After going No. 6 earlier this month, Kiki Rice opens her career as the first ever Toronto draft pick

Kiki Rice opened up her WNBA career for the Toronto Tempo in her first preseason game tonight. She did so against two former UCLA teammates with the Connecticut Sun in Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker. Rice did struggle a little bit, but that is very common for rookie draft picks. She has a ton of talent, and she is going to be a great player for Toronto for a long time.

Earlier this month, Toronto took her with the No. 6 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft. Making history by becoming the first draft pick in franchise history. She was taken to be a cornerstone for the franchise. Helping lead the team on both offense and defense as she plays elite both ways of the ball. Rice is a phenomenal defender and can operate an offense very well. Making her the perfect pick at this position.

Rice on the night had five points on 2-6 shooting. She also added two assists, one rebound and one rebound. While turning the ball over three times. Her game will start to round out and she will get better about the mistakes. She was a very smart player at UCLA and takes care of the ball. Rice did have a very nice 3-point shot on her only attempt of the night. She really improved her shooting over her career at UCLA.

Now that the first game is under the belt, she can focus on consistency moving forward. Toronto is in the midst of being a brand new team, so some struggles will come. But Rice will have some very nice games this season on the offensive end. We will also see some very dominant games on defense by her. Her defense is one of the reasons why UCLA won a championship last year and got her drafted so high.

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