By Anthony Price 

​Basketball is a game of highs and lows—both on and off the court. 
 
On the high side, the WNBA is celebrating its 30th season and a new collective bargaining agreement that promises long-term success for both owners and players. On the low side, the Connecticut Sun are playing their final season in the state. 
 
Next season, the Sun will be rebranded as the Houston Comets (if they can get the name) and will look to reclaim past glory. The team was purchased from the Mohegan Tribe by the Fertitta family, owners of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, for $300 million, according to the New York Times. 

​[The deal exceeded the $250 million the WNBA reportedly proposed to the Mohegan Tribe, but fell short of the $325 million offered by groups in Boston and Hartford. Those offers were not considered because neither city had applied for an expansion team, according to the league.]  
 
For fans, the heartbreak season has arrived—though officially, the Sun are calling it the “Sunset Season.” The team’s departure feels like a direct blow to the state’s identity, civic pride, and bragging rights as the self-proclaimed basketball capital of the world.  

Sports and Identity 
 
Sports teams are identity markers. Can you imagine Pittsburgh without the Steelers and their Terrible Towels, or Green Bay, Wisconsin, without cheeseheads? Teams become part of a state’s fabric and its daily conversation. Good or bad, professional sports franchises have become indicators of a place’s perceived quality of life, creating a shared sense of pride among fans.

​Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont understood this and fought to have the Mohegan Tribe-owned Sun relocated to Hartford. Even the state’s senior senator, Richard Blumenthal, joined the fight, threatening a federal investigation into the sale. 
 
In the end, the governor and the senator were overmatched by the billionaire owners of the NBA, who run the WNBA as an extension of their global ambitions to control basketball—watch out, Europe, you’re next. 
 
If you plan to mourn the Sun, make sure you have your favorite Taylor Swift breakup songs, boxes of facial tissues, and comfort foods at the ready. It is going to be a tough season emotionally—and that’s before any game starts. 

​Moving West 
 
The Sun’s 23-year relationship with its fan base will conclude on September 24th, Fan Appreciation Night, the team’s final regular-season game. Fans of the Orlando Miracle know the feeling: they saw their team leave when the Mohegan Tribe purchased and relocated the struggling franchise to the Mohegan Sun Arena for the 2003 season. The arena had opened just two years earlier, in 2001. 
 
This time, Connecticut fans are on the receiving end of that sinking-heart feeling. No matter how management tries to ease the pain with video tributes and kind words, it will not be enough for fans throughout New England who poured their hearts, time, dollars, and loud voices into supporting the team. When the season ends, the only thing fans will have left are memories—perhaps including images of moving trucks winding south toward Texas. 
 
The move to Texas is more than 1,700 miles. The Lone Star State has 31.7 million people, the second-largest population in the U.S. after California, and Houston’s 2.3 million residents make it the fourth-largest city in the country. 
 
The Comets will become the sixth professional team in a city that has the Texans (NFL), Rockets (NBA), Astros (MLB), Dynamo FC (MLS), and Dash (NWSL). 
 
The WNBA’s Houston Comets once dominated in the late 1990s and early 2000s, winning four straight championships behind their big three: Cynthia Cooper, now Cooper-Dyke, Sheryl Swoopes, and Tina Thompson—all Hall of Famers.

Undefeated
 
But before the Sun move, there is still a season to be played. And all teams start undefeated. For the Sun, that clean slate was gone faster than a microwave Hot Pocket.  
 
The Sun came into Brooklyn to face the Liberty on Friday night, May 8th, full of hope, promise, and energy. The team was excited to play their first game of the season in New York. But after tipoff, the Sun’s prospects blinked out quicker than a Times Square walk light.  
 
In the first quarter, the Liberty took a commanding 36-13 lead. By halftime, they were up 66-37. The final score was 106-75. Breanna “Stewie” Stewart, one of the most decorated women’s basketball players in the history of the game, scored 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the floor. She made sure the young Sun team had little chance in front of 17,615 screaming fans. 
 
At the postgame press conference, Rachid Meziane’s eyes told the story that he sometimes struggles to communicate in English because of his French accent. It was another big loss at the hands of the Liberty—a Sun rival.

“Not the expected results, for sure,” Meziane said over a video link. “We let this team start the game how they want[ed],” he said, his voice melancholy.  “Right now, we don’t have enough maturity to handle that,” he added with clarity. 
 
But it wasn’t all sadness. “We are not going to change our goals because we lost the first game,” he said. A new season is about promise, and coaches are paid to be optimists, even when reality is smacking them in the face. Meziane must project confidence. 
 
