Four WNBA playoff storylines to follow for Canadians and Tempo fans

The Toronto Tempo are coming.

In one year, the expansion WNBA team could be gearing up for its first-ever playoff run. Even sooner, the Tempo will be in the mix as they seek a head coach and begin to build their team through the expansion draft.

For now, though, fans and management alike will have to settle for remaining on the sidelines and watching the eight remaining teams duke it out for the championship trophy when the post-season begins on Sunday.

It will all culminate in the first-ever best-of-seven Finals series.

Here are four storylines worth watching for Canadians and Tempo fans:

Four Canadian players entered this WNBA season. Just two remain — and they'll face each other in what could be a lopsided first-round series as Bridget Carleton's top-seeded Minnesota Lynx take on Laeticia Amihere and the No. 8 Golden State Valkyries.

Carleton, now a veteran at 28 in her seventh season with the Lynx, started every game for 34-10 Minnesota, averaging 6.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and two assists per game while knocking down 37.3 per cent of her three-point attempts. While the Chatham, Ont., native plays a starring role on the national team, she's likely better suited to her position with the Lynx, where she acts as a facilitator and key defender on a team led by MVP candidate Napheesa Collier.

The Lynx, who fell in the decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals last season against the New York Liberty, enter these playoffs as the title favourite.

Amihere, meanwhile, embodies the spirit of the heart-and-hustle Valkyries, who became the first expansion team ever to reach the post-season in Year 1. The 2023 first-round pick out of South Carolina was cut by the Atlanta Dream after two seasons before joining Golden State for training