It’s Thursday, June 25, around 9 p.m in Toronto.
Marina Mabrey catches a pass from Julie Allemand, ditches her defender, steps back, and sinks her ninth three-ball of the game. This marks 53 points on the night, tying the all-time WNBA single-game scoring record.
The crowd at Coca-Cola Coliseum is the loudest it’s likely ever been; you could probably hear it in the States. But if you look just past Mabrey, you can see her Toronto Tempo teammates on the bench; they jump up immediately, clapping, cheering, holding up three fingers. Kiki Rice and Teonni Key, two 2026 WNBA draftees, were the first on their feet — likely because they knew the shot was going in.
This picture tells a much bigger story, one that both the Tempo front office and Mabrey have to be proud of.
Mabrey was Toronto’s sole free agent selection during this year’s expansion draft. General Manager Monica Wright Rogers and the rest of the front office were happy to commit to Mabrey in the form of a two-year, $2.4 million contract. In free agency, they signed Brittney Sykes to a two-year, $2.3 million deal — essentially giving the backcourt duo the keys to lead this team.
Neither of them was afraid of the challenge. In a preseason interview with TSN’s Raegan Subban, Mabrey said, “I would say I’m grateful more than anything. When you’re younger, you dream of moments like this… when it happens, it can feel like ‘Oh, this is a lot of responsibility.’ But at the end of the day, I manifested this, I created this in my mind… I think that if I wasn’t capable of it, I wouldn’t have been able to see it.”
After the expansion draft, Wright Rogers also cited Mabrey’s “fierce, competitive nature” as one of the reasons Toronto selected her, describing it as something you can’t coach. She’s not only brought that intense spirit and drive to the Tempo, but she’s fallen seamlessly into her biggest role yet as the leader of this new expansion franchise.
Now let’s take a look at how she got here.
Mabrey’s Journey to Toronto
With the 19th pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft, the Los Angeles Sparks selected Mabrey out of Notre Dame. She was the fifth and final Fighting Irish alum to be selected, joining Jackie Young, Arike Ogunbowale, Brianna Turner, and Jessica Shepard. In college, Mabrey was known for exactly what she’s doing now — shooting at an elite level. She finished her senior year averaging 12.8 points and five assists per game, while shooting above 40 percent from beyond the arc.
She didn’t exactly hit the ground running in Los Angeles. She finished her rookie season with only around 12 minutes per game, averaging four points and shooting only 34.4 percent from the field. She was playing behind guards like Chelsea Gray and Riquna Williams with veterans like Nneka Ogwumike and Candace Parker at the helm.
Recently, Mabrey recalled her rookie season. Per Ashley Docking of TSN, she stated, “I had a lot of really great vets in LA… I remember Candace challenged me the first couple of days in training camp. I was like ‘Woah…’ But it made me be ready and have more sense of urgency and not second-guess myself.”
Her time with the Sparks was short-lived, as they traded her to the Dallas Wings before the 2020 season kicked off. Dallas is where we got to see more of South Bend’s Mabrey, if you will — this could be because she got to reunite with her friend and former Notre Dame teammate, Ogunbowale. Mabrey spent three years with the Wings, and by the third year, had secured herself a more permanent starting spot. She ended her stint averaging 12.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and three assists per game.
After a trade, Mabrey then spent the next season and a half in Chicago. She joined Kahleah Copper and Courtney Williams, becoming a dominant guard trio and the 2023 Sky’s leading scorers. Mabrey averaged 15 points per game in 2023. But by the next season, the team was going through some coaching changes, and she grew unhappy with her role in Chicago.
“I came to play for James Wade, the system he had built and the vision he saw for me,” She told the Chicago Sun-Times. “I don’t like to jump ship, so he left, and then I thought, ‘OK, let’s see what happens’.” Ultimately, as her role shifted, her numbers went down, from scoring to shooting efficiency.
Mabrey requested a trade halfway through the 2024 season, with her preferred destination being the Connecticut Sun — making this her fourth team in seven years. She told the Chicago Sun-Times that she felt Connecticut would be a “better situation,” citing it as “an opportunity for me to get a chance to play with veterans, people who have won a championship.” Those veterans included players like DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas. When Mabrey joined the Sun, Bonner described her as “a vet and a dynamic scorer… Someone who you know holds her own. We don’t have to stop and teach anything. We could just put her out there, and she’s going to flow really well with us.”
Connecticut went on a run in the playoffs before being eliminated by the Minnesota Lynx in Game 5 of the 2024 semifinals. Mabrey finished that season as the Sun’s second-leading scorer, while shooting a career-high 46.7 percent from the floor.
Sadly, the Sun’s success came to a halt as 12 of its 15 players from the 2024 season left Connecticut in one way or another. This ultimately pushed Mabrey to request another trade before the start of the 2025 season — it was denied by the Sun. General Manager Jennifer Rizzotti told ESPN that the denial of a trade was “rooted in a desire to build around her, have her here, have her be the catalyst for what we want to do offensively…”
Despite not necessarily wanting to be there, she made the most of her new role, as it likely prepared her for what was coming for her next in Toronto. She and Tina Charles were the pillars of the struggling young 2025 Sun squad. Mabrey conducted the frontcourt with young guards Leïla Lacan, Saniya Rivers, and Jacy Sheldon. Ultimately, the Sun only won 11 games last season and Mabrey’s efficiency took a hit. A lot of factors went into this drop — a young core offense put a lot more attention on her, leaving her with bad shot selection in a system that relied heavily on her production.
