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  • Tempo vs Storm Game Report – May 13, 2026

    Tempo vs Storm Game Report – May 13, 2026

    Emotions ran high as the Toronto Tempo got their first ever franchise win, beating the Seattle Storm 86-73. 

    In this piece, we break down the good and the bad from this game, and what to expect in their next game against the Los Angeles Sparks. 

    The Good

    After what Coach Sandy Brondello called was an ‘ugly’ offensive game for the Tempo after their first game against the Washington Mystics, there was a lot more to like about the Tempo’s offense in game 2. We saw much calmer, fluid, and improved ball movement and a more connected team. This resulted in a jump from a brutal 10 team assists in game 1 to 21 assists in game 2. 

    On defense, the Tempo also did an excellent job of disrupting the passing lanes, getting steals, and breaking out in transition. Believe it or not, this Toronto Tempo team is currently your league leader in steals!

    While we saw a taste of their transition game in game 1, the difference in this game was the execution. The Tempo scored 26 points off turnovers while the Storm only scored 14. 

    We have to give a shout out to Maria Conde who contributed with four 3-pointers. Her ability to shoot the 3 can end up being huge for this team.

    This site is also quickly becoming a Nyara Sabally fan site but we are loving the way she is playing on both sides of the floor. While containing Seattle’s bigs was a tall order, Sabally’s effort was admirable and she contributed 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. 

    In our last piece, we saw lots of potential from the Allemand and Sabally connection. This game saw another one of their highlights. We will continue to clamour for more of these plays throughout the season.

    Finally, we give the biggest shout out to Marina Mabrey’s shotmaking. 6 for 11 from the 3 point line with some incredible shots made in the second half including the highlight of the game. 

    The Bad

    As many feared and predicted, Seattle’s front court cooked us all night. Dominique Malonga and Stephanie Dolson got all the looks they wanted, whether it was a pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop. However, the Tempo managed to keep Seattle’s offensively talented guards in check. 

    The Tempo’s turnovers, especially between Slim and Mabrey, were also noticeable. As tempo.basketball creator, Arlin, said “if your two million dollar players are turning the ball over when passing to one another, that is not good”. 

    Sykes also didn’t have a good game on offense. And that can be summed up in one line: Driving Slim is good; shooting Slim is bad. In the long run, if this becomes a trend, other teams will expose this issue.

    The Future

    All in all, the vibes were impeccable and the Tempo should be really proud of this win.

    Next up, the Tempo play the Los Angeles Sparks. While the Sparks have started the season 0 – 2, they have built a team to compete now and they will be eager to right the ship.

    Containing Kelsey Plum will not be easy. She is a one-player highlight reel with her offensive array of step backs, speedy drives, hesitation moves, and sharp shooting. Slim’s defense will be put to the test. 

    Toronto’s clear weakness in the front court will be put to the test with the Sparks’ potent lineup of Dearica Hamby and Nneka Ogwumike. Also, don’t sleep on Rae Burrell. While she has been known to be an inconsistent player, when she is at her best, she can drive to the basket and finish like a taller Brittney Sykes. 

    This will also be Tempo’s first road trip. Our role players will also be put to the test with the need to produce in front of thousands of booing fans not screaming fans.

  • Tempo vs Mystics Game Report – May 8, 2026

    Tempo vs Mystics Game Report – May 8, 2026

    The inaugural game for the Toronto Tempo is now in the books. The excitement and energy inside the Coca Cola Coliseum was electric. The arena was sold out. The fans, Toronto, and Canada at large showed out. 

    The Tempo themselves? That was more of a mixed bag. 

    Unfortunately, the Tempo dropped their inaugural game in entertaining and close fashion to the Washington Mystics, 68-65. 

    Here is the Good, the Bad, and the Future outlook following the game.

    The Good

    In the 3rd quarter, Marina Mabrey was tantalizing and momentum-swinging, but the unsung hero of the game might be Nyara Sabally. 

