WNBA seemingly leaks Toronto-based franchise's name

The WNBA will have a Toronto-based expansion team in 2026. It will be the 14th team to join the league following the Golden State Valkyries’ inclusion next year. The Larry Tanenbaum-led Kilmer Sports Ventures owns the franchise that will serve as the Toronto Raptors’ counterpart in the NBA.

This early though, the WNBA may have inadvertently leaked the name of that team. In the league’s online app, the drop-down option under “Teams” featured a franchise between the Seattle Storm and the Washington Mystics.

The “Toronto Tempo” appeared in the list when no such team had been formed. It could be that the word “tempo” meant temporary and not an unintended leak by the league. Still, 2026 isn’t on the horizon yet, so having Toronto on the list promptly caught the attention of basketball fans.

The NBA approved the creation of the Toronto expansion team by a 29-1 vote. When the voting happened, only the New York Knicks pushed back because the team had just sued the Toronto Raptors for “alleged theft of proprietary information.” The majority of the governors, however, gave the go-ahead signal to expand.

The Toronto-based franchise will be the first WNBA team outside the US and will reportedly play at the Coca-Cola Coliseum.

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The WNBA has two expansion teams in 2026

The announcement about a Toronto-based WNBA franchise came out in May 2024. Four months later, the league gave an update about their expansion plans. A team based in Portland, Oregon, will become the 15th team to play.

Portland Thorns FC Governor Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alternate Governor Alex Bhathal will run the team based out of Rip City. Like Toronto, the team hasn’t announced a name yet. As 2026 is still over a year away, fans continue to wait for updates about how the expansion teams will be called.

The WNBA hasn't had an expansion team since 2008. Now, the Golden State Valkyries are aboard, starting in 2025. A year later, Toronto and Portland will have their respective franchises.