Regardless of the on-court output, after the season, Mabrey was praised. “Her resilience, leadership, and consistent production were instrumental,” the team stated. It’s unclear whether Connecticut changed its mind about building around her or if it was simply honoring her trade request from a year ago, but the Sun left Mabrey unprotected ahead of this year’s expansion draft — ultimately landing her in the hands of Toronto.
So, that brings us to the present. Maybe it was being traded a few times, getting to play under some of the league’s best veterans who thought highly of her, or being thrown into a leadership position in 2025. Either way, all roads prepared Mabrey to be the face of the Tempo.
What We’ve Seen in Toronto
From the Tempo’s first game, it was clear that Mabrey and Sykes would become one of the best duos across the league this season. During the season opener against Washington, Mabrey recorded 27 points to Sykes’ 14 points. Of the 15 games they’ve played together this season, they’ve both recorded 15+ points in seven of them — five of those performances resulting in wins for Toronto.
As of late, Mabrey has had to pick up some slack when it comes to being the team’s go-to player. Sykes went down with a foot injury against the Fever on June 16 and won’t return for at least a few weeks. While there’s no doubt the team misses having Slim on the court, Mabrey has seemingly used this to further prove she belongs in this leadership role. Since Sykes’ injury, Mabrey has averaged over 30 points, four rebounds, and three assists per game.
Mabrey’s leadership was on full display as Toronto claimed a 101-97 win over her former team, Connecticut, on June 19. The Tempo went into halftime with a 13-point deficit, with Mabrey having scored 11 points. In the third quarter, they were able to cut the deficit to ten. Mabrey came into the fourth quarter with an entirely new energy — there was simply no way she was going to let them lose. She went on a heater, scoring 21 points in the final quarter, including five three-pointers — essentially single-handedly willing Toronto to the win. She finished the night with 37 points, tying the record for most made three-pointers in a game with nine.
“Honestly, I have to give credit to (Charlisse) Leger-Walker (the Sun’s rookie guard); I had to foul the crap out of her when she stole it from me,” Mabrey said in a postgame interview with TSN about what it meant to be the emotional leader of the team. “But I think that was a part of the game where my teammates saw that I’ll do anything to win… Sometimes it takes for me to do something to get us to go. Whatever it is to do, I’ll do it.”
During the Tempo’s next outing against Atlanta, they got off to a similar start. They found themselves down early, having to claw their way back. Despite promising performances through the final three quarters, they were not able to secure the victory. Mabrey emphasized the importance of starting games strong and sticking to the game plan, so the team would not always have to be in a ‘fighting back’ mindset. In the next game, she led by example, proving that she’ll do whatever the team needs her to do.
By the end of the first quarter in that electric performance against Los Angeles on June 25, Mabrey had already scored 21 points — foreshadowing the historic stat line she’d finish the game with. After the game, in true leader fashion, she praised her supporting cast, saying, “I can’t say enough about my teammates. It’s so easy when they’re continually screening for you. Julie (Allemand) throws the ball literally right to my pocket; it’s actually wild.” Allemand finished the night with 14 assists and no turnovers. Mabrey also credited her teammates hyping her up, “All my teammates celebrating me, every quarter, every play. Those are the moments I’m going to remember about this game more than anything.”
As mentioned before, seeing her teammates jump off the bench every time the ball goes up tells you everything you need to know about Mabrey’s impact on this developing squad. Even if the wins aren’t rolling in as fast as the Tempo would like, and things aren’t always looking super cohesive on the court, it’s obvious this team believes in its process and trajectory.
Mabrey has been a constant for Toronto, especially with the burden of injuries to the team. Even when you can see she’s gassed, she stays on the court, providing as much as she can. From walking the talk to physically creating in-game moments with the intention of correcting the team’s course, she’s been the exact player Toronto expected her to be when signing her — maybe even demolishing expectations if you ask Head Coach Sandy Brondello.
After Mabrey’s 53-point night, Brondello compared her to one of the league’s best — who she happened to coach.
“What Marina did was something special. I’ve been doing this for quite some time,” Brondello said. “I’ve never seen that, even Diana Taurasi, and she could shoot it really well… to witness that, amazing.”
Later in the week, Mabrey was honored with her second Eastern Conference Player of the Week award of the season. Per Chelsea Leite, Brondello said, “Marina has been playing with tremendous confidence and leadership… To see her make history the way she did while continuing to lead our group is incredibly special. This recognition is well deserved.”
Adding to her 2026 recognition and success, Mabrey has also been named a WNBA All-Star for the first time in her career.
The season is far from over, and we’ll likely be seeing more incredible performances. Mabrey will have to continue to tap into that confidence and leadership as the Tempo look to become the second-ever WNBA expansion franchise to make the playoffs in their first season.
The team has made it clear that it is not just a dream, but the goal for this year. Perhaps some pressure will be relieved from Mabrey’s shoulders when her top-scoring partners, Sykes and Rice, return from injury — but for now, we’ll keep enjoying what has been an unbelievable season from Mabrey.