With a young team for the second straight season, Meziane is destined to be haunted by games like this. This is what a public rebuild looks like. It is messy and it requires experienced players—something the Sun lack. 

​Game On 
 
This is the season where every game is the last something. On Mother’s Day, the Sun hosted their final home opener in franchise history against the Seattle Storm. Before tipoff, a video on the Jumbotron showed highlights of past Sun teams. 
 
When it ended, the ball was thrown up, and the game began. There were fun moments, including fans trying to start the wave, which struggled to make its way around the arena three or four times. It sputtered as if fans were running out of energy. 
 
A bright spot on the court was Aneesah Morrow’s double-double: 17 points and 16 rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench for the Sun. She played with passion and energy. But the Sun lost to the Storm, 98-92. 

The Sun had multiple opportunities to win in the fourth quarter, but their backcourt’s lack of experience showed. The team played like it was missing a front wheel—swerving aimlessly, going long stretches without scoring a basket, and taking ill-advised shots at crucial moments.
 
Without an experienced point guard, the Sun relied on rookie Charlisse Leger-Walker, who started just weeks removed after winning a national championship with the UCLA Bruins. They also leaned on second-year players Hailey Van Lith, who was released by the Chicago Sky days before the start of the season, and Saniya Rivers. 
 
This should have been a sold-out game. But the “Sunset” message does not seem to be resonating, with empty blue seats in the upper level—maybe it’s because the cost of a gallon of gas is now higher than a cup of Starbucks coffee. At the end of the game, the Sun reported attendance of 7,374. A sellout is 8,910. There’s work to do.

​The Rebuild Update 
 
In his second year, Coach Rachid Meziane is better prepared for the job—and more familiar with American culture. Consistency is one recipe for success, so Meziane kept pieces of his coaching staff intact: associate coach Roneeka Hodges, assistant coaches Pascal Angillis and Ashlee McGee, and head of player development Chaz Franklin. 
 
The Sun are mixing youth with veterans. But as we saw last season, it takes time to develop chemistry and win games. Last year’s Sun team finished with an 11-33 record and ranked 12th out of 13 teams in scoring, averaging 75.8 points per game. After two games this season, the Sun are in last place in the standings. They are averaging 78.5 points and giving up 97.5. 

The Sun lost Marina Mabrey‘s offensive prowess and prickly temperament to the Toronto Tempo in the expansion draft. Also gone is future Hall of Famer Tina Charles, who retired after no team signed the free agent. In all, only four players are back from last year’s team: second-year players Rivers, Morrow, and Lacan, who is still overseas, and Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who is in her fourth season.  
 
The Sun made a big splash when they signed former Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner to the franchise’s first million-dollar contract. Kennedy Burke was another high-profile veteran addition. Management also signed third-year player Diamond Miller, hoping she can live up to the expectations that came with being drafted second overall by the Minnesota Lynx, behind the Indiana Fever’s Aliyah Boston. 
 
There is hope. Aaliyah Edwards, entering her third season, sat out the first two games with an injury. French players Lacan and 19-year-old rookie Nell Angloma, who the Sun drafted in the first round with the number 12 pick, are expected to make their way to Uncasville, after they finish their playoff runs overseas. But it can’t come soon enough. 

​To continue the slow rebuild, management added rookies Ashlon Jackson, Leger-Walker, Gianna Kneepkens, Raegan Beers and second-year player Van Lith. And thanks to the new CBA, which is making some players millionaires, teams must carry 12 players on the roster, and can now add two development players, each eligible to play a maximum of 12 games. 
 
When Lacan and Angloma arrive, there will be roster moves to get down to the maximum of 12 players. Tuck hasn’t been shy about making moves. Players know changes are coming, so they are doing their best to impress. 

Point Guard Issues 
 
At 0-2, the Sun have a point guard problem. Lacan will help plug the hole when she arrives, and she will bring added toughness on defense, something the team can use alongsde the 6-foot-9 Griner, who will anchor the paint. Rivers is at her best on the defensive end. 

With Mabrey’s scoring gone, the need for a consistent scorer is even greater. Once Lacan arrives, the Sun will have to decide who becomes the backup point guard. Another playmaker off the bench is needed. 
 
Without a consistent playmaker and scorer, the “Sunset Season” may become ”Misery by the River.” Fans deserve better in this final season.  
 
At the press conference after the Storm game, Meziane revealed the text message he sent to Lacan: “We need you.” He said that without a playmaker, the Sun must play a different game. “We need to understand the game and not just show up and play like a pickup game.”  

Now or Never
 
You can’t blame some fans who may decide to sit out most of the season, but show up for the big games on the schedule: the return of Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd to the state with the Dallas Wings, the champion Las Vegas Aces, and Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever. 
 
