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The Toronto Tempo is betting the house on Marina Mabrey. They signed the former Connecticut Sun star in the expansion draft and have given her the newly minted supermax of $1.4 million. She became the first WNBA player to sign such a contract, according to team president Teresa Resch. Since then, they have signed other key players like Brittney Sykes and Temi Fágbenle, while drafting Kiki Rice. Now, the team has just signed another member of the Mabrey family, Marina’s sister, Dara Mabrey.

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The Toronto Tempo has just signed Dara Mabrey, the sister of Marina Mabrey, to a training camp contract. “What’s better than only one Mabrey? 🤭” the team wrote. “We’ve signed Dara Mabrey to a training camp contract.” A training camp contract can be converted into a rookie scale contract if the team wants to retain the player. Or, the team can opt to release Mabrey. 

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This will be the first WNBA experience for Mabrey, who spent five seasons in the NCAA, averaging 10.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists and shooting 38% from deep over 135 games. She played for Virginia Tech and Notre Dame but had her final season cut short with an ACL injury. However, she is now fully recovered and possibly back to her best. 

Dara has most recently played in Australia’s NBL1, where she averaged 20.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.0 steals. Before that, she had a stint in Greece with PAOK Thessaloniki, where she averaged 17.6 points and 3.9 assists through 21 games, the sixth-highest scoring average in the Greek league. 

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Toronto will need to cut its roster down to 12 players and two development spots as the new CBA instructs. Currently, the Tempo are set to enter training camp with 18 players, the maximum allowed, and would be at 19 with Dara Mabrey. If Dara could earn that developmental spot, she would still earn $270,000 without it affecting their salary structure. Regardless, it’s a mood of celebration in the Mabrey family as their brother had some jokes after this announcement. 

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Dara Mabrey’s Brother Makes A Prediction After Sisters Team Up

The Mabrey family is entrenched in basketball. Marina, Michaela and Dara all played basketball at the Division 1 level at Notre Dame and excelled. They were the first sister trio to play for Notre Dame in their history. But among the three sisters is their mischievous brother, Ryan Mabrey, who has just added some rivalry fire between the two sisters. 

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“About to cook Marina all training camp,” Ryan wrote under Toronto Tempo’s announcement. This remark is obviously a rage bait for Marina, who is clearly the more accomplished star between the two. Marina is a veteran in the WNBA and has played for 4 WNBA teams while averaging 12.5 points and 3.2 assists over her career. The Tempo’s official account replied with, “😭😭😭”

But in purely brotherly fashion, Ryan had to stoke some fire between the fiery sisters. He himself plays division one college basketball for Maine in the America East and could even turn up as a practice player at Toronto. The siblings played each other in their driveway in New Jersey, improving one another.

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The competitiveness is one of the reasons why each one has progressed in the world of basketball. Now Dara has a legitimate chance to earn an entry into the WNBA with this contract. The spots are expanding every year and if Dara plays her cards right, she could be a regular in the league. 

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Soham Kulkarni

1,307 Articles

Soham Kulkarni is a WNBA Writer at EssentiallySports, where he focuses on data-backed reporting and performance analysis. A Sports Management graduate, he examines how spacing in efficiency zones, shot selection, and statistical shifts drive results. His work goes beyond the numbers on the scoreboard, helping readers see how underlying trends affect player efficiency and the evolving strategies of the women’s game. With a detail-oriented and analytical approach, Soham turns complex data into accessible narratives that bring clarity to the fastest-moving moments of basketball. His reporting captures not just what happened, but why it matters, showing fans how small efficiency gains, defensive structures, and tempo shifts can alter outcomes. At ES, he provides a sharper, stats-first lens on the WNBA’s present and future.

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Snigdhaa Jaiswal

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