WNBA Launches 30th Season with Expansion to 15 Teams

The WNBA launches its 30th season this week with expansion to 15 teams, including the league's first franchise outside the United States, the Toronto Tempo, alongside the Portland Fire. Preseason has concluded, setting the stage for a regular season marked by record national television coverage, a transformative collective bargaining agreement and heightened on-court accountability.

The Toronto Tempo debuts as Canada's entry, playing home games at Scotiabank Arena and road contests in Montreal and Vancouver. All Tempo games will air on TSN under a new multiyear Canadian media rights deal, the largest broadcast agreement for the WNBA outside the U.S. Team president Teresa Resch emphasized accessibility, stating, "The Tempo is Canada's team, and it is incredibly important that as many people as possible are able to watch our games and feel part of the Tempo community." Veterans Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes anchor the roster, joined by Canadian Kia Nurse, who scored the franchise's first preseason basket, a 3-pointer against the Connecticut Sun. Nurse described the reception: "The welcome I got from the fans was so amazing."

Canada boasts a deep WNBA history, with Kelly Boucher...