Sun's Rookie Leila Lacan Looking Like Future Star of This Franchise

In just her rookie season, Leila Lacan is proving to be a key player for the Connecticut Sun.

Aug 27, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Connecticut Sun guard Leila Lacan / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The 2025 season has treated rookie Leila Lacan well, as the guard for the Connecticut Suns has proven to be a star player by leading the team in scoring lately and making key defensive plays.

Lacan joined the team late in the campaign due to national team commitments, but her presence has proven to be key to the Sun’s late-season success. With 20 games played in the WNBA, she led the team to their highest scoring game of the year on Wednesday and tied her career high with 22 points.

The rookie has had an impressive season, including an average of 10.2 points, 3.9 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. Her shooting percentage is 48.1% from the field and 23.7% from the three-point line. She’s also played at least 26 minutes per contest since joining Connecticut.

Leila Lacan Proving To Be Building Block of Sun's Future

Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

She’s a force to be reckoned with on either side of the court, providing immense value for the Sun after they began the year as one of the worst teams in the league. Despite only having 10 wins this season, she has made an impact since arriving.

With Lacan on the roster, the Sun’s offensive rating has improved from a 95 to a 99.2, proving that the team plays better and more confident when she’s on the court. Their defensive rating also takes a massive hit if she’s on the bench, going from a figure of 96.2 with her to 112.3 without her.

The Sun had a rough start to the year after losing their entire starting lineup in the offseason. This forced them to rebuild quickly and resulted in their brutal record at the beginning of the campaign. But they also have a promising group of young players who are willing to take on the challenge.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Connecticut Sun (@connecticutsun)

Five of the Sun’s newest players are all 23 or younger. Aaliyah Edwards, Rayah Marshall, Aneesah Morrow and Saniya Rivers fit that bill, with Lacan coming in at the age of 21. Although they are fresh to the WNBA court, they have appeared to find their footing together later in the season.

With players this young, there is still time to develop on and off the court, with the hope that this can become a group that leads Connecticut to prominence. Lacan appears like she could be a headliner based on what she's done thus far in her short WNBA career.

With just weeks left in the regular season, the Sun have six games to play to close out the year on a strong note to build confidence heading into 2026. The team returns to the Mohegan Sun Arena to host the Minnesota Lynx on Friday, Aug. 30 as they hope to pull off a major upset against the No.1-ranked team in the WNBA.

More Connecticut Sun News

feed