    Sabally had three steals but appeared to actually have had 4 or 5 plays where she picked the pocket at the point of attack for fast break layups. Fans of the New York Liberty may have gotten flashbacks to Nyara’s championship game OT steal against the Lynx. 

    The Julie Allemand to Sabally pick and roll in the first quarter was also a thing of beauty!

    The Tempo’s defensive energy was admirable across the team. We saw deflections; we saw steals; we saw them force 18 Mystics turnovers, leading to 18 points for the Tempo. We want to see more of that energy throughout the season. 

    The Bad

    As one might have expected, the offensive connectivity simply was not there. The Tempo forced shots instead of making the extra pass. Where the extra pass was made, we caught glimpses of how effective and pretty basketball can be.

    In the 4th quarter, the team curiously went away from having Allemand run the offense even though she had proven to be successful in that role during the other quarters.

    As a result, the team shot a poor 27% from the field. 

    The nerves of game 1 and a short training camp for a completely brand new team might also explain this poor shooting, so we’ll give them a pass on that for now.

    Finally, this game also saw Shakira Austin who has clearly improved her game since last season playing for the opposing team. She drove to the paint with speed, force, and control. Austin showed her improved footwork and patience in a variety of spins and layups. While it was out of Toronto’s control, not being able to get Austin in the offseason hurt us in game 1 and might hurt us even more in the future. 

    The Future

    The Mystics didn’t play particularly well. They could have exposed Toronto’s lack of size in the frontcourt by dumping the ball into the paint even more often and/or playing more inside-out game, dumping the ball into Austin or Iriafen to collapse the defense then kick it out to open shooters for clean shots. The Tempo will have to expect the Mystics to play better the next time they meet. 

    The lack of depth amongst our bigs could turn out to be a season-long issue. 

    In game 1, Nyara went out for a chunk of time and Temi didn’t play at all in the 4th because of a shoulder issue. Juskaite tried admirably to fill in but the competition is going to get tougher. 

    On Wednesday, the Tempo will take on the Seattle Storm. Luckily, for Toronto, Awa Fam (overseas commitment) and Ezi MagBegor (injury) are slated to still be out of the lineup, so Seattle’s size advantage will be reduced. However, the Tempo will need to try and limit Dominique Malonga from singlehandedly dominating the game. On the perimeter, look for Brittney Sykes and Kiki Rice to contain the strong scoring production the Storm have seen from all their guards, including Zia Cooke, Lexie Brown, Jade Melbourne, Natisha Hiedeman, and Flau’Jae Johnson. If they do, we might have a chance to see the Tempo get their first win of the season.

  • Tempo 101: What to Expect from Toronto Tempo Basketball

    Tempo 101: What to Expect from Toronto Tempo Basketball

    Tempo fans! The wait is finally over. Tonight, the Toronto Tempo tip off against the Washington Mystics to start their inaugural season. 

    For anyone checking out the game tonight that are less familiar with what to expect from the team on the court. This primer is for you. Here, we provide an introduction to what the Tempo’s style of basketball might look like, who you should be looking out for, and their potential areas of weakness. 

    The Stars

    The two marquee players on this Tempo team who will take on most of the initial spotlight are Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes.

    At her best, Mabrey is a deadeye shooter who can heat up in an instant to hit tough 3-pointers and long 2-pointers from anywhere on the court. Look for her to be the team’s primary option and our leading scorer throughout the season. Mabrey is also very well known for her temper and is not shy to get messy on the court if players dare cross her, which adds another layer of drama and unpredictability to her game. Fans could end up loving and hating Mabrey at the same time. 

    @brwsports

    Mabrey and Johannes were called for a double-foul, while Rivers was assessed a tech (first of her career), after the exchange. #wnba #womensbasketball #nyliberty #connecticutsun

    ♬ original sound – B/R W Sports

    2025 WNBA all-star Brittney Sykes’ offense comes from her ability to drive to the basket and weave her way past defenders, using her speed, angles, and crafty dribbling. Sykes is also a very smart cutter off the ball and can find gaps and get herself open for a layup. On defense, Zulfi Sheikh of Raptors Republic said it best, Sykes is a “point-of-attack pest“. In this piece, Sheikh she is a four-time all defense and two–time steals champ. Sykes also has a ridiculously long wingspan. Look for her to disrupt the other team’s best perimeter players (think Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu). 

