Toronto Tempo don’t look like a WNBA expansion team early on

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Five games in, the Toronto Tempo don’t much look like a typical expansion team.

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Tuesday’s impressive 98-91 win in Phoenix over the Mercury, last year’s fourth-best WNBA team, brought the Tempo to 3-2.

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Even the two losses could easily have gone the other way and were by a combined seven points.

This group was constructed with an eye on being competitive right away instead of tanking ahead of a loaded draft, but even so, the Tempo looks to be considerably ahead of schedule.

Also keep in mind they’re doing this as an already-undersized outfit that didn’t have top forward Nyara Sabally against Phoenix, or backup centre Temi Fagbenle (veteran forward Isabelle Harrison, a free-agent signing, has yet to debut with the Tempo as she recovers from injury). As well, talented guard Julie Allemand (coming off a dominant run in Europe) has missed the past two games.

What has gone right?

Guards Marina Mabrey and Brittany Sykes have both been fantastic. Sykes scored 14 points in the team’s first game, struggling from the floor, but since has been as good as anyone.

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Sykes is up to 25.6 points per game, trailing only Los Angeles star Kelsey Plum’s 26.8 (ahead of household names like A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark) and is fourth in steals at 2.2 per game.

The 10-year veteran is in line for a fourth straight all-star selection, but has never been better offensively. Last year Sykes dropped to 11.8 points per game and she’s averaging nearly 10 points more than her career high of 15.9 set in 2023 while with Washington. All while playing her typically elite defence.

Meanwhile, Mabrey has been stellar herself. She hit six three-pointers against Phoenix (the second time she has nailed six in a game this season, helping her rank second in three-point makes per game) and scored 30 in all, just the fifth time she has done that in 235 career games.

Mabrey also is getting to the free-throw line a lot, ranking 20th in attempts, though Sykes leads all at a whopping 10.4 per game.

Rookie Kiki Rice, Toronto’s first-ever draft pick, already is getting into a groove. Fresh off an NCAA title with UCLA, Rice was expected to be able to make an impact immediately.

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She has done just that, other than a scoreless debut, missing only 5-of-15 shots over the past two games while stuffing the stat sheet (15 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals against Phoenix, 19 points, five rebounds, two assists against Los Angeles). Toronto is clearly absolutely loaded at guard.

Fellow rookies Laura Juskaite and Maria Conde also have played well.

Head coach Sandy Brondello has done strong work so far, despite the team not being close to full strength.

Chasing the Valkyries

The Tempo studied last year’s expansion side, the Golden State Valkyries well. That team started 2-3, then set a new WNBA high for wins by an expansion team with a record of 23-21 and became the first expansion side to make the playoffs.

It was revealed this week that Golden State is now worth $1 billion US, the most valuable of all WNBA franchises.

The team’s success resulted in a coach of the year nod for Natalie Nakase and a most improved player win for Veronica Burton.

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This year, prognosticators pegged the Tempo to win 15.5 games this season, with under bets getting a lot more action than over. So far, that looks like the wrong call. They might not equal Golden State’s success, but they look like a group capable of making a mark.

Fellow expansion addition Portland has impressed too, starting 2-2 with Canadian Bridget Carleton, the first pick of the expansion draft, ranking 15th in scoring and fourth in three-point makes.

What’s next?

This four-game trip ends Thursday at Minnesota before Toronto heads home to take on expansion cousin Portland on Saturday.

After that, there’s a Wednesday game in Chicago and a home matinee against Seattle on Saturday, May 30.

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