Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes have both played several seasons in various countries overseas. Settling down internationally with a new team amongst a new culture isn’t anything new to the pioneers of the WNBA’s expansion into the North. But the streets in downtown Toronto “are different,” Sykes says.
On top of getting used to the city’s gridlike road system, the persistent gusts of April wind were the first to welcome Slim and Mabrey to Canada, alongside an overwhelming outpouring of admiration, support and excitement from a country that’s been longing for the presence of professional women’s basketball, let alone two All-Star caliber players.
“I felt the love from the city. They’re all excited. Everyone has Tempo gear on. Everybody’s yelling out their car windows our names [and] Go Tempo! Giving food recommendations, coffee recommendations. So it’s been really welcoming,” Mabrey says.
“You step off the plane, and people are literally looking at you like, Hey, we’ve been waiting for you. For a year. For two years. Like, they’ve been waiting for a WNBA team to get here,” Slim adds. “The more the merrier, but we’re starting off with us right now.”
On April 10, it was announced that both Sykes and Mabrey had inked two-year deals with the W’s latest expansion franchise, nearing the max in Year 1 and forming the first million-dollar backcourt pairing under the League’s new collective bargaining agreement. Mabrey, selected by the Tempo in the seventh-ever expansion draft, spent the 2025 campaign averaging 14.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game in Connecticut. And Sykes arrived to suit up in the maroon and white via free agency following her first All-Star season split between the Washington Mystics and Seattle Storm. Together, they’re stitching the cultural fabric of an organization in real time, infusing the years of experience and veteran leadership they’ve amassed into the foundation of the Toronto Tempo.
Jared ebanks 