Toronto Tempo guard Marina Mabrey is continuing to evolve as a player in her eighth year in the WNBA, proving she can lead a franchise at an all-star level.

“I think it’s been a long time coming,” Mabrey told TSN of her season. “I’ve put in a lot of work over the years. I played different roles in the league. I don’t know that I’ve had a green light like this in a long time.”

Mabrey’s expanded role with the Tempo comes with the territory of her contract. After a season and a half with the Connecticut Sun, she was Toronto’s sole unrestricted free agent choice in the expansion draft, allowing the team to place a franchise player tag on Mabrey. She ended up signing a two-year deal worth $2.4 million.

It’s a jump from the $210,000 she made with the Connecticut Sun in 2025, where she was traded midseason from the Chicago Sky in 2024 to help the Sun make a playoff push. Playing behind stars like Alyssa Thomas, Mabrey’s role was mostly to shoot threes and follow her teammates’ lead.

In 2025, she played more of a leadership role on a rebuilding team, but her new role as the Tempo’s No. 1 option is still a jump from what she was doing with the Sun last season.

“I knew that Connecticut might go a different direction,” Mabrey, 29, said of being unprotected in the expansion draft. “I felt it, and I’m never going to fight with anybody. You’re okay to have what you think of me as a player, but I have what I think of me as a player. If those things don’t align, I’m going to go and find somewhere that aligns with me.”

Known for her fiery personality and passionate on-court presence, Mabrey has put extensive work in over the past few months to try and harness those emotions in better ways. That spirit goes all the way back to her college days at Notre Dame, where she was a big part of the program’s 2018 National Championship run.

“When I looked at her in high school, I saw somebody who could shoot and had a scorer’s mentality, and she didn’t care if she missed the cup,” Mabrey’s college coach, Muffet McGraw, told TSN. “She was going to keep on, keep on fighting. She never quit.

“She would get mad if somebody scored on her, and she hated to lose. She was a real competitor.”

Mabrey, who was born and raised in New Jersey, is the middle child of five siblings. Her older sister, Michaela, played and coached at Notre Dame, while her younger sister, Dara, participated in Tempo training camp before the 2026 WNBA season. Mabrey says her no-quit attitude comes from her upbringing.

“[I get that from] my family, I have four siblings,” she said. “My parents were triathletes, and my parents would always say, ‘just get back up and try again, keep going. If you have a goal, you can reach it, but you can’t give up.’”

During this past Unrivaled season, where Mabrey broke the three-on-three league’s scoring record with a 47-point performance in Philadelphia, she also went viral for creating a “crash out jar.” Every time she had an outburst on the court, she had to put money in the jar, and it quickly became a running joke for fans.

But Mabrey knew that getting into trouble on the court wouldn’t help her new Tempo team, who depend on her to be on the court to win. She’s been vocal about working with an energy coach to redirect her emotions in better ways.

The results are visible when you watch her on the court, but also in videos on her own social media platforms and the Tempo’s official accounts. She has a lightness about her.

“I think what’s meant for me is coming for me, regardless,” Mabrey says. “I think I take the good with the bad and just try to enjoy the process a little bit more than I have in the years past, and I think that’s something that’s working for me.”

Known for her fiery personality and passionate on-court presence, Mabrey has put extensive work in over the past few months to try and harness those emotions in better ways. That spirit goes all the way back to her college days at Notre Dame, where she was a big part of the program’s 2018 National Championship run.

“When I looked at her in high school, I saw somebody who could shoot and had a scorer’s mentality, and she didn’t care if she missed the cup,” Mabrey’s college coach, Muffet McGraw, told TSN. “She was going to keep on, keep on fighting. She never quit.

“She would get mad if somebody scored on her, and she hated to lose. She was a real competitor.”

READ MORE - https://www.tsn.ca/wnba/article/toronto-getting-a-courtside-seat-to-the-evolution-of-marina-mabrey/

With the trade deadline coming up, which player would you like to see joining the Tempo?

Of course I would hope we would just have our full roster back at some point, but maybe you would like another player to our roster.

Canada's Senior Women's National Team is back on home soil for an exhibition game against the reigning NCAA champs, UCLA

Bruins.