The Sun have a young roster that requires considerable seasoning. At the same time, the clock is ticking on the team’s final season in Connecticut. Fans don’t want to wait to see these players blossom in Houston next year. It’s now or never for this team. 
 
If the Sun do go on a win streak, it would be the best story of the year and would likely bring more people into the arena. That would be the perfect thank-you present to fans. 
 
The biggest question of the season may be where GM Morgan Tuck and president Jen Rizzotti end up. What happens to Meziane’s European basketball philosophy? Will Houston want any of the Sun staffers? 

In the end, the Mohegan Tribe should be thanked for their stewardship of the Sun, which helped saved the team and the league. Maybe they can sponsor a free Sun party at the casino with the proceeds from the sale. 

​###

​Anthony Price is an entrepreneur, author and publisher of CT Hoops Magazine. Around the Sun is a weekly column about the Connecticut Sun.

By Anthony Price 

​Professional sports in America are big business. In 2023-2024, the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS generated over $49 billion in revenue, according to Visual Capitalist. 
 
“It takes money to make money” the saying goes—and in pro sports, that’s why the owners of teams are billionaires and the players are millionaires. 

​Among those billionaires are Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, co-owners of both the Golden State Valkyries of the WNBA and the Golden State Warriors of the NBA. The Warriors are valued at $9.14 billion—the most valuable NBA franchise, according to Sportico. 
 
The Golden State Valkyries, who played their first season in 2025 and made the playoffs, are already the most valuable WNBA team at $500 million. Both franchises pack the Chase Center to sold-out crowds. 
 
Lacob is ambitious. He vowed to deliver a Valkyries championship within five years and to make the team the most valuable franchise in all of women’s sports. 
 
But there’s a storm brewing. If a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) isn’t signed by the end of October, the good times could screech to a halt. And looming on the horizon is something that could shake the league to its core: a new women’s league ready to challenge the WNBA’s throne. 

Deal Breaker: Low Salaries 
 
Women’s basketball has the audience. 
 
The WNBA Finals between the Las Vegas Aces and the Phoenix Mercury averaged 1.5 million viewers across the four-game sweep. The year before, the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx drew a record 1.6 million viewers—game five alone attracted 2.15 million viewers. 
 
Now the spotlight has shifted from the court to the negotiating table.
 
With big bucks on the line, the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association have locked horns, battling for position in what may be the most consequential CBA in league history. The WNBA has added millions of fans, a multibillion-dollar media rights deal, and is expanding from 13 to 18 franchises over the next five years. 
 
The players opted out of the current CBA in October 2024, and it expires on October 31. Negotiations have been tense, with both sides seemingly standing on opposite rims of the Grand Canyon—and Cathy Engelbert, the league’s unpopular commissioner, presiding in the middle. 

And just beyond the negotiating table looms a new threat: “Project B,” a proposed women’s basketball league that, according to The Athletic, could give players the leverage they need to change the game.

​Follow the Money 
 
Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson are millionaires—but not because of their WNBA paychecks. Their bank accounts are built on endorsement deals. 
 
Clark, the rookie who brought legions of new fans to the league, makes less than $80,000 a year on her WNBA contract, barely above the veteran minimum salary of  $78,831. Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson, MVP of the 2025 regular season and Finals, makes $200,000 a year. The supermax salary for a WNBA player is under $250,000. 
 
Now compare that with Kevin Durant. The Houston Rockets star signed a two-year, $90 million extension—leaving $30 million on the table, according to ESPN. Durant was eligible for an NBA supermax contract. His total career earnings are projected to hit $598.2 million, the highest in history NBA history. 
 
The difference isn’t just star power—it’s structure. NBA owners and players split basketball-related revenue just about evenly, 50% each. In the WNBA? Players get about 9.3%. 

​Project B’: A Negotiating Chip
 
The WNBA owners claim poverty, while the money is rushing in like the Colorado River in the spring. 
 
Here’s what we actually know: The league collected $250 million in franchise fees from upcoming expansion teams in Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia. Just a few years earlier, the Valkyries paid $50 million to join. Portland Fire, entering in 2026, paid $75 million. Toronto’s new franchise paid $50 million. 
 
And that’s not the only revenue stream. A new $2.2 billion media-rights deal begins in 2026, and will bring money into the league for over 11 years. 
 
As Claudia Goldin, a Nobel Prize winning economist at Harvard University, wrote in the New York Times in early June 2025: 
 
“The world of women’s professional basketball is ripe for an economic update that better reflects its influence and irresistibility. The people who run the N.B.A. and W.N.B.A. are instead badly underpaying the women who entertain and thrill us with their feats of athleticism.” 

