KikiRice

News: 10 hours agoRice will start Wednesday's preseason game against the Sun, Chelsea Leite of The IX Sports reports.

Spin: The Tempo will be without several players in their preseason opener, opening the door for Rice to enter the starting five. She'll be joined in the first unit by Kia Nurse, Alexa Held, Nyara Sabally and Temi Fagbenle.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Rice spent four seasons at UCLA and showed improvement in most areas as a senior to help lead the Bruins to a national title. She was the sixth overall pick in this year's draft and will join one of the league's newest franchises in Toronto. Despite her improvements at the collegiate level in the 2025-26 campaign, Rice joins a Tempo roster that acquired several capable guards ahead of its inaugural season, including Marina Mabrey, Brittney Sykes and Julie Allemand, who was selected with the second overall pick in the expansion draft. As a result, Rice could see limited opportunities during the 2026 WNBA season and instead focus on developing alongside the team's veterans. While Rice has ample talent, she may not see enough minutes to be a reliable fantasy contributor as a rookie.