With less than a year until the Toronto Tempo take the court for the first time, and even less time before the first roster is announced, it’s time to start dreaming about what that initial squad could look like.
Of course, it’s still too early to discuss potential expansion draft strategy, outline exact free agency targets, or lock down who Toronto will take in the first round of the 2026 draft. But, it’s not too soon to think about the Canadians who are already in this league and the success they’re having. So put on your imagination cap and let’s play a game of what if. Even beyond the fun of imagination, there are reasons why this works for both sides.
In a perfect dream world, Kia Nurse has to be the first free agent the Toronto Tempo signs. Nurse is synonymous with Canadian women’s basketball. 2025 marks her seventh season in the league; she’s a dominant veteran force now who’s destroyed Canadian records and collected recognition of each of the five teams she’s played for. And when she’s not working on the court, she shows up in front of the camera as an NCAA analyst during her off-season. Since 2020, she’s been bringing college hoops to Canadians as an analyst at TSN, so it just makes sense for her to help bring the first team to Canada as well.
The early years
But long before she graced TV screens, Nurse fell in love with the game. She grew up in Hamilton, Ontario and jumped at any chance she had to compete, and then later, to represent her country.
Nurse comes from a long line of family sports dominance. Her brother, Darnell Nurse, just clinched a second consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearance with the Edmonton Oilers, while her cousin, Sarah Nurse, currently leads one of Toronto’s newest professional women’s sports teams, the Toronto Sceptres. Loving sports and working hard for professional success is as much her nature as it is her nurture.
When it was time for Nurse to find a college program she had plenty of balls in her court. She narrowed a list of almost 50 schools down to four: Penn State, Indiana, Kentucky, and Connecticut. There’s very few players who’d turn down the opportunity to play for Geno Auriemma and so, Nurse became a UConn Huskie.
While in the NCAA, the Canadian quickly became a star and had the opportunity to play alongside players like Brianna Stewart and Napheesa Collier who’d grow up and become some of the best the WNBA has ever seen.
Her ‘Welcome to the W’
Nurse was drafted 10th overall by the New York Liberty in 2018. She excelled in her first season, scoring 17 points in her WNBA debut before recording that season’s rookie high of 34 points a month later against the Indiana Fever.
In 2019, Nurse started in the All-Star game and played in the 3-point shooting competition.
So far, she’s played three seasons for the Liberty, and then one season each with the Phoenix Mercury, Seattle Storm, Los Angeles Sparks and now, with the Chicago Sky.
The six-foot guard was most effective in her second season in the league when she averaged 13.7 points per game and almost 30 minutes.
Nurse’s play took a bit of a downwards turn after she tore her ACL in 2021 during Game 4 of the playoff semifinals against the Las Vegas Aces. As a result, she missed the entire 2022 season.
Through the four games Chicago has had this season, Nurse is averaging 7.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist. It’s fair to wonder if a new start — in a place she has previously represented — would do her well.
Why the Tempo are dreaming of Nurse
Simply put, Nurse is Canadian women’s basketball. She’s been in and around the game during some of its most critical years, helping to elevate the league and promote it—through play and coverage—to the level of respect and recognition it deserves.
If she were to come home to the Tempo in 2026, Nurse would bring the veteran skills and leadership she’s already developed through her time in the league, but more than that, she would come full circle in what she’s done for women’s hoops in this country.
Plus, imagine both Toronto’s top pro women’s sports teams being led by Nurse women.
The Tempo will need a leader who can uplift young talent and anchor a brand-new and growing fanbase through what will most likely be a tough first few seasons. Nurse hasn’t had a permanent home since her first three seasons with the New York Liberty. She just signed with her fifth team this off-season and after one year with the Chicago Sky, she once again becomes a free agent who’s looking for her sixth home in as many years. The Toronto Tempo has elite timing; this off-season, it’s time for Nurse to come home for good.
