A moment, and a movement

Birth of franchise a huge step forward for Canadian sport

- DOUG SMITH

The WNBA will tip off in Canada in 2026 when the Toronto franchise begins play at Coca-Cola Coliseum.

What once could be only imagined is now tangible: The WNBA has arrived in Toronto, and in Canada.

And those upon which the foundation of Canadian women’s basketball was built know how significant the country’s first WNBA franchise truly is.

“It’s so important,” 12-year WNBA veteran Tammy Sutton-Brown said after Toronto’s expansion team was officially announced Thursday. “The value of ‘you can see it, you can be it’ and the value of meeting your favourite players up close and personal, there’s something really special about that.

“I just got chills. Who would have thought? Dreams really do come true.”

It was — as Denise Dignard, Canada Basketball’s executive vice-president for women’s high performance, called it — the “Carter effect” moment for young Canadian women just like Vince Carter’s arrival inspired a generation of Canadian stars in the NBA.

“This is just a long time coming,” said Stacey Dales, a 2000 Canadian Olympian who hosted Thursday’s event.

“The hyperbole is real. It is a monumental moment for somebody who grew up in Brockville, Ont., population about 27,000 when I was a kid, to never seeing basketball on TV, to seeing 27 years later now a league that’s evolved into (the) WNBA (in) Toronto. It has been incredible.”

If there was one overriding sentiment at what was a celebration of the game Thursday, it was that the moment for women’s sports here has truly arrived.

“Many say women’s sports is having a moment, I disagree,” franchise owner Larry Tanenbaum said. “Women’s sports has arrived. It’s a movement.