There have been two distinct themes to the Toronto Tempo’s pre-season – of course, building a good basketball team is top of mind for the expansion franchise. The other theme, one perhaps not understood fully by people who don’t know how hungry the city of Toronto has been for this team, is just how exciting this whole process is.
The level of performance will come, as head coach Sandy Brondello has said over and over these past few weeks. She’s urged patience, both as the team waited for its final players to arrive from overseas teams and as they now work to finalize their roster. This is a normal process for WNBA teams, and more so this season as teams reel from the effects of expansion and the new salaries that have come with the new collective bargaining agreement.
The Tempo are doing everything in its power to build a competitive basketball team right out of the gate. General manager Monica Wright Rogers told the Toronto Star last week that the expansion draft process went exactly how the Tempo had hoped it would, and that they are happy with the way their roster has worked out. In such a wild offseason, the Tempo focused on what was in their control: the expansion draft, pushing hard for their free agency targets, and scouting as much as they could so they could make informed decisions quickly.
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From there, they shifted to season preparation and training camp. In the early days, Brondello noted that the fact that the team is new means that everyone is in a situation they’ve never been in before, putting everyone on equal ground. There has been an effort to quickly build chemistry among the team, from in-camp icebreaking activities to bringing the team out into the city for events.
On the court, it’s been a lot of teaching. There are a few layers to that, whether it’s international players learning Brondello’s specific terminology or getting the rookies up to speed on concepts. Luckily for those who have played under Brondello before – Nyara Sabally, Isabelle Harrison, and Kia Nurse – the system is the same.
The team wants to be known for its defensive energy, a message echoed by players throughout the preseason. While that was starting to peek out in their preseason games against the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx, there is still a ton to improve on as the regular season starts.
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“There was improvement from game one,” Brondello said about the Tempo’s second preseason game against Minnesota. “We are still nowhere near where we need to be.” She praised her team’s physical defense but noted they still need to work on one-on-one defense. There has been a heavy emphasis on nailing down the basics as a brand-new team, but despite feeling a little “behind” in comparison to other teams around the league that have had years-long cores in place, improvements have been happening.
They have a former Defensive Player of the Year in Brittney Sykes to lead that defensive push, and Marina Mabrey has been vocal about locking into her defensive energy to play at the level she is expected to, as the team’s highest-paid player.
“For me, it’s a full circle moment,” Mabrey said about being the WNBA’s first $1 millon dollar contract, “I’m grateful to the people around me for helping me get to this point, and the Toronto Tempo for paying me all that money.” Mabrey went on to joke about making sure she does her job after getting that groundbreaking contract.
María Conde, the team’s “rookie” out of Spain, told the media on her first practice day that she’s worked to become a defensive threat throughout her career. While classified as a rookie because she’s never played in the WNBA before, the 29-year-old has been playing professionally in Europe since 2014. She played at Florida State from 2015 to 2017 before heading back to Europe, and was drafted to the Chicago Sky in 2019. Since then, her rights have bounced around the league, but she never came over to play in the WNBA. She’s been called “the best European talent to have never played in the WNBA before” by Brondello and other Tempo staff members and could very well be a secret weapon for the team this year.
“I think I’ve grown into a defensive player, which I am happy about,” Conde said on her first day of practice. “I am just happy to help with whatever the team needs. My size and speed, my smartness for the game, I can just adapt to whatever the team needs me to do.”
While the goal is certainly to be competitive, there is also an understanding around camp that this is an expansion franchise. It almost relieves the pressure a little bit, as they work to put all the pieces together. All success is going to be taken as a win, and any bumps in the road are understandable, given it’s the first time this team is going through any of this.
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Regardless of immediate results, this team is going to be met with a warm reception from their fanbase. In their lone home preseason game, the sellout crowd at Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto was enthusiastically cheering for the Tempo from tip-off to final buzzer. The city is so incredibly ready for the Tempo to start, this season will be a celebration of their arrival no matter the results.
Tempo players were surprised to be immediately recognized as soon as they arrived in Toronto. They were given a warm reception at the two Toronto Raptors’ playoff games they were in town for, and made an appearance at a Toronto Sceptres game as well. The players understand the gravity of what they are a part of here – bringing the WNBA into a new country.
The excitement is palpable around Toronto as the May 8 home opener creeps closer. After two years of lead-up since the team was officially announced, the fact that this Tempo team will finally start their season this week has been described as “surreal” by everyone from players to coaches to fans. Many players have mentioned “making history” as a big reason they decided to sign with Toronto in free agency or why they were excited to be heading here.
Regardless of how the summer ends up going, what people are going to remember about this first Toronto Tempo season won’t be the wins and losses, but the joy.