A fascinating Toronto Tempo ownership group grew by one on Tuesday.
Actress, writer and advocate Lilly Singh has joined the WNBA team as an owner and chief hype officer, the team announced.
“I love women. I love Toronto. Joining the ownership group of the Tempo is an absolute no-brainer — I can’t think of anything else I would rather spend my money, time and hype-woman energy on,” Singh said in a press release.
Singh joins 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, Xero CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy and Larry Tanenbaum — the chairman of Kilmer Sports Ventures, which brought the Tempo to Toronto — in ownership.
Singh, who has 13.7 million Instagram followers and 1.5 million TikTok followers, is also president of Unicorn Island, a non-profit which aims to boost diverse voices through storytelling and advocacy.
Additionally, Singh has made her mark in sports as founding member of National Women’s Soccer League’s Angel City FC alongside Williams. She partnered with the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic organizing committee to create logos for the Games.
“I know from experience that in every corner of the world, one thing always rings true: the positive impact that participating in sports and the sports community has on girls and women,” Singh said.
‘A creative visionary’
As chief hype officer, Singh will be tasked with “cultivating the fan community, curating in-game rituals and celebrating the sport of women’s basketball,” per the Tempo’s new release.
Tempo president Teresa Resch said she was excited to have Singh join the team.
“Lilly is a creative visionary with infectious energy and enthusiasm,” Resch said. “She’s been one of the earliest and most vocal supporters of this team, and we’re thrilled to have her as part of our ownership group.
“Her expertise in online community-building and socially driven storytelling, not to mention her deep passion for this game, this league and this city, will be absolutely invaluable.”
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The addition of Singh comes three days before the 2025 WNBA season tips off — which also denotes the unofficial one-year-out marker for the Tempo, who will begin play next season.
Toronto does not yet have a head coach or players, but a growing team behind the scenes now includes 18 people, featuring Resch, general manager Monica Wright Rogers and others.
The Tempo will play out of Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto while hosting certain regular-season games in cities across Canada.
Here’s betting that Singh, the team’s official hype woman, will now be present at many of them.