Connecticut Sun Fans Will Have to Accept Heartbreaking 2026 Reality
News that the Connecticut Sun will be sold to an ownership group in Houston aiming to revive the Houston Comets was met with mixed reactions. Some fans are thrilled to get the WNBA’s first dynasty back and have an opportunity to honor legends like Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson, and Cynthia Cooper. Others are deeply upset by the loss of their local team.
The latter group has more disappointment waiting for it. While the Sun will still play one last season in Connecticut, it doesn’t promise to be a very competitive final season.
Marina Mabrey has the chance to sign a supermax contract with the Toronto Tempo, and it will be difficult to convince impactful free agents to sign with a team that was just thrown into a rebuild last offseason and is going to move soon. Leila Lacan, Saniya Rivers, Aaliyah Edwards, and Aneesha Morrow make for a fun young core that will only continue to improve, but that alone won’t be enough to turn the Sun into a playoff team—which isn’t necessarily a bad thing considering how good the next two draft classes will be but is certainly disappointing for local fans hoping to see one last successful Connecticut Sun season.
Marina Mabrey was the last remaining star from the Sun’s 2024 team
Connecticut was a WNBA powerhouse for several years. Between 2019 and 2024, the Sun went to two finals and four semifinals. They had the third-best record in the league in 2024 alongside the W’s best defense. The Sun entered that season with a core of DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas, Bri Jones, Ty Harris, and DiJonai Carrington, and added Marina Mabrey ahead of the trade deadline.
They were a contender in every sense of the word. Then, the Minnesota Lynx eliminated them in the semifinals, and everything started to fall apart. Jones signed with the Atlanta Dream in free agency, and DeWanna Bonner joined the Indiana Fever. Thomas was traded to the Phoenix Mercury, and Carrington and Harris landed with the Dallas Wings.
Mabrey was quickly left as the only star from that 2024 roster and asked to be traded. The Sun didn’t oblige. Mabrey played 35 games, seemingly accepting her role as the Sun’s veteran leader alongside Tina Charles. Leaving Mabrey unprotected and allowing the Tempo to take her in the expansion draft erases the last traces of the Sun’s recent status as a contender.
It’s all about young talent now. Despite not having a lottery pick in 2025 or 2026, the roster already boasts a solid foundation for a bright future in Houston. Lacan emerged as an immediate difference-maker when she joined the Sun after her stint with the French national team at the EuroBasket tournament, Rivers is already a defensive standout, Edwards displayed her ability to score at will in Unrivaled (again), and Morrow established herself as a consistent double-double getter.
Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.