Nyara Sabally’s career night proves Toronto Tempo are becoming dangerous fast

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The Toronto Tempo were supposed to spend this season learning how to compete together as an expansion franchise. Instead, they are starting to look like a team nobody in the WNBA will want to face by the middle of the summer.

Wednesday night may have been the clearest example yet. Behind a career-best performance from Nyara Sabally, Toronto outlasted the Chicago Sky 111-104 in one of the most entertaining offensive games of the young WNBA season. Sabally erupted for 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting while adding six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in a dominant all-around performance that completely changed the game every time she touched the floor.

More importantly for Toronto, the win pushed the Tempo back to .500 at 4-4 and reinforced a growing belief around the league that this expansion roster is far more dangerous than many expected entering the season.

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Sabally’s performance did not come out of nowhere for people who have followed her career closely, but it still felt significant because of everything she has battled through to reach this moment. The former No. 5 overall pick entered the league with major expectations after starring at Oregon, but injuries repeatedly interrupted her development. Sabally missed her entire rookie season after suffering another ACL injury and appeared in only 17 games during the 2025 season because of lingering knee problems.

That is why Wednesday’s breakout felt different. Sabally looked completely comfortable offensively from the opening minutes, attacking inside, spacing the floor and finishing efficiently around the basket. She knocked down three of her four attempts from beyond the arc and repeatedly punished Chicago’s defensive rotations throughout the night.

After the game, Sabally credited her teammates for putting her in position to succeed.

“I just had to lay it in,” she said after the win.

Toronto head coach Sandy Brondello knows Sabally’s game as well as anyone. Brondello originally coached her with the New York Liberty and immediately viewed her as a foundational piece when Toronto began constructing its expansion roster.

“We knew she had potential, and it was more about just her getting healthy,” Brondello said following the game. “It was an opportunity to show everyone what she's capable of.”

Wednesday night looked exactly like that opportunity.

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The scary part for the rest of the WNBA is that Sabally is not carrying Toronto alone. Veterans Marina Mabrey and Brittney Sykes continue giving the Tempo stability on both ends of the floor, while younger pieces are already fitting naturally into Brondello’s system.

Mabrey finished with 24 points and seven assists against Chicago while repeatedly hitting momentum-changing shots late in the fourth quarter. Rookie guard Kiki Rice added 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in another mature performance that highlighted why Toronto believes she can become one of the faces of the franchise moving forward. Even when Chicago made its push late, Toronto never looked overwhelmed.

The Sky cut the deficit to just two points midway through the fourth quarter after Toronto briefly lost momentum following Sabally’s ankle scare and Mabrey’s foul trouble. Instead of collapsing, the Tempo responded like an experienced playoff team. Mabrey drilled back-to-back clutch jumpers before Sabally returned and buried a dagger 3-pointer from the corner that effectively sealed the game.

That type of poise is unusual for a first-year franchise. Expansion teams are normally defined by inconsistency, especially late in games. Toronto instead looks like a roster filled with players who already understand how to handle pressure moments.

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One reason Toronto looks ahead of schedule is that Brondello and the front office clearly prioritized experience from the beginning. This roster does not play like a rebuilding team trying to survive games. It plays like a group expecting to compete for a playoff spot immediately.

Sabally’s emergence only raises that ceiling even higher. At 6-foot-5, she creates matchup problems all over the floor because of her mobility and ability to stretch defenses. Chicago struggled to contain her without sacrificing defensive structure elsewhere, and the Tempo repeatedly capitalized on the extra attention she created.

Meanwhile, the Sky continue searching for consistency after dropping four of their last five games. Skylar Diggins finished with 23 points and nine assists, while Natasha Cloud added 18 points and nine assists. Rookie Sydney Taylor also delivered a breakout effort with 27 points off the bench, but Chicago could not generate enough stops defensively to complete the comeback.

“We couldn't string together consecutive stops in that fourth quarter,” Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said after the loss.

Toronto, meanwhile, did exactly that when the game mattered most. For an expansion franchise, that matters just as much as the final score itself. The Tempo may still be learning each other and developing chemistry, but Wednesday night showed they already possess something many young teams struggle to find belief. And if Sabally continues playing anywhere close to this level, Toronto’s timeline toward becoming a serious WNBA threat could accelerate much faster than anyone expected.

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