    The X-Factors

    On offence, point guards, Julie Allemand and Kiki Rice, will be key to unlocking this Tempo offence. While Sykes and Mabrey can create their own shot, most of the other players on the Tempo rely on being fed the ball and finishing plays. 

    Temi Fagbenle and Nyara Sabally, for instance, both have similar strengths in the pick and roll. Getting them driving toward the basket with speed and force is when they are at their best and developing a chemistry with Allemand and Rice respectively will be key to translating those strengths into points. 

    On the perimeter, Kia Nurse and Lexi Held are knockdown shooters who work best when they find themselves open without the ball. Allemand and Rice being able to command the ball and find these players in their spots where they are at their best will be critical.

    Also, look for Kiki Rice to continue developing her own scoring over the course of the season. In last week’s two preseason games, we already caught a glimpse of Rice being able to post up her defender then working to blow by them for layups. If Rice is able to develop a multifaceted isolation game effectively by year 1, the sky is the limit for her. 

    The Style of Play

    As reported by Ian Finlayson, Coach Brondello stated that she wants the Tempo to be a tough, defensive minded team with a keen eye on limiting the opposing teams’ transition opportunities. 

    On offence, Brondello stated that the Tempo strive to be a “five-out team, predominantly. And just getting used to that, because some of them are not used to that, and getting comfortable with the movement. You know, we like to move the ball. Point-five mentality, you’ll hear me say that a fair bit. We don’t like to hold it, we want to move it, but then also how do we create advantages?” 

    Point-five basketball can be crudely defined by a player – once receiving the ball – having 0.5 seconds to decide if they are going to shoot, dribble, or pass. This system sees players moving at all times with multiple actions on one play (we’ll get back to that term in a second) in an effort to continually create and stack advantages to find the best opportunity to score.

    Because of this system, look for the Tempo to use a lot of screens (both on the ball and off the ball) and cuts (from players who don’t have the ball), and very fast passing. 

    Coincidentally, the Toronto Raptors also run this type of 0.5 offence. Imagine the Raptors when they were at their best on offense is how the Tempo would like to play. 

    Finally, a five-out offense will help to maximize spacing on the floor for players like Sykes and Rice to drive to the basket with an option for layups or kick it out to players like Mabrey, Nurse, and Held for open 3-pointers. 

    The Areas of Weakness

    Looking at the current Tempo roster, it’s clearly guard-heavy at the moment. Our front court is thin and this lack of size can end up being the most significant area of weakness on both ends of the court.

    From the depth perspective, the team will be reliant on Fagbenle and Sabally. Isabelle Harrison is currently out with an injury. Teonni Key and Laura Juškaitė both showed hustle in the preseason but also a lack of polish. Newly signed, Mariella Fasoula, could bring a different look for Brondello’s team with her passing ability and footwork in the post, but that is a hopeful take until we see how she does against competition in the W. 

    On offense, as mentioned above, Fagbenle and Sabally have similar strengths. Will that become too predictable and easy for opposing teams to game plan for?

    On defense, the Tempo’s lack of depth might make taking on teams with lots of size, like New York, Atlanta, Washington, and Seattle, problematic. 

  • Tale of Two Cities: Season Outlooks for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire

    Tale of Two Cities: Season Outlooks for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire

    The Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire will officially kick off their inaugural seasons this week. While both teams will often be mentioned together under the same breath as the two new expansion teams, the paths that they have taken to building their respective teams couldn’t be more different. 

    What holds for the future of these two expansion franchises? We break down the dramatically different approaches these two teams took to building their teams this offseason and their best and worst case outlooks for this season (and into the future). 