​Help is coming soon. Sky-high franchise valuations of WNBA teams have attracted a major threat to the league. 
 
Tech entrepreneurs Grady Burnett (formerly of Google and Meta) and Geoff Prentice (a co-founder of Skype) are launching “Project B,” a new professional women’s basketball league. It will feature six teams of up to 11 players each, competing in seven two-week tournaments across the Americas, Asia and Europe. 
 
The timing couldn’t be worse for the WNBA owners, Project B plans to attract top international talent, including WNBA players—some of whom have already signed, according to Burnett. He thinks the league can become a multi-billion-dollar venture. 
 
“The growth in women’s sports rivals anything in AI right now,” Burnett told The Athletic. 

It’s Deal Time 
 
The WNBA’s CBA showdown is about more than dollars and cents. It’s about who gets to shape the future of the game.
 
Yes, the negotiations will be messy. They might even go into overtime But both sides have too much at stake not to get a deal done. The leagues momentum is real, fueled by record attendance, expansion franchises, and a new generation of stars. 
 
Meanwhile, competition is rising. Unrivaled—the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league founded by the Minnesota Lynx’s Napheesa Collier and New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart—is adding two new teams in 2026. And Project B is waiting in the wings with deep pockets and global ambitions.  
 
Now is the time to negotiate a deal that finally pays women what they’re worth—a deal worthy of the value they created over nearly three decades of effort. 
 
The money is there. But if the owners refuse to share the wealth now, they may lose in the future.

###

By Anthony Price 

​A’ja Wilson just climbed Everest.
 
The Las Vegas Aces’ superstar scored 31 points in the decisive game against the Phoenix Mercury in Game 4, with a 97-86 win and a 4-0 sweep—delivering the franchise’s third WNBA championship in four years. As she collected the MVP trophy for her effort, her broad smile said what the box store didn’t: this is her league now.  
 
“She’s alone on Everest,” coach Becky Hammon said after the game. “There’s no one around.”

Wilson, in her eighth season, is the face of the WNBA. She’s collected almost every accolade imaginable: Finals MVP, WNBA MVP, All-Defensive First Team, Defensive Player of the Year, Blocks Leaders, Scoring Champion, and an All-Star. Her success even led to her first signature shoe with Nike: the A’One. 

When Winning Doesn’t Pay
 
The shocking news is that without the Nike deal, Wilson couldn’t make ends meet on her $200,000 salary. That’s what the best basketball player on the planet makes in what is billed as the premier women’s basketball league.  
 
It’s a story that mirrors a growing American workplace phenomenon: the people doing the heavy lifting create the value, while executives and owners reap the rewards. Some WNBA coaches are paid a million dollars. Franchise values are soaring toward the stratosphere—making owners richer. 
 
The league’s total value has reached $3.5 billion, according to Sportico. The average team is now worth $269 million, up from $96 million just a year earlier. The Golden State Valkyries, after their inaugural season, are valued at $500 million. 

 The appetite for expansion is so strong that prospective owners are lining up to plunk down $250 million in expansion fees—a sharp counterargument to the league’s insistence that it’s still “losing money.” 
 
Meanwhile, most players work a second job—often overseas—to make a living. Caitlin Clark, one of the brightest stars in the league, earned $78,066 on her rookie contract in 2025—despite filling arenas and leading jersey sales. 
 
For Wilson, Clark, and every player in between, the only hope for a fairer future rests on the upcoming collective bargaining agreement (CBA). 

The Game Off the Court

The CBA is the economic backbone of the WNBA—the document that spells out how the financial pie is divided. The players opted out of the current agreement in November 2024 because their slice amounted to crumbs. 
 
The negotiation is at the intersection of gender, sport, labor, and capitalism. The owners are fighting to protect power, control, and profit. The players are fighting to uplift a generation of women athletes. 
 
Labor battles in America are never easy. Every right workers have—from fair pay to basic benefits—was fought for and often won at significant cost. The WNBA’s players know that history. 
 
While the players dominate on the court, the CBA is where the real game is played, and the owners have home-court advantage. They can afford armies of lawyers, accountants, and public relations strategists. They’ve also long benefited from the fine print of a deal that heavily favors them. 

​The last CBA used an arcane revenue-sharing formula so complex it required a room full of financial engineers to calculate how much the players were entitled to receive. The result: in 2025, the players received about 9.3% of basketball-related revenue. By comparison, in the four major men’s professional leagues, the split between the league and the players is about 50-50. 
 
That imbalance exists even as new money is flooding the league. A new $2.2 billion media-rights deal begins in 2026, boosting the cash that will be available to both sides. But how that pie is sliced will depend entirely on the outcome of these negotiations.
 
