the Tempo and people are taking notice.
In the Tempo’s most recent game against the Las Vegas Aces, A’ja Wilson had glowing praise for Toronto:
In the June 19, 2026 game, I had the pleasure of running into part-owner of the Atlanta Dream and WNBA broadcaster, Renee Montgomery. I said, “We love you, Renee!” In response, she said, “this place is electric. Congratulations to you all.”
Beyond the court, we have seen notable individuals, including Kyle Lowry and Ayahna Cornish-Lowry, Masai Ujiri, and Serena Williams, amongst many others, join the Tempo ownership group.
The Tempo have set themselves up really well for the future.
4. We need a defensive identity
At this halfway mark of the season, we think we have a grasp of the Tempo’s offensive identity: shoot the 3-ball well, find opportunities to get on a fast break, get to the line and shoot free throws well, and trust in Chef Mabrey’s elite shot-making. We have also seen that, when we share and pass the ball well, this team can be pretty dynamic on the offensive end.
On the defensive side though, the Tempo have a lot of work to do.
We currently rank last in the WNBA in numerous defensive metrics, including points in the paint, offensive rebounds, and defensive rating, and we rank second-last in giving up the most points per game.
None of this is surprising. The team has endured an injury-riddled season, especially in our frontcourt and teams have exploited it.
Our hope for the remainder of the season is to solve some of those defensive issues, even though we know that solving all of them might be too tall of a task.
5. Is being the best of the rest a worthwhile goal for the season?
Before the injury to Brittney Sykes, the Toronto Tempo’s record stood at 7 – 7. If we want to go back even further, prior to Kiki Rice’s injury, the Tempo’s record was 5 – 4.
Since Slim’s injury, the Tempo have gone 3 – 9. Even more alarmingly, against the upper echelon teams (or teams above 0.500) in the WNBA, the Tempo currently have a record of 1 – 12. To make matters worse, the Tempo have the second toughest remaining schedule amongst all WNBA teams.
Inevitably, the question of whether to compete for a playoff spot or tank should be the goal for the remainder of the season.
While tanking is alluring, our hope is for the Tempo to be healthy and be able to compete at full strength for at least part of the season. To not be able to see how this team looks at full strength would be a shame to the players, fans, and organization. It also makes it hard to determine how to tweak this team moving forward without that data.
At this point, everything that has been reported is pointing towards the likelihood that Slim, Rice, and Sabally will return to the court.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that these players return healthy and the Tempo end up punching well above their weight after the all star break and get into the playoffs.
If the more likely scenario happens and the Tempo win some more games but don’t make the playoffs, this season has already been a successful inaugural season and the team can build on that success for year two.
Even if all else fails and the Tempo don’t win as many games as we’d like, we will then still have a high draft pick in next year’s draft. We can have our cake and eat it too.