    Portland Fire

    Portland Fire

    The Portland Fire began their team-building process by selecting mostly young players with potential in the expansion draft, bookended by Bridget Carleton and Carla Leite (who is also young but showed in her rookie season that she is a starter-level point guard worthy of more minutes and responsibility). 

    Next, in the rookie draft, the Fire further drafted Iyana Martin Carrion from Spain who is slated to not come over to the WNBA until next season. They also drafted Frieda Buhner, another international player in the second round. 

    Finally, the Fire had a relatively quiet offseason, signing two role players in Karlie Samuelson and Megan Gustafson.

    Portland’s Best Case Scenario

    For their inaugural season, the Fire will be looking for their younger players to develop and hope that some will have breakthrough seasons. Carla Leite, for example, will have an opportunity to put up big numbers and command the offense from day one. Nyadiew Puoch, a first-round pick in 2024, spent the last couple of seasons playing in the WNBL in Australia where she impressed with her exceptional athleticism and length. She will have lots of runway to grow her game in Portland. Finally, look for Sarah Ashlee Barker and Luisa Geiselsoder to take on bigger roles and elevate their production. 

    Realistically though, the Fire are playing for the future. Some have even wondered if this is the team’s way of posturing to get to the number 1 draft pick in either the 2027 and/or the 2028 WNBA draft with the chance of drafting Juju Watkins in ‘27 and/or Sarah Strong in ‘28. If the Fire land the number one pick in either season, the opportunity to draft a franchise-changing player will make any and all losses this season worth the patient approach. 

    Portland’s Worst Case Scenario

    If some of the Fire’s young talent translates their potential into productivity and the team is not as bad as other teams that might also be playing for the future (see Connecticut Sun) OR if the draft lottery Gods are not on their side, Portland might not end up winning the Juju Watkins derby. While there is plenty of talent available in the 2027 WNBA Draft, not getting Juju would be a massive disappointment. 

    Toronto Tempo Logo

    Toronto Tempo

    The Toronto Tempo, on the other hand, have taken swing after swing in this very short offseason. This includes the signing of coach Sandy Brondello – one of the winningest coaches in WNBA history – months before the CBA was signed. 

    The expansion draft saw the Tempo select a top-30 player in Marina Mabrey along with older players with experience, including Julie Allemand, Kitija Laksa, Maria Conde, and Nikolina Milic. 

    In the rookie draft, Toronto selected Kiki Rice with the 6th pick, who played a huge role in helping UCLA win the NCAA National Championship only a week before the draft.  

    The swings continued in the offseason, where Toronto signed another top-30 player and 2025 all-star, Brittney Sykes, and tried to lure restricted free agent, Shakira Austin, from the Washington Mystics (which the Mystics matched so Austin will remain a member of the Mystics). 

    The Tempo didn’t stop there. They filled the roster with even more veterans in Temi Fagbenle, Isabelle Harrison, and Canadian basketball royalty, Kia Nurse. 

    For any Tempo fans that wanted to hit the inaugural season ground running, Toronto did just that. 

    Toronto’s Best Case Scenario

    While it would be unrealistic to expect Toronto to compete for a championship, the Tempo have made it clear that they want to compete and make the playoffs in their inaugural season. They will certainly have a chance but the league is deep and the road won’t be easy. Judging by the first two preseason games (and take that with a big grain of salt), a lot of work is needed for this team to come together and gel, especially on offense. However, Toronto has the talent to be competitive every night. More importantly, if the attention received thus far has been any indication, this team has a chance to capture the hearts and minds of fans across the country. 

    In the future, the infrastructure that the Tempo are building, along with the success in a market like Toronto, might also help to lure a marquee free agent in the next few seasons. 

    Toronto’s Worst Case Scenario

    All the big swings that Toronto also comes with some significant risk. Yes, both Sykes and Mabrey are top-30 players, but can you win meaningful games against top tier teams with a good (potentially very good) but not great team? 

