Canada's Kia Nurse, left, seen above in 2022, said she was disappointed by MLSE's reported decision to pull back from WNBA bidding, but hopes the country can rally around the national team.
As professional women's sports in Canada continue to grow — just look at the Professional Women's Hockey League, or Project Eight's incoming soccer league — basketball has hit a snag.
"I would love to have a WNBA team in Toronto – wouldn't everybody around here love that? Just wanted it to work out, but the league is still expanding, they're moving in the right direction and I think the anticipation around women's sports in Toronto and Canada is continuing to grow."The WNBA announced in October it is adding a 13th team in the Bay Area in 2025. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the hope is for one more franchise to join at the same time.
"I think it would mean the world," said Kia Nurse, a two-time Olympian and guard with the Seattle Storm. "That's way more exposure for basketball in Canada because the Olympics, as crazy as it is, you train four years for two weeks and that is the most high-pressure situation that you can be in."Mike Bartlett is the President & CEO of Canada Basketball and has seen the program grow exponentially.
"I do think anytime we get together is really good because the Olympics are in the middle of WNBA season. So it kind of shakes things up for us," Nurse said.Nurse and Carleton were two of just three Canadian WNBA players last season, alongside the Atlanta Dream's Laeticia Amihere. In the meantime, she said a domestic professional league would be "huge." There is at least one group working behind the scenes to form a version of the Canadian Elite Basketball League for women.
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