The Toronto Tempo walked out of the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft with a roster that looks better on film than on paper. The average TPV of their rated players sits at 44.8, which is below Portland's 48.3. Stop there and you'd call it a loss. But Toronto's front office wasn't building for 2026.
Maria Kliundikova at 59.1 is the best player either expansion team selected. She spent last season as a reserve on a deep Minnesota Lynx roster, posting per-36 numbers that would make her a starter on ten other teams. Toronto gave her that role. That's not luck. That's scouting.
The structure of the roster tells the story. Five of Toronto's ten picks are 25 or younger. Portland selected two players under 25. Toronto is betting that Kliundikova, Nyara Sabally, and Lexi Held develop together under Sandy Brondello — a coach who has taken young talent and turned it into championship DNA twice. The sixth pick in the April 13 draft adds another building block.
Free agency opens April 7. The Tempo have cap space and a clear identity: young, two-way, built around the forward line. If they land a veteran guard who can create off the dribble, this roster has a floor high enough to compete for the play-in by year two.
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