The Raptors 905’s Tammy Sutton-Brown has an impressive past in basketball, but it’s the future that excites her

Canadian basketball icon Tammy Sutton-Brown, one of the most underrated great players to come from the country, has joined the Raptors 905 in an all-encompassing front office role, and it seems a logical step for both the budding executive and the team.

“I know everyone sees the on-the-court stuff and the game situations but (the players) have to be able to function in life and be people,” Sutton-Brown said during a recent chat. “What do you want to do post-basketball? Some of them might have a career for two or three years, others might go on to play for 10, but what are we going to do post-career?”

And who better to act as a counsellor and a guide, an adviser and a sounding board than the Markham native, who enters her second season as the associate of basketball and franchise operations for the Raptors G League team. The 905 begins its season Saturday against the Capital City Go-Go in Washington, D.C.

Sutton-Brown’s basketball credentials are impeccable. She played 12 seasons in the WNBA, was twice named an all-star and won a WNBA title with the Indiana Fever in 2012, her last season in the league. She was part of five championship teams in the highly regarded Turkish pro league, was on a EuroCup silver-medal squad playing in Prague and won a league championship in one season in South Korea.

She averaged nearly a double-double with Canada at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and left Rutgers University with the third-best field-goal percentage in the history of that illustrious NCAA program.

She played at a time not at all like today; the accolades and the profile couldn’t have matched this era. But Sutton-Brown is not concerned about that. It’s about the future.

“The (national women’s) program has definitely developed over the last few years and I continue to watch and hopefully see them get that next medal, whether it’s at the Olympics or the worlds,” she said.

“It’s just a different space. Now with social media, you have your Twitter and Instagram, I played at a time before all of that so … it’s having fun, doing me and continuing to push. Hopefully that next generation will get the shine that we didn’t get.”

Sutton-Brown has dabbled in children’s books, fashion, her own charitable foundation and some marketing, and now she’s back at her first love: basketball.

“This gives me an opportunity to stay around the game … and then just kind of live through some of the players now,” she said. “I do off-court development with the guys and just being able to pour into them what I didn’t have when I was coming up — providing resources to them so they can start thinking about life after basketball because this doesn’t last forever.”

With those credentials and that vast experience, the question shouldn’t be: Why didn’t some franchise come calling? It should be: Why did it take so long for one to take advantage of her expertise?

Give the Raptors 905 credit for adding her to a key role when she was ready to move back into basketball.

“There is no one better to help lead our players than someone who has been playing at the highest level,” said Courtney Charles, the team’s vice-president of basketball and franchise operations. “Tammy has dedicated herself to the development of our players and the growth of the Raptors 905.”

This time with the 905 should propel Sutton-Brown into a basketball career of her choosing. She does some on-court work, has helped establish a four-week basketball-life skills program for GTA girls 12 to 14 years old, and is learning to navigate the perilous waters of a pro basketball front office existence.

“Where I am right now is learning a lot and soaking up a lot,” she said. “I’m not closing any doors; if that’s GM or VP or something somewhere, it’s definitely on the horizon. I’m still learning, it’s a lot of work but it’s an awful lot of fun.”

There’s no way to be sure where this career path might lead Sutton-Brown at this stage. Could she be ready to assume a front office role with a WNBA team should Toronto grab one of two expected expansion franchises in the next year or so? A homegrown star with ties to the community, an impressive resumé and a few years of experience would make it a no-brainer.

“Tammy has a bright future ahead of her,” Charles said. “We want the best talent on our team, on and off the court, which is why Tammy is a key player.”

No one is taking that WNBA step yet — a franchise is logical but there will be competition from equally ready American cities — but it’s in the back of minds.

“The league has already said it will expand by two teams, I’m hopeful that Toronto is one of those teams,” Sutton-Brown said. “I’d love to be a part of it, I’d love to be part of the growth and bringing a team to Toronto and what that could look like.”