The October 31 deadline looms large. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has put his towering reputation on the line for getting a deal done. “We will get a deal done with the players,” he said in Stamford, CT. “Lots of work left to be done, but we’ll of course get a new collective bargaining agreement.”
 
The players, though, are making their stance clear. It won’t be easy because the players are determined to be paid what they are worth. At the 2025 All-Star game in mid-July in Indianapolis, they took the floor in black t-shirts with one message: “Pay Us What You Owe Us.” The fans roared. The battle lines are drawn.

​When Women’s Sports Meet Capitalism 
 
Capitalism assigns a value to everything—but historically, it has undervalued women’s work. For generations, women have been paid less, recognized less, and expected to accept less. That legacy is alive and well in professional sports. 
 
Across the U.S. economy, women still earn 82 cents for every dollar a man makes. Economists attribute this gap to occupational segregation, systemic discrimination, and persistent cultural norms that devalue women’s labor. 
 
The same undervaluation plays out on the court. Some NBA players earn more than $50 million a year, a single salary that eclipses the combined total WNBA payroll for three decades. 
 
In 2025, the WNBA team salary cap was $1.5 million for 12 players. The Las Vegas Aces’ Jackie Young is the league’s highest-paid player at $252,450, according to Spotrac. 

And yet, the market knows the real value of women like A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark, and Angel Reese. Their sponsorship deals have already crossed the million-dollar mark, a reminder that their worth is undeniable—even if the league refuses to pay it. 

​Everyone Can Win—That’s America 
 
This negotiation isn’t just about basketball. It’s about a movement toward equality—a line that stretches back through the women’s suffrage movement, Title IX, and every fight to be seen, heard, and paid fairly.
 
The WNBA and its players are at the table for what could become the most consequential CBA in sports, carrying the weight of not only their own futures but the hopes, dreams, and possibilities of women in America.
 
The best basketball players in the world should not have to work two jobs to make ends meet—not when coaches make seven figures and the WNBA Commissioner’s salary is hidden from public view.
 
The new CBA must honor their contributions, value their labor, and treat them as full partners, not as cheap labor begging for scraps.
 
This is a moment for the league to rise to the occasion—because when women win, everyone wins.
 
###

By Anthony Price 

​Championship season has arrived in the WNBA, but the spotlight isn’t on the court—it’s on the commissioner. 
 
The Las Vegas Aces are leading the Phoenix Mercury, 2-0, in the best-of-seven Finals, but the headlines aren’t about A’ja Wilson’s dominance or Phoenix’s rebuild after losing future Hall of Famers Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. Instead, all eyes are on Commissioner Cathy Engelbert—and not for the right reasons. 

​The matchup of the Aces and Mercury alone is worthy of a docuseries. The Aces have a 23-3 record, after their worst loss in franchise history—a 111-58 humiliation against the Minnesota Lynx. The Mercury overhauled their roster after saying adieu to Taurasi and Griner.
 
But none of that is driving the national conversation. Engelbert has become persona non grata—the most loathed sports commissioner in professional sports. Her increasingly toxic brand now threatens to overshadow the league’s on-court brilliance and jeopardize the hard-earned growth after decades of meticulously proving it was worthy of fans’ attention, devotion, and advertising dollars. 

Not a Wise Conversation 
 
Engelbert, the former Deloitte CEO who has served as WNBA commissioner since 2019, has never lacked confidence. But she may have missed the anonymous warning: "A fool can throw a stone in a pond that a hundred wise men cannot get out." 
 
Her verbal stone has turned into a tsunami—one that may lead her boss, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, to end her tenure before she capsizes the league’s momentum. 

​How We Got Here
 
The controversy began when WNBA star Napheesa Collier raised a reasonable question from afar: why aren’t rising stars like Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, and Angel Reese being paid more? These are the players expected to define the next decade of the league. They’ve already expanded its fan base dramatically and helped secure a billion-dollar media rights deal starting in 2026.

Collier is one of the W’s best players, a co-founder of Unrivaled (the 3-on-3 women’s professional league), and vice president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association. She is well respected in the league. 

According to Collier, Engelbert’s response was, “Caitlin should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.” And in that same conversation, Engelbert added, “Players should be on their knees, thanking their lucky stars, for the media right deal that I got them.” 
 
For context, the 2025 rookie salary scale ranges from $66,079 to 78,831, based on Spotrac.com—a fraction of what players in other professional leagues make.

A Growing Divide

Engelbert’s comments only deepened the perception that she’s out of touch with the labor side of the league. Coincidentally, her salary is the only commissioner compensation not available online, but it’s almost certainly way above the $249,244 earned by Indiana Fever star Kelsey Mitchell, the WNBA’s highest-paid player in 2025.

