The WNBA regular season hasn’t even started yet, and yet Toronto star Laeticia Amihere is already making headlines. During the team’s first pre-season game, she led her team’s scorers with 20 points — and generated some serious social media buzz.
It’s clear the work she’s putting in is paying off, after an off-season in which she went overseas to play in Australia for the first time. “I took that time to polish some things to add to my game,” Amihere says of her time with the Perth Lynx. “Coming into year three, I’m no longer a rookie, so it’s time to step up. I just want to have that mentality of, you know, you got to be better.”
She’ll join new expansion team Golden State Valkyries for the home opener on May 16, facing off again against the Los Angeles Sparks.
Amihere joined the league at a time when only three other Canadians were part of the WNBA, and she says she leaned on them to navigate her way through it. “I knew Natalie Achonwa and Kia Nurse, and they were able to teach me the ins and outs. Having those people to bounce ideas off of and hear their stories was really helpful,” she says.
She says it’s the Canadian way to want to see each other succeed and support each other. “I always joke that everybody will ask me about somebody who is a Canadian player, and I’m like, ‘Yup, definitely know them!’ Even though Canada is a huge country, the basketball community is very intertwined.”
That community will finally be getting bigger this year, thanks to the incoming Toronto Tempo expansion team — which Amihere still can’t believe is happening. “It’s something I could never imagine growing up; the biggest thing I dreamed of was making it to college.”
As a kid growing up in the GTA, Amihere played for the Mississauga Monarchs and watched the Raptors 905. “But I didn’t get to watch much professional women’s basketball — I didn’t even watch a WNBA game in person until my senior year in college, and that was the year before I got drafted. There wasn’t a lot of visibility.”
It’s what she hopes will change with the incoming Toronto and Portland expansion teams. “That’s where we can make some changes — getting that brand visibility where you recognize these players whether they’re in a jersey or not. I’m not going to the grocery store or to Foot Locker right now and seeing Kia Nurse. I want to walk down the street and see people wearing WNBA jerseys and it’s a casual thing, that would be amazing.”
Aside from scoring three-pointers on the court, Amihere is putting her own work into expanding visibility for the sport through the non-profit she founded called Back to the Motherland. The organization provides basketball access to underserved communities in Canada and parts of Africa, and Amihere says she has one major goal: to try to make the next big WNBA star.
Fast facts with Laeticia Amihere
Favourite local athlete: “Kyle Lowry — I know he’s not from here, but he’s Canadian to me!”
Favourite Toronto restaurant: Scott Bon’s Grill
Best memory growing up in the city: OVO Fest
Ride-or-die sports team: Toronto Raptors
First place she goes when she’s back in the city: Home
Career goal: To have a game where her whole family is there to watch her play
“As a woman or as a girl, you grow up and you’re providing for your family, you’re taking care of the house, but you need an outlet to just be a young girl and have fun, make friends, build bonds. You can get all those things from the sport,” she says.
“I always say that I have a debt to pay to basketball. It’s transformed my life and given me opportunities that I would never, ever have received without it.”
But Amihere has also experienced a major shift in her perspective on the sport, one that has led to her focusing more on fun and less on the accolades.
Back in high school, Amihere was recruited to Team Ontario, and then scouted for the national team. And she was focused: “From a very young age, I had that mindset going in where I was taking it super seriously. I would drive an hour and a half straight after school to do weight training before I even got to high school. I had practices all over Ontario; I took my nutrition very seriously.”
But in 2022 she experienced two major losses — her oldest brother died suddenly, and her aunt passed away from breast cancer. She also had to undergo multiple knee procedures that same year, due to past ACL injuries, that left her unable to walk for months. Amihere started reflecting on her life so far.
“I realized that I treated my life as a professional very early on, and I was so focused on the grind that I forgot to enjoy my friends, enjoy high school — some of my injuries made me miss prom and vacations with my friends,” she says. “I know now that when I look back at my career, it’s going to be those moments on the bus where I was having fun with my friends that I’ll remember. I’ve learned now to value every single day, whether that’s sitting around with my family or running drills that every athlete faces. There was a moment in my life when I couldn’t even walk, so that really just teaches you gratitude.”
Her biggest lesson learned? “Be thankful and calm down.”
