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Nell Fortner is pleading patience.
That’s Canada’s national women’s basketball team head coach’s advice for fans of the incoming Toronto Tempo, who will begin play in the WNBA next season.
And Fortner would know — she was the head coach of the expansion Indiana Fever in 2000.
“It was hard. I remember going on a 10-game losing streak … it was really, really hard. So you just have to be patient and just keep working your process, keep working your values and your culture,” Fortner said.
Even during her first training camp, Fortner had already crossed paths with Tempo president Teresa Resch and general manager Monica Wright Rogers.
She recalled how her Fever struggled to a 9-23 record in their first year, but were rewarded at the subsequent entry draft with the pick of Tamika Catchings that helped turn the franchise’s fortunes.
Twenty-five years later, Fortner predicted less pain for the Tempo than she experienced with the Fever.
“Here’s what I told [Resch],” Fortner said. “Y’all are in a much better position now because the talent is so much better. And there’s so much more of it. I mean, it’s just a worldwide game right now. Golden State’s talent is primarily international. I’m like, ‘dang man, that wasn’t like that [when I coached].'”
The newly hired Tempo general manager talks goals for the 2026 WNBA season and how she plans to build a championship-winning team.
Indeed, the Golden State Valkyries — who entered the league this season — can provide hope and a template to the Tempo.
The Valkyries came in as the first of six expansion franchises set to transform the WNBA into an 18-team outfit by 2030.
Toronto and Portland will be next up in 2026, followed by Cleveland, Philadelphia and Detroit later in the decade.
Exceeding expectations
Golden State arrived with low expectations — and rightfully so, given that the league’s previous four expansion teams, dating from 2000 to 2008, combined for a 24-108 record.
ESPN’s projection handed the Valkyries 15.7 wins. None of the U.S. sports media giant’s experts predicted Golden State would make the playoffs.
And yet, the leagues newest team sits 10-12 at the all-star break, right in the mix for a post-season spot.
Golden State’s roster-building journey began in December with the expansion draft, where each of the existing teams were allowed to protect up to six players, leaving the other half open for selection.
The Valkyries walked away with 11 players.
“Our goal was to construct a roster that embodies both versatility and depth, bringing in a strong mix of leadership, defence and scoring ability,” general manager Ohemaa Nyanin said. “These players were carefully chosen not only for their skills on the court, but also for their ability to fit into the culture we’re working to build here at Golden State.”
Untapped international talent pool
As Fortner alluded to, seven of those 11 players hailed from outside of the U.S.
Halfway through the season, four of the top seven Valkyries players in minutes per game are international.
“The international part … that wasn’t my mindset,” head coach Natalie Nakase said. “It was building the best team that I wanted to build.”
Still, the non-Americans could provide opportunity as less recognized and more untapped in terms of potential.
For the Tempo, the box-office draw and international flair could be combined by bringing a Canadian into the fold.
Golden State has used that exact strategy, with former first-rounder Laeticia Amihere providing impact as a rebounder and defender despite initially being cut from the opening-day roster.
Amihere’s fellow 2024 first-round pick Aaliyah Edwards could follow the same path. Despite a standout rookie season for the Washington Mystics, the Kingston, Ont., native has struggled to carve out a role this season, leading to the team reportedly seeking a trade to give her extra opportunity.
With her situation surprisingly unsettled, Edwards seems likely to be available for the Tempo.
Meanwhile, the most obvious draft choices have also been the most successful for Golden State.
Point guard Veronica Burton, left unprotected by the Connecticut Sun, and forward Kayla Thornton, formerly of the New York Liberty, have played the most minutes for the Valkyries on the season.
Burton has been hailed as a “natural leader” by Nakase — a key quality for an expansion team’s floor general. At 24, she could grow into a face of the franchise as her career takes off in Golden State.
Thornton, 32, is the Valkyries’ lone all-star representative. The veteran provides championship experience, having won the title with New York last season, and leads the team in both scoring and rebounding.
Wright Rogers held off on specifics when asked about her team-building philosophy at her introductory press conference in February.
“I wanna make sure that I’m respectful to our future head coach and allowing them to shape that on-court product. But there are some obvious things that it takes to win in this league and our team will definitely be looking to have that,” she said.
Strategically, the Valkyries have prioritized pace and three-point shooting — two variables that can often help less talented teams overcome better opponents on paper.
But Golden State doesn’t seem to be a fluke — the team is seventh in the league in point differential.
The Valkyries’ biggest challenge moving forward may be a road-heavy schedule, since home court has been another key to success. The team is averaging a league-high 18,064 fans per game at the Chase Center, which is about double the Tempo’s capacity at Coca-Cola Coliseum.
Toronto fans will have waited a long time to fill those seats once the ball is finally tipped in May.
If the Valkyries are any indication, it may not be much longer before they get to see a winning product.