To the players, the message is clear: Engelbert is cruising on a yacht they built, while they’re still treated as deckhands. Given the league’s rising valuations and new revenue streams, they see themselves as underpaid architects of a booming business. Perhaps the new anonymous quote should be updated: “Those who ride yachts and ignore labor should be cursed with a thousand tsunamis.”

Leadership 
 
When Napheesa Collier stepped to the microphone at her exit interview last week, she didn’t hold back. She revealed the details of her conversation with Cathy Engelbert and declared that the WNBA has “the worst leadership in the world.” It was a stunning, public repudiation that reverberated across the sports world. 
 
Engelbert responded through a prepared statement the next day, saying that she was “disheartened” by the reports. On Friday, at her annual pre-Finals press conference on the day of Game 1, she flatly denied making the comments Collier attributed to her about Caitlin Clark. “I did not make those comments, she told reporters, according to ESPN. 
 
There was no no mea culpa. Engelbert offered only a vague concession: “We have to do better, and I have to do better,” referring to player frustrations with league leadership. 
 
Labor vs Capital
 
The dispute is much bigger than one heated conversation. It’s the opening volley in a classic labor-versus-capital showdown: David versus Goliath. The current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires at the end of this month, and the negotiations are expected to be fierce. 

At stake is money—how much the players will get versus what the owners will keep. And there’s plenty of money to fight over. The league is expected to haul in over $900 million in franchise fees alone in the coming years. 
 
Expansion Money, Player Scraps
 
Recent expansion deals underscore the growing financial gap.

• The Golden State Valkyries paid $50 million to join the league in 2025. 
• The Toronto Tempo will join the league in 2026 for $50 million,
• Portland is reported paying $75 million for its 2026 entry.
• Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030) are each expected to pay $250 million.

 
Under the current CBA, franchise fees are not considered basketball-related revenue, meaning players don’t receive a cent from those windfalls. Meanwhile, the league insists that it’s still losing money—even as franchise values soar.  

A Stark Revenue Divide
 
Currently, WNBA players receive just 9.3% of revenue, compared 49-51% in the NBA and roughly 50-50 splits in other major U.S. professional leagues. The current WNBA salary cap is $1.5 million per team for 12 players, a fraction of the earnings of their male counterparts. 
 
This disparity explains why, for years, overseas leagues like Russia were an attractive option for top players, until Brittney Griner’s 2022 detention forced the issue into the spotlight. 

What’s Next?
 
A commissioner’s role demands diplomacy, not braggadocio. Engelbert seems to prefer the latter. 
 
Her leadership—already under scrutiny—now faces its biggest test. Her self-importance has eroded credibility with players, at precisely when trust is essential. The league has until the end of October to finalize a new collective bargaining agreement or agree to continue negotiating.
 
The players and management will have to find common ground. But with Engelbert at the helm, the talks are likely to be acrimonious. Her self-inflicted wounds could cost both sides dearly if negotiations break down and a work stoppage follows.

The players have already rallied around Collier. The looming question is whether NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will rally around Engelbert. If he does, billions of dollars in future investment could go up in smoke like dry leaves in a bonfire. 
 
Fans should be celebrating the WNBA’s on-court brilliance this fall. Instead, Engelbert’s missteps have put nearly 30 years of league building at risk. 
 
The league is ready for its next era. The question is whether Cathy Engelbert is.

###

​The Connecticut Sun players said their goodbyes on the court at Mohegan Sun Arena in September, then disappeared into the fog of the offseason. The 2025, campaign had been a bitter one—an 11-33 finish that left them at the bottom of the WNBA standings. 
 
President Jennifer Rizzotti and GM Morgan Tuck now face the task of performing an autopsy on a season billed as a “reset” in the spring—but smelling like rotten fish in the summer heat—punctuated by an 0-5 start and a ten-game losing streak. Their job, along with the coaching staff, is to diagnose what went wrong and craft a plan to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself. 
 
There will be no quick fixes. 

​Breakfast Talk  
 
The Sun embraced a European basketball philosophy in late 2024 when they hired France’s Rachid Meziane, the first French head coach in WNBA history. The roster stressed youth and optimism over WNBA experience. 
 
To discuss the season, I met assistant coach Pascal Angillis—born in Belgium— over breakfast at Diana’s in Uncasville, a small-town diner wrapped in bright red, white and blue Americana. 
 
Angillis arrived in a Sun baseball hat, a white Belgium Olympics jacket, dark shorts, and sneakers. At 6-foot-2, he has the height of a guard and the heft of a fullback. He speaks with quiet confidence, not for effect, shaped by years coaching both men’s and women’s basketball. This Belgian is locked into the game. 
 
