Toronto driving ‘a little sus,’ sirens at 2 a.m.: Tempo players reflect on life in the city - Toronto Star

Players open up at season-end news conference on Toronto's wild streets, sleepless nights — and what's ahead in Year 2.

Tempo rookie Kiki Rice, evading Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever in August, will keep playing pro ball in the off-season.

Toronto Tempo players are packing their bags for the off-season while the front office turns its attention to next year, and the priorities are clear: better defence, more paint presence and a healthier team.

General manager Monica Wright Rogers spoke exclusively to the Star this past week about their inaugural WNBA season and what comes next. On Saturday, the GM and head coach Sandy Brondello were aligned in their season-end media availability.

“We were last in the league defensively in terms of statistics and efficiency wise, net rating was last in the league, so … we need to improve in that area,” Wright Rogers said.

The Tempo have building blocks, with most of the roster expected to return, and will add more young talent in the draft. After an 11-33 finish, they are tied for the best odds of winning the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery. 

The Tempo say Toronto has made strides as a free-agent destination.

“I’ve heard (of) so many people visiting Toronto,” said Brondello, who coached in New York before joining the expansion Tempo. “They actually loved it, and that’s a part of it, isn’t it? At least free agents want to go somewhere where they can enjoy the city as well, and this is a big city, it’s a big market.”   

Season one in the city was an eye-opener for Tempo guard Brittney Sykes.

“Y’all don’t go to sleep. I never knew that fire trucks and police sirens can go off at two o’clock in the morning,” she joked. “I only know that because we come back late at night flying in from games and I’m trying to go to sleep and there goes a siren … I only thought that happened in New York City, but it happens here, too.”

All-star guard Marina Mabrey‘s ordeal with Rogers over Wi-Fi (now resolved) made headlines during the season. On Saturday, she shared another cautionary tale.

“It’s probably almost getting hit by those trains, that was crazy. I need to look both ways. I, like, never know which way they’re coming ... I played in L.A., so the traffic is bad, but ... sometimes maybe the driving in Canada is a little sus.”

Rookie forward Teonni Key called the city’s traffic “horrible” and “bizarre.”

After leading UCLA to an NCAA championship, point guard Kiki Rice made a strong impression: fourth among WNBA rookies in points per game (13.4) and third in rebounds (3.7).

“She’s a quick learner, she’s tough, she doesn’t take possessions off, and I think the next evolution for her is to continue to shoot the three more,” Brondello said.

In the off-season, Rice plans to play in Unrivaled, a professional three-on-three league, and train with Mabrey.  

Lithuanian forward Laura Juškaite arrived in April unsure if she’d make the roster. In the end, she was one of the Tempo’s success stories.

Juškaite was the only Tempo player to see action in all 44 games, starting 36 while averaging 11.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals.

“It’s hard to come into the league first year, even if I’m 28 years old,” she said. ”(There were) ups and downs, but I was healthy, I played and I really got a lot of experience that I will use in the future.” 

Juškaite, unsigned for next year, will play for Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahçe in the off-season. Wright Rogers sees the WNBA continuing to tap further into markets around the world, similar to the NBA playbook.

“As much as it is a priority to have Canadians on our roster and in this organization, it’s always (going to) be a priority to have internationals,” the GM said.

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Libaan Osman is a Toronto-based general assignment reporter for the Star's city team. Reach him via email: losman@thestar.ca.