The time for a WNBA team in Canada is now

Toronto rap icon Drake took to Instagram to ask the WNBA to expand to Toronto as the league's next team. The Toronto Raptors global ambassador wrote "@WNBA I need a Toronto team," on his story, and many on social media took a liking to it. Now would be a perfect time to introduce a WNBA teams in Toronto. The league has stated that they are interested in future expansion, and Toronto was listed as a potential location.

Basketball culture and popularity is at an all time high in the city and in Canada as a whole, thanks in large part to a Raptors championship win in 2019 and consistent success on and off the court. You'd have a hard time walking down the street and not seeing one of those now iconic championship shirts, hats, or jerseys in most cities across Canada, especially in Toronto. A professional women’s basketball team in Toronto would not only continue the legacy of winning basketball in Canada, but it would give so many young women who watched the Raptors’ 2019 championship run a team to look up to that they could dream of one day playing for.

And if you really want to focus on the aspect of homegrown talent, Canada is not lacking in that department. The Canadian National Senior Women’s team is ranked #4 in the world according to FIBA, and Canada currently has three players in the WNBA in Kia Nurse (Phoenix Mercury), Natalie Achonwa (Minnesota Lynx), and Bridget Carleton (Minnesota Lynx). They also have several players waiting in the wings in the NCAA. Any of these players coming home to play in Toronto would cause a massive culture shift towards women’s basketball in the city. Candace Parker winning a championship her first year back home with the Chicago Sky in front of a capacity crowd is fresh evidence that homegrown talent can bring success and sell tickets and merchandise.

Where the team would play is an interesting question as well. 19,000 seat Scotiabank arena in downtown Toronto is an obvious choice as they could share the arena with the Raptors and Maple Leafs. A secondary option would be the smaller, 8,000 seat Coca-Cola Coliseum not far from downtown, and current home of AHL club the Toronto Marlies. Both options make perfect sense if MLSE (Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment) get on board as they own and operate both arenas and the teams that play there. MLSE currently owns 4 of the 5 major teams (The MLB's Blue Jays are currently owned soley by ROGERS Communications, who only own a percentage of MLSE alongside Bell Media). MLSE also owns several minor league teams, and two e-sports teams. Adding a WNBA team to their extensive portfolio could be a wise and financially lucrative investment, especially long term as basketball and women's sports as a whole continue to grow in popularity.

And if people are concerned about whether people would watch outside of Toronto, WNBA viewership hit record highs last season, especially in Canada. Viewership was up 325% during the league's opening weekend from 2020 and, according to a 2020 Nielsen Sports study, interest in the WNBA increased by 31 percent year over year amongst Canadian sports fans and 50 percent among the general population. All that without a single team in Canada, and only a couple Canadian players across the league. Imagine what those numbers could be in if there was a dedicated team with homegrown, Canadian players.

The league currently has teams in 12 teams: Atlanta, Chicago, Indiana, New York, Washington, Seattle, Phoenix, Minnesota, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Dallas, and Connecticut. If the league is serious about future expansion and growing the game, they need to look no further than Toronto.