Toronto Tempo sign Canadian guard Kia Nurse ahead of inaugural WNBA season

Kia Nurse, of Canada, drives around Promise Amukamara, of Nigeria, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

TORONTO — The Toronto Tempo are bringing Kia Nurse home.

The Hamilton native signed with the expansion club Tuesday ahead of its inaugural WNBA season, giving Toronto an experienced backcourt option with 245 career games.

“I am so excited to finally be able to play on home soil and play for Canada’s first-ever WNBA team,” Nurse said on social media. “Little me in Hamilton 20 years ago -- this would have been my wildest dreams. I wouldn’t have even thought this was possible.”

The 30-year-old played the 2025 season with the Chicago Sky, appearing in 44 games (18 starts) and averaging 7.2 points while shooting 33.5 per cent from three-point range.

Nurse has also suited up for New York, Phoenix and Seattle, and represented Canada at three Olympic Games and multiple world championships.

Tempo general manager Monica Wright Rogers pointed to Nurse’s impact on the sport in Canada, saying she has helped grow the game “at every level.”

Her arrival comes as the WNBA expands into Canada for the first time as part of its growth to 15 teams, with the Portland Fire also set to join the league.

“I think it’s so incredible that we’re going to continue to grow basketball here in Canada together,” Nurse said. “This next generation, especially our young women, get to see what they can truly be.”

Nurse’s signing comes a day after Toronto selected UCLA guard Kiki Rice sixth overall in the WNBA draft, along with Kentucky forward Teonni Key at No. 22, Australian forward Saffron Shiels at No. 26 and Davidson guard Charlise Dunn at No. 36.

The five-foot-11 Rice averaged 14.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 38 games for the Bruins this season en route to an NCAA championship.

The Tempo also signed centre Temi Fagbenle on Tuesday as the expansion club continues to build its roster.

• Toronto Tempo select UCLA guard Kiki Rice with first-ever WNBA draft pick

The six-foot-four Fagbenle started 38 of 39 games last season for the expansion Golden State Valkyries, averaging 7.4 points and 4.9 rebounds while shooting over 50 per cent from the field.

“Temi brings consistency and toughness to everything she does,” said Wright Rogers. “She plays the game the right way -- defending, rebounding, finishing around the rim and doing the work that impacts winning.”

Fagbenle has appeared in 130 WNBA games and won a championship with the Minnesota Lynx in 2017.

Born in Baltimore and raised in London, she represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics.

The Tempo previously signed 2025 WNBA all-star Brittney Sykes and veteran forward Isabelle Harrison in free agency, ahead of the team’s May 8 opener at Coca-Cola Coliseum against the visiting Washington Mystics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 14, 2026