Wright Rogers finds true calling as Tempo's 1st GM

Monica Wright Rogers knew she wanted to stay around basketball once her playing career ended.

The former No. 2 overall pick dipped her toes in all sorts of hoops jobs shortly after she retired in 2016. She had two separate stints as an assistant coach at the collegiate level, worked in the NBA's league office as its elite basketball women's operations lead, and spent the past two seasons as the Phoenix Mercury's assistant general manager.

All of those experiences led Wright Rogers to her true calling - the inaugural general manager of the WNBA's Toronto Tempo.

"First and foremost, I have a huge passion for women's sports. It's my life, and then obviously basketball has changed my life," Wright Rogers told reporters Thursday, including theScore, at her introductory press conference. "When I was a player and winning at the highest level, I felt that was just something that I wanted ... everyone that came to the WNBA as a player to experience."

Wright Rogers added: "The combination of my talents, my passion, my experiences. I'm able to use it and stretch myself on a day-to-day (basis) that I've never felt in any other profession."

Tempo president Teresa Resch consulted numerous people around the WNBA throughout the search process to identify the ideal qualities in a candidate. She was told to prioritize an "incredible relationship builder" and someone that will "bring people together."

Resch quickly saw those traits in Wright Rogers as they moved through the interview process, while the two-time WNBA champ was drawn to Toronto's opening by Resch's own resume.

Resch spent five years at the NBA's head office and was the Toronto Raptors' vice president of basketball operations and player development for nearly a decade before taking charge of the Tempo.

"Teresa's reputation has always been of hard work, of creativity, of passion for women's sports," Wright Rogers said. "I've heard such great things about her and then you see the product that she's built here already. Who wouldn't want to partner with someone like that when building something from scratch?"

Wright Rogers has a lot of items on her checklist ahead of the franchise's first season.

The 36-year-old still needs to hire a head coach, and the roster won't start coming together until the expansion draft is held following the 2025 campaign.

A lot will be determined over the coming months, but Wright Rogers - a former National Defensive Player of the Year at the collegiate level - already knows the importance of having a stingy unit.

"Whatever our identity is on the court will be a combination of what I believe in and what our future head coach believes in," Wright Rogers told theScore. "I think defense is something that wins championships at the end of the day. So you really can't not have that in your on-court product."

Wright Rogers also hopes the Tempo can be a player in the stacked 2026 free-agency class when 21 of last season's WNBA All-Stars are set to become unrestricted free agents. She believes the opportunity for players to leave a lasting mark for a brand new franchise will appeal to prospective free agents.

"Players will be able to step into this and really paint a picture of how they want this team to be on court, and they'll be the faces of it, not in competition with anyone prior," Wright Rogers said.

Wright Rogers' roster construction could feature a few homegrown products down the line. One of her responsibilities with the NBA was to put together the international women's roster for the Basketball Without Borders camps.

"I think it's given me a little bit of a leg up in terms of scouting and understanding the pipeline for women's basketball athletes here in Canada," Wright Rogers said. "So I think that experience will allow me to tap in early into some of the up-and-coming stars, whether they're here still playing in Canada or in college. Those relationships that I've built are really valuable."

It'll likely be a few years before Wright Rogers' vision starts to take shape, but she's no stranger to rebuilds.

Wright Rogers was a rookie when the Minnesota Lynx won just 13 games in their first season under Cheryl Reeves. The team subsequently captured four WNBA titles in seven years, with Wright Rogers a member of two championship squads.

Wright Rogers knows what it takes to become a dynasty, and she's drawing on that experience.

"I have nothing but respect for (Reeves). She's definitely someone that I lean on for mentorship," Wright Rogers told theScore. "Playing with Hall of Fame players like Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, Sylvia Fowles. I'm very fond of those memories that I had with them and I want players to feel how I felt about my teammates. That's the kind of team I'd like to build as well."