Basketball icon Kia Nurse on the Toronto Tempo, Kiki, and how everything has changed in the WNBA, Canada Reviews

With the arrival of the Toronto Tempo and its first-ever home game on May 8, the WNBA has officially landed in the city. For Kia Nurse, it’s more than just another chapter in her career. The Hamilton native returns home as part of the franchise’s inaugural roster, bringing veteran leadership and a deep sense of what this moment means for basketball in the country.

How does it feel to finally have a WNBA team in Toronto — and to be on it?

Awesome. Honestly, I’m really excited for the opportunity to be at home this season. To see how Canada’s already embracing this team, and we haven’t even really played a real game yet, has been so awesome. So I think it’s gonna be really exciting, and I know it’s gonna have such a great impact for years to come on Canadian basketball, for sure.

Tell me about how the opportunity came about.

I was a free agent, so I could go anywhere, and obviously, once the CBA got finalized, it was a sprint to the finish and getting to this date and getting everything signed. And so with conversations with my agent and taking a free agency meeting here in Toronto, it just felt right.

What kind of role do you see for yourself?

I think, for me, it’s just bringing my ability to space the floor and knock down the three ball and then my toughness and kind of getting after it while I’m out there.

How do you think the Tempo will carve out kind of an identity in the league right away?

I think it’s going to be on the defensive end and with toughness. I think we’ve got some really good length, especially in the wing position and on the interior as well. So, I mean, we all understand that this is a great opportunity to build something from the ground up, and we’ve got great leadership in coach Sandy and her staff, and a good mix of what I would say are veterans and young players. So, really excited as we more build chemistry with one another.

Sandy Brondello seems a perfect coach for this team.

I had the opportunity to play with Sandy in Phoenix, and I think she does a really good job of being a players-first coach. She does a really good job of building relationships with players, and that’s a really important part of what we’re trying to do.

Who in the WNBA inspired you when you were coming up?

I don’t think I got to watch very many WNBA games growing up. It just wasn’t as visible here in Canada. I really was a big Maya Moore fan, and that was from her days at UConn, and then when she transitioned into the league, and I started to figure out what the league was, it was more of an understanding of that. But I think it’s such a unique opportunity now to be able to be in a position where we are getting more and more WNBA games on live stream TV here. TSN has worked really hard putting out those games, and now it’s going to be like every single WNBA game for the Toronto Tempo will be on TV here. And I think that’s huge for the young women who can see us in person, but also for the young women who are going to have the ability to just see somebody that they relate to.

What have you noticed about the WNBA’s growth?

It’s been huge growth and a ton of momentum. And I think that’s something that’s been really exciting, just filling out arenas and the following on social media, the followings and excitement around the league itself. It’s been really fun to be a part of. 

What are the biggest differences from early in your career?

The arenas that we are selling out now, and the size and the desire and hunger for tickets has definitely changed. I mean, I flew commercial for the first six years of my career, so now having private planes is really important for us to be able to get to and from different places with rest and recovery and not having to get up for the 6 a.m, commercial flight. Just in terms of the security that we have around players is massive. The followings are huge now.

How is first-ever draft pick Kiki Rice looking?

Kiki’s been awesome. Honestly, she’s having a great training camp, and I think she’s coming in with this experience and obviously coming off of a national championship. And knowing what it takes to get there and how hard it is, she’s already a natural hard worker.

What will that first WNBA home game feel like for Kia Nurse, after such a long wait?

Honestly, it will feel like a full circle moment. I think it’ll be hard to put into words as I’m going through it, but just having put so much into basketball and being a role model and trying to help grow the game in this country, and having to do that from not inside the country a lot of the times has been really difficult. So it’ll be nice to know that when I am running out there, my family will be in the stands, my nephews will be there to watch. And to me, that’s the ultimate thank you to my parents and everything that they sacrificed, and ultimately my whole village, which is all the players I’ve played with and coaches that I’ve played for, a lot of them will be in the building, so it’ll be really fun to be able to run out on that court.