    If not, the Tempo run the risk of being a team stuck in WNBA purgatory (i.e. the middle of the standings, where you aren’t good enough to win a championship and not bad enough to be able to have high draft picks in future rookie drafts). 

    We also wonder if the big contracts given to Sykes, Mabrey, and Fagbenle can result in positive or equal value in the future if the Tempo looks to trade these players. 

    From a future standpoint, Portland may have positioned themselves into a cleaner path towards finding long-term success while there is real risk of swinging and missing from Toronto. 

    Nevertheless, this is year 1 of a long and prosperous franchise. Rather than dwelling on future strategy, we urge fans (especially sickos like us) to enjoy the ride this season! 

  • Top 3 Draft Targets – Toronto Tempo

    Top 3 Draft Targets – Toronto Tempo

    After a frenzied weekend of free agency activity, the Toronto Tempo almost have a fully formed inaugural team (all the players that are currently on the Tempo roster can be found here). The fact that they have the sixth pick in the WNBA rookie draft is simply a cherry on top! 

    Toronto does not have to overthink this. They should simply take the best talent available. 

    Here are the top 3 players who we think the Tempo should consider picking with the 6th pick and how they might fit with the current roster. 

    1. Kiki Rice

    Recent NCAA National Champion, Kiki Rice, already has a very polished game. A 5’11” point guard, Rice has size, athleticism, poise, intelligence, and leadership. Her drives to the basket on fast breaks and in the half court are elite. She is unflappable with the ball in her hands and rarely turns the ball over. Over recent years, she has improved her shooting. On defense, she is an elite perimeter defender who can guard players bigger than her. What further separates Rice apart are her intangibles. If you’re not convinced, read Jack Moloney’s piece on Rice’s work ethic and leadership qualities and you will see that she will be a winning player in the W, maybe even on day one. 

    Fit with Tempo: Rice offers a clean fit. While she might come off the bench to start the season, she can be mentored by Julie Allemand, while commanding the second unit. Then, we can anticipate that Rice can take over the starting role by the end of the season. 

    2. Flau’jae Johnson

    Flau’jae Johnson is an electric talent. She is dynamic offensively with an array of step back, pull up, and side-step jumpers, and drives to the basket. She is also an accomplished defender. Off the court, Flau’Jae trailblazes as a hip hop artist and fashion icon. Yes, these off-the-court accomplishments shouldn’t matter as much, but we just think that Torontonians would love Flau’Jae and Flau’Jae would love Toronto in return. The only knock on Flau’Jae is that her stats last season dipped from past seasons. We think she is still very much worth the pick. 

    Fit with the Tempo: There would be an immediate logjam with Flau’Jae and Sykes at the shooting guard position. Knowing Sandy Brondello’s preference for playing veterans, it would be shock if Flau’Jae would win that starting spot over Sykes. However, Flau’Jae could start the season as the team’s sixth player to provide instant offense off the bench with the potential of becoming a full-time starter. 

    3. Gianna Kneepkens

    While best known as someone who can shoot the lights out from 3, Kneepkens should actually be billed as a 3-level scorer. Yes, she can shoot the 3, but she can also put the ball on the floor, get to a gap in the mid-range and shoot a fadeaway or a spinning one-legged shot. Kneepkens is a very creative and fearless scorer who was 0.7 field-goal percentage points shy of a 50-40-90 shooting season (49.3 FG%, 42.9 3PT%, 93.3 FT%).

    On the defensive side, Kneepkens might have a hard time staying in front of quicker guards on defense, but she’s a good enough passer and cutter to contribute in areas beyond only shooting.

    Fit with Tempo: similar to Flau’Jae, considering the money that has been devoted to Sykes and Mabrey, it would be hard to picture Kneepkens’ role other than coming off the bench to start the season. How her role evolves over the course of the season will be determined by how quickly her game develops to be able to contribute consistently.

    Toronto Tempo Fan Zone | WNBA Basketball
    Toronto Tempo Fan Zone | WNBA Basketball
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