3 moves the Sun need to make to win their first WNBA championship

The Connecticut Sun are no strangers to the playoffs, especially not in the last few seasons. They have qualified for postseason play eight years in a row.

They made it to the finals in 2019 and 2022, losing to the Chicago Sky and the Las Vegas Aces. They are the only team to make the playoffs but never win a title in that eight-year period. The Sun have the second-longest championship drought among active WNBA teams — 25 years. Since the Sun joined the league, they have never won a title.

"I don’t know, because every team is so different. They’ve been there — this group has been there. They’ve been to the finals,” Sun coach Stephanie White said After their Game 5 loss, which eliminated them from the playoffs on Tuesday. “Being right there, sometimes it’s like, are you a piece away, a shot away, a play away? Certainly the way a season works, it does take a little bit of luck, too, and unfortunately we had a good opportunity in front of us, and we weren’t able to take advantage of it.”

This season, it seemed like it could have been the one to finally see the Sun get their first-ever title. They started the season on a 9-0 run, finished the regular season with the third-best record behind the Liberty and the Lynx, and rallied behind players like Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, and DiJonai Carrington. What do the Sun need to do to claim their first-ever title?

3. Offseason acquisitions

One of the Sun's most significant changes during the season was acquiring Marina Mabrey from the Chicago Sky. She had a career year in 2023 and returned this year in the same form. After the trade, Mabrey averaged 14.9 points with the Sun and 15.9 points in the playoffs. She is competitive, she can score from almost anywhere on the court, and helped boost an already good team to the next level.

This offseason, the Sun need to fill two crucial roles: secondary scoring and rock-solid defensive depth chart.

The Sun are so close to a championship. Changing things up too much doesn't make sense; just tweak and support it so the foundations get stronger. The Sun already have a really good bench regarding secondary scoring, but with the expansion draft looming overhead, one person is bound to be plucked from the roster. Players retire, too. Changes will come to this roster, so the Sun must keep their talented bench together, and add some new people to the mix.

Players like Erica Wheeler and Kelsey Mitchell from Indiana or Kia Nurse from Los Angeles are all really good options here and will be unrestricted free agents in 2025.

Defensively, Brittney Griner and Courtney Vandersloot will be available. Why not take some top defensive talent if it is out there?

2. Re-sign free agents

Bonner, Thomas, Brionna Jones, Tiffany Mitchell and Astou Ndour-Fall are all expected to be unrestricted free agents in 2025. At the very least, the team should try to re-sign Bonner, Thomas and Jones, as they are three players that see lots of minutes for the Sun.

Bonner will be entering her 15th year in the league next season, so there is a chance of retirement, and Jones could go in the expansion draft. Protecting her and Thomas under the core designation ensures that a majority of the top-line players stay for Connecticut.

1. The Connecticut Sun need to invest in the youth

The future of the Connecticut Sun lies in the hands of its younger players. A bulk of Connecticut's players have played over five seasons in the WNBA, and the younger players are starting to explode on the scene. Carrington, who has only been in the W for three seasons, just won the Most Improved Player award. Veronica Burton saw time off the bench in her first season with the Sun, her second year. The only rookie this season for Connecticut was Caitlin Bickle, an undrafted player from Baylor.

The Sun lost their first-round draft pick in the trade between them and the Sky for Mabrey, which could have had them picking somewhere in the early 10s. This makes getting younger players hard, but not impossible. They can trade picks around or trade picks for players that are younger on other rosters.