As an expansion team, the Toronto Tempo had some opportunity to control their own destiny ahead of the draft. They won a coin toss over Portland and selected the earlier entry draft pick instead of the first expansion selection just to secure the best odds of selecting Kiki Rice.
And, following a tough debut with zero points for the rookie, Toronto saw its draft decision pay off. After her first game, Rice finished eight straight in the double digits.
“What a great young talent. It was great just to see her develop. That was a player that we really envisioned when things went well. You know, we obviously picked her up in the draft, and she started well,” head coach Sandy Brondello said as she praised Rice during exit interviews.
Rice developed into a franchise player over her first year in Toronto, and caught attention from the rest of the league. On Wednesday, she was named to the 2026 WNBA All-Rookie Team. The award is voted on by broadcasters and journalists from across the league’s markets, and she finished tied for the fifth selection.
Rice was immediately important to the Tempo offence. In her first nine games, she averaged 27.10 minutes per game and had 30 minutes or more in three of the Tempo’s five wins over that span. Across those victories, she was critical as a playmaker and averaged 15.4 points per game.
But on June 3 in New York, a block from Jonquel Jones and an ensuing hard fall brought the hopes for Rice’s rookie season to a tumbling halt.
Rice landed funny on her ankle and immediately reached down to grab the injury. Her teammates ran to shield her with towels as she rolled on the ground before getting helped down the tunnel and out of the game.
Thirteen days after her fall, the Tempo announced her ankle sprain wouldn’t keep her out for the entire season. The long path of recovery that lay before her now had a deadline.
“She fought through a tough injury and still came back and was amazing. I mean, she's definitely an All-Rookie Team player, and just it's awesome to see her come into a role and embrace it and be really impactful on a team as a rookie,” Mabrey said after the season.
Rice missed 16 games because of her injury and had a slow start when she got back on the court. But after two games with less than six points, the rookie retained her impact. In the last 16 games of her season, Rice had 13 double-digit scoring nights.
“My injury and like having to you know fight through that and battle through some adversity there,” Rice said when asked about the most defining moment of her year. “Obviously, you never want to get hurt, but just the mindset of being able to come back in, and after almost two months of being out, and continue to get better and continue to learn the game. I think that kind of taught me a lot about myself.”
The all-rookie ended the year on a 28-point performance, her best of the season and clear evidence of her continued improvement on the court.
“I think she plays at a really good pace. Oftentimes young players get fed up. I think she does a really good job of maintaining her poise, her composure, playing at the pace that she wants to play at,” Fever head coach Stephanie White said before the game on Sept. 18. “And I think she's a better defender than most people gave her credit for.”
Rice was a driving machine in that game against the Fever. Bigger bodies like Aliyah Boston didn’t make her fearful and force her to back off. She added 18 points in the loss — most of which came from driving layups against multiple defenders — and had six rebounds. As White said, she maintained poise even when up against two MVP contenders.
Marina Mabrey and Rice didn’t end off the year together because of Mabrey’s adductor injury, but their shared time in August gave a glimpse at the budding connection the Tempo already possess.
“I thought we — Kiki and I — had some really great chemistry out there. Even when I missed some time, she missed some time, and I feel like every time we came back, it was like we had been playing together for a while,” Mabrey said.
After winning a national championship with UCLA last season, the 22-year-old had virtually no break before gearing up for professional play.
“You play so many more games at the W level than you did in college. So it's like each game, in some ways, like isn't as big of a deal because you're not having a week to prep for it or a week after that you're watching film from the same game. But it's like you got to respond quick, you got to learn on the fly,” Rice said.
Rice’s 2026 season was a whirlwind. She started the year as the Bruins’ lead point guard and helped lead the team to the Final Four and a ring. Then, just one month and three days later, she was in Canada tipping off against the Mystics, no longer in the starting point guard position, and about to get a lot more familiar with losing.
“We only lost one game last year, my senior year of college, and so this year is just having a new mentality. I mean, I think the biggest thing that you know I had to kind of understand this year is that you know I'm joining something new, a new franchise, a new team, and it's all about growth, all about development,” Rice said.
As part of her development in the off-season, Rice declared she will play in Unrivaled and has joined the league on a multi-year deal.
She’ll compete in the American professional 3-on-3 league alongside three other Tempo players (Aneesah Morrow, Brittney Sykes and Mabrey) who are currently under contract in Toronto. Mabrey also has plans for the two of them to train together in the off-season.
“I think the off-season is a really good time for us to get in the gym together to work out to learn each other's game, to get to know each other better, and I think those are the moments that you really look forward to and I'm excited. This is like my first pro off-season, so just figuring out how that goes and definitely looking forward to connecting with Marina,” Rice said.
Tied for the best odds for the top lottery pick in the draft, the Tempo expect to secure another franchise talent next spring. Rice, in her last availability before the off-season, shared some advice she’d have given herself before her first pro game. Her wisdom will certainly be useful for the next rookie that comes along.
“Stay confident. Be ready for adversity. Be ready for ups and downs,” she said.