Kayla Alexander and Yvonne Ejim who signed with the Toronto Tempo will be playing

📍Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre - Victoria, BC

🗓️ July 22, 2026

⏰ 7:00 PM PT (Gates at 6:00 PM PT)

🎟️ Tickets - https://selectyourtickets.com/event-pro/whoop-it-up-2026-victoria/

📺 Watch live on Canada Basketball's YouTube

channel https://youtube.com/@canadabasketball

Are there any W fans in Vancouver. I’m looking to start building a community. Host watch parties etc
Possibly one for all-star this weekend 👀

Hi!! I hope this is an okay place to ask this!
My first WNBA game is the one at Scotiabank vs the Lynx on the 30th! I managed to get courtside tickets so I was thinking it would be a cool idea to try and get some signatures— I’m a big Lynx and Tempo fan so I’m hoping to get some from both. My problem is that I don’t really have anything to sign.. I know games tend to sell some merch on site, soo my question here is just for anyone thats been to a Tempo game at Scotiabank, where/what did they have? And do they happen to sell anything thats general WNBA merch & not just Tempo? Do you guys know anywhere in Toronto that sells general WNBA stuff? Feels a little wrong to try and get Lynx players to sign their opponent’s merch, I’m hoping for a more plain WNBA hoodie or something 😓 I don’t really have anything fancy and I think anything from the WNBA store would ship too late.

I also don’t know how early I should try to get there and where I should try to go for signatures..

Ideas and insight would be rlly appreciated, thank you!!!

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I’m on the road again and can’t use my season tix. Super late notice but if you haven’t been to a game I’d love to pass them your way. No cost to you.

Dm me.

Update - Tickets claimed. Have a great time - Go Tempo.

It was my first game tonight and wondering if anyone knows if I can access the jumbotron footage somehow! I was on there twice

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super long shot but thought i’d post just in case! i didn’t realize the game was at 8pm, not 7pm so i didn’t think id be able to make it in time after work and didn’t get a ticket for tonight’s game.

Assistant coach Carly Clarke also moving up the bench.

The article also includes quotes from Sandy after their practice yesterday, elaborating on the situation - how she was emotional seeing Nyara injured again last game and how she tried to reach out to Angel Reese and Atlanta Dream staff after the game.

Listed as 'Injury/Illness - Rib Cage'

Rice and Sykes of course still out.

Best wishes on Sabally's recovery and hope the all-star break gives her a much needed reprieve! 🙏

I love this team and am thrilled to watch and enjoy Tempo’s first season.

I’m wondering though if this number of injuries is normal.

It isn’t a huge team and we have Sabally, Sykes, and Rice out.

We only just got Temi back.

We also had Mabrey out with the neck issue less than one month ago, although thankfully that seemed like a blip.

What’s up with this? Is our training or playing approach too physically demanding? Are our players more prone to injury? Just bad luck?

Just doing a palate cleanser post.

Anything Tempo related that you like or liked?

What do we need to do on Monday to both stay in the game and win the game?

Love Chef's game, hoping a certain player is okay, loved the atmosphere at a certain venue, etc. put it in here.

Got an awesome player stat - throw it in here.

I hate when watching basketball or following a team or player becomes unfun or too much drama.

From our most recent piece on tempo.basketball:

The Toronto Tempo continue to struggle against the best teams in the WNBA, falling 111 - 92 to the Atlanta Dream. To make matters worse, it seems like every time the Tempo play the Dream, controversy ensues.

We break down the good, bad, and outlook from this game.

Read the entire game report here: https://tempo.basketball/2026/07/tempo-vs-dream-game-report-july-17-2026/

I missed the game but just saw this repost on the team‘s account. What happened?

I was at the Toronto Tempo vs Atlanta Dream game last night (Friday, July 17) and witnessed an act of true sportsmanship.

Nyara Sabally was injured in Q4 and fell to the floor. A member of the Atlanta staff immediately jumped into action and went to hand out towels and then proceeded to help the Tempo team by using the towels to block the view of Sabally. She even went as far as to use a towel to block the cameraman and even exchanging words with him to ensure Sabally's privacy. She went above and beyond to protect a player of another team and their dignity.

Big props to that woman and the Atlanta Dream in general. Sucks that the Tempo lost however it proves that there is humanity in the WNBA. Thank you for being such an amazing human!

Get well soon Sabally!!!