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May 8, 2026
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Built to Last: Kia Nurse on the Work That Endures
By Jordyn Weinberg
The Weight of the Game
For Kia Nurse, basketball was never just a game she happened to find; it was something she deliberately grew into. Raised in Hamilton, Canada and surrounded by a family deeply rooted in sport—her father, brother, and cousin all professional athletes—she absorbed early a mindset of discipline, consistency, and constant improvement. What Kia has built since, however, is entirely her own. When she arrived at the University of Connecticut’s women’s basketball program—one of the most demanding in the sport—she was already competing with a composure that would come to define her career. A national champion, an Olympian, and a cornerstone of Team Canada, Nurse has never relied on isolated moments. Instead, she’s built something steadier, grounded in longevity, presence, and the ability to show up, over and over again, with her best.As I got older, it was about understanding the difference between putting in work to the point where I’m going to be burnt out, and then putting in work where I’m working smart
— Kia Nurse, Toronto Tempo
Lessons Through Experience: The Importance of Time
There’s a difference between learning how to work and learning how to last. Early in her career, the focus was simple: do more, give more, prove more. Over time, that instinct was reshaped. Seasons stack, travel accumulates, the game speeds up, then slows down in a different way. Somewhere in that rhythm, the approach shifts from how hard you can push in a single day to how you pace everything around it.For Nurse, that evolution has been as important as any stat line. It lives in the preparation people don’t see: how she structures her days, the moments she chooses to step back, the awareness of when her body needs something different. Those choices have become part of her edge. It’s not about doing less; it’s about doing what matters and using your time well.You start to learn that in order for you to play for a really long time, right, to be a Diana Taurasi or a Sue Bird who have played for 20 plus years in the WNBA, you have to be able to do little intricate things that give you longevity.
— Kia Nurse, Toronto Tempo
Rest as Part of the Legacy
I’m excited to go take a nap. I’m excited to rest and do nothing. And it’s just like being able to sit with my own thoughts. I think that was maybe why I was on the go so often. I was fearful of resting and now I can like sit if I’m watching a show, if I’m reading a book, if I’m taking a nap and not be afraid of all the, like, busyness that goes along in your brain, all the thoughts you have, all the worries and the concerns because you can sit with grace and give it to yourself.
— Kia Nurse, Toronto Tempo
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