Over the din of patrons in crowded booths, the clang of metal on a hot grill underscored our conversation. The aroma engulfed the dining area—a welcome reprieve from the grind of a WNBA season that runs at full tilt from mid-May to early September.  

​I ordered a towering stack of blueberry pancakes fit for a giant. Angillis went for the 3-egg Farmer’s omelette with Swiss cheese, homemade hash, cinnamon raisin toast, home fries and coffee. “This is going to be great,” he said, eyes wide behind his glasses. 
 
Before joining the Sun, Angillis spent 15 years coaching in Belgium’s men’s professional basketball league. But in 2019, his life was upended when his youngest son—then 9 years old—was diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of the season. Angillis left to care for him through chemotherapy, only to be abruptly terminated by the team.  
 
“So, I was done with basketball,” he said. “I didn’t want to work in an environment where something happens to my family, I get cut loose.” 

(His son is healthy now, celebrating five years since the diagnosis.)
 
To support his family, Angills took a corporate job with a hardware chain of more than 40 stores, serving as the link between the front office and the stores. From 2020 to March 2025, basketball took a back seat, though he stayed close to the game through some freelance TV commentary.

Back in the Game 
 
Little did Angillis know that basketball would once again take center stage. Three years into his corporate job, he received a surprise call from the Belgian women’s national basketball team—the Belgian Cats. 
 
New York Liberty’s Emma Meesseman, whom Angillis had previously coached, had quietly recommended him to the federation. “I didn’t know anything about it,” Angillis said, still sounding amazed. He has made it a personal rule to never go asking for a coaching job.
 
“She never called me about it, or anything,“ he added. “She’s very humble. So, she says something like, ‘Hey, I want the best people here,’ and taps you on the shoulder, and that’s it.” (It was the first time he’d shared this story in public.) 

​He soon met the team’s new head coach, Rachid Meziane, and the two immediately hit it off. Angillis was hired, and from the outset he knew the team had a chance to win a championship, especially since France was playing without WNBA stars Marine Johannès and Gabby Williams. 
 
“We knew our strength—playing as a team at both ends of the floor—would give us a big chance to win,” he said. Belgium proved him right, defeating Spain 64-58  to capture the 2023 FIBA European Championship. They followed it with a fourth-place finish at the Paris Olympics, after losing to Australia in the bronze medal game. 
 
Looking back on that championship run, Angillis credits Meziane’s leadership. “Rachid was the right person to coach that team because Rachid was able to make everybody feel good and comfortable on the court.” That’s one of the qualities that make Rachid a special coach, according to Angillis. 

Lighting struck twice. Mike Thibault—the former Sun coach and Washington Mystics GM— took over the Belgian national team and invited Angillis to stay on. He accepted, and Belgium went on to repeat as champions. 
 
Angillis recalls the lead-up with a laugh. After a 100-52 loss to the New York Liberty in June—the worst in Sun history—he left for Europe the next day. Belgium promptly lost a friendly to France by 50 points.
 
“Damn, this is 100 points in two days!” he said. 

But the team rebounded,  holding off Spain, 67-65, in front of close to 8,000 fans to claim back-to-back EuroBasket titles—becoming only the third team ever to defend its crown. 
 
 “Honestly, I don’t think it will ever be done again,” Angillis said. “Definitely not for a Belgian team.” 

Airport Connection 
 
A chance encounter in the Brussels airport set Angillis on his path to the WNBA. He ran into Meziane and his team, and Meziane casually mentioned that he was taking the coaching job with the Sun. “I want you to come with me,” he told Angillis.
 
“And I’m like, yeah, whatever,” Angillis recalled. “Well, that’s not going to work.” 
 
However, a short time later, he received a call from Sun GM Tuck while he was in California. It was happening.  And that’s how he became a WNBA assistant coach. 
 
Family was the deciding factor. “If my wife, Thiaba, and kids had not been aligned, I would not have taken the job,” he said.  The couple, married for 27 years, are raising five children, ages 15 to 23. 
 
Angillis is no stranger to America. As a teenager, he left Belgium to play basketball at Lakewood High School in Long Beach, California, living with coach Tim Sweeney’s family. He went on to play at Long Beach City College and Rockford University before a professional career back home. 
 
He lived with the Sweeney family for seven years. “They became my second family, to the point that my kids call them grandma and grandpa. Their sons are like my brothers, and I’m godfather to their kids. They’re godparents to my kids. We’re like family.” 

​Europe vs America
 
Angillis has witnessed the differences between European and American basketball—on and off the court. 
 
