After a wait of over a year that included a significant collective bargaining agreement negotiation between the WNBA and its players union, Toronto Tempo general manager Monica Wright Rogers will get to add players to her roster on Friday when the league holds its expansion draft.Cole Burston/The Canadian Press
Friday afternoon’s WNBA expansion draft will mark the Toronto Tempo’s first opportunity to build their roster for their fast-approaching inaugural season.
The Tempo will select the first players in their franchise history, plucking talent from 12 of the WNBA’s 13 existing teams alongside their fellow expansion team, the Portland Fire.
One team – the Chicago Sky – will not lose players in the expansion draft, thanks to trades they’ve made with both expansion clubs.
Chicago sent the No. 17 overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft to the Portland in exchange for the Fire’s 21st overall pick, plus the new club’s promise not to select anyone from the Sky’s unprotected list in the expansion draft. The Tempo also agreed not to draft from Chicago’s team on Friday and received in return the Sky’s 26th overall pick in the draft.
The two new teams – the WNBA’s 14th and 15th franchises – will alternate picks over two rounds, with Portland selecting first in the opening round, and Toronto choosing first in the second round. They can each choose up to 12 players, and a maximum of six in each round.
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Each of the existing and participating teams get to protect up to five players who may not be selected in the expansion draft. The lists were not made public.
Portland and Toronto can acquire the player contract of, or the negotiating rights to, one unprotected player from each of the 12 participating teams. None of the existing franchises may lose more than two unprotected players in the expansion draft.
A single coin toss last week between Portland and Toronto determined where each would pick in both the expansion draft and the college draft. Toronto won the toss and elected to select sixth in the first round of the college draft, leaving Portland with the seventh pick (the first five selections were settled in November by teams in the WNBA draft lottery). The Fire received the top pick for the expansion draft.
The two new clubs can choose players regardless of position. Toronto and Portland may each select one player in the expansion draft who is eligible to become a free agent for the 2026 season.
Kia Nurse (right) is one of four Canadian players in the WNBA. Depending on which players teams protect in Friday's expansion draft, the Tempo could bring a Canadian player onto their roster.Ross D. Franklin/The Associated Press
Could the Tempo acquire a Canadian during the expansion draft? It’s possible. There are four currently in the league – Kia Nurse, Bridget Carleton, Aaliyah Edwards and Laeticia Amihere, all Canadian Olympians. Their existing teams would have to leave them unprotected for them to be available.
In Canada, fans can watch the expansion draft at 3:30 p.m. ET on TSN, the WNBA app or WNBA.com.
Friday’s expansion draft isn’t the only way the two new clubs can acquire players.
After the expansion draft is complete, Toronto and Portland will both take part in the usual WNBA team roster-building functions alongside the other franchises. Those include the free agency period and the college draft. The draft is scheduled for April 13 in New York, where the Tempo hold picks 6, 22, 26, and 36.
Training camps across the league are slated to begin April 19, while preseason games start April 25. The WNBA’s 30th season tips off May 8 – which is when the Tempo play their inaugural game, hosting the Washington Mystics.