Brittney Sykes and Kiki Rice Are Out, and Toronto Tempo Fans Should Be Furious Right Now

Holy smokes, y'all, just when you think you've seen it all, the WNBA drops a bombshell. The Toronto Tempo, that new expansion squad everyone was buzzing about, just announced their two biggest guards, Brittney Sykes and rookie Kiki Rice, are out for the foreseeable future. This is a gut punch, a total nightmare, no doubt about it. Talk about an absolutely brutal blow to their season before it even really gets going!

Sykes Sidelined: A Leader Lost

Can we talk about Brittney Sykes for a minute? This woman is an absolute workhorse, a total gamer. She was flat-out carrying that team, lighting it up with a team-best 20.1 points per game. That's a HUGE chunk of offense gone, folks! On top of that, she was grabbing 3.8 boards and dishing out 3.5 assists over her 15 games. She went down with a brutal plantar fascia injury on Tuesday, right in the middle of their absolute shellacking by the Indiana Fever. Remember that 131-91 loss? Sykes had to be helped off the court in the third quarter. You absolutely hate to see it. At 32, she's giving her all for an expansion squad, and now this. The team says she'll be re-evaluated in the coming weeks and *might* be back this season, but let's be real, plantar fascia is no joke. Any fan in the Emerald City knows a thing or two about tough injuries, and this one stings for the league.

Rookie Rice's Roadblock: A Future On Hold

And then there's the other half of this gut-punch, Kiki Rice. This kid is supposed to b

Trade on Every Game with Kalshi

Click Here to sign up to Kalshi — Free $10 when you sign up using our link or use code: ONTAPSEA. The only federally regulated prediction market in the US. Trade on real sports outcomes. Available in all 50 states.

e the future of the league! She's only 22, a rookie, and was the sixth overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft after absolutely dominating for national champion UCLA. She's been showing flashes of brilliance, putting up 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in her 10 games so far. Solid numbers for a first-year player trying to find her rhythm, right? But now, a Grade 3 ankle sprain from June 3. A Grade 3! That's not just a twisted ankle, folks, that's serious business. This is absolutely crushing for a rookie who's trying to make her mark, trying to prove she belongs in this league. Again, they're hoping for a return later in the season, but man, talk about early season woes. This dynamic duo was their entire backcourt, their engine, and now both are sidelined indefinitely. How do you recover from that? So what's the game plan now for the Tempo? They're on the road tonight, squaring off against the Connecticut Sun. My gut tells me it's going to be an absolute grind. Without Sykes' relentless scoring and Rice's rookie spark, it's going to be an uphill battle, a massive one. This isn't just a tough loss for the Tempo, it's a major gut check for the entire league. Every team needs its stars healthy and on the court, especially an expansion squad trying desperately to build an identity and get some wins under their belt. You gotta wonder how long they can hold on without these two foundational pieces. Here's hoping for incredibly speedy recoveries for both Brittney and Kiki, because the WNBA is always better when all its talent is out there competing. Go sports!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.