1.Playing Style and Mentality
 
​According to Angillis, American players often rely on their individual abilities to carry a team, while European teams emphasize collective play.
 
“I think most, most of the European players are team first,” he said. “I don’t feel that’s always the case in America.” But it’s not selfishness—it’s confidence. “They (American players) think, ‘if I can get my stuff, then I’m going to carry the team, and we’re going to win.’” 

“He believes the difference is largely cultural. European teams historically, haven’t had the same level of athleticism as their American counterparts, forcing them to find other ways to win.
 
“For that, you need to dig deeper into your fundamentals, into your team play, into sacrifice,” he said, sounding like a coach at a clinic. 
 
At times, the Sun’s adoption of Meziane’s ball-movement philosophy stalled, especially with a young roster still learning to trust the system. Early losses didn’t help his case. 

 
2.Preparation and Practice
 
The structure of the season is another major difference. In Europe basketball, teams hold six-week training camps before league play begins, allowing coaches to install detailed team principles.
 
“In six weeks, you can work on a ton of team principles,” Angillis explained. “In the States, you’ve got 10 days—you have to give them (the players) a couple days off. It’s hard to get those principles in.” 
 
The Sun had only about six days of practice before the season started, including two friendly games—hardly enough time to build the kind of cohesive style Meziane wanted. 
 
3.Role Acceptance and Lineups
 
European players also tend to be more flexible about starting roles. 
 
“Here, you’ve got to be a starter,” Angillis said.  “A lot of times in Europe, coaches bring some of their best players off the bench because what they want is when you start subbing, the weak get better.” 
 
He pointed to guard Saniya Rivers as an example.  “Saniya, to me, played a lot better when she was coming off the bench than when she was starting. And, okay, I think for certain players, it’s a really hard sell, I mean not starting Marina. That’s like moving heaven and earth, you know? I think maybe later in her career, she would appreciate it.” 
 
Throughout his career, Angillis has coached players who embraced coming off the bench and thrived, proving that with the right mindset, the approach can work.

Never Stop Improving 
 
During the Sun’s ten-game losing streak, the coaching staff never lost focus. They pored over the game videos searching for ways to improve. “We felt like we would eventually turn it around, especially knowing that Leila [Lacan] was going to come in,” Angillis said.
                                                                 
It was a brutal stretch, but Meziane never got discouraged. 
 
“Rachid always tried to point out some good things, even after all the losses,” Angillis recalled. “He would come in the locker room and still talk about some of the good things, tell everybody to stick together, everybody to keep working.” 
 
The calm steadiness set the tone. “He was very serene and calm during that whole process,” Angillis said. The staff never stopped believing.
 
Another key turning point came in practice. “I also think a big thing that helped turn it around—Leila for sure—when we started getting quality guys in practice. The whole first part of the season,” Angillis explained, “we were practicing against ourselves, or we had a couple of guys, you know, they couldn’t play.” 

Next Year 
 
The ghosts of past success will linger over the Connecticut Sun this offseason. The Sun’s front office and coaching staff must lead the way to chart a new course. 
 
Complicating matters are league-wide challenges that could delay the 2026 season. The Sun are navigating the expected sale of the franchise—a process entangled in a tug-of-war between the Mohegan Tribe’s wishes and the NBA’s influence over WNBA operations. 
 
On top of that, a new collective bargaining agreement must be negotiated, and an expansion draft looms with new teams in Portland and Toronto. The Sun will likely lose at least one key player to other teams, just like Veronica Burton left last season for the Golden State Valkyries. 
 
Despite the uncertainty, there are reasons for optimism. With Meziane and his coaching staff expected to return, year two of the European experience should start on firmer footing. All players will be in training camp from day one, the coaching staff will have a better grasp of the American system, and the players will know what to expect from Meziane. 
 
Add in the continued growth of young talents like Rivers, Lacan, and Aneesah Morrow, and the Sun have a strong foundation to build on—if the season starts on time. 
 
Next year, excuses won’t cut it—the Sun will either rise again or stay stuck in the fog.

###

By Anthony Price 

​The Connecticut Sun’s nightmarish season ended Wednesday in an 88-72 loss to the playoff-bound Atlanta Dream. 
 
For the first time in nine years, the Sun will miss the postseason. It was an anticlimactic ending. Like ships passing in New London harbor, the Dream sail on to the playoffs while the Sun head for a long offseason. To add sting, former Sun Brionna Jones scored 13 points for Atlanta, a title contender.

Season of Lows
 
The Sun finished 11-33, the worst record in franchise history, based on win-loss percentage (.250). A 10-game losing streak and a pair of 40-point blowouts underscored how far the team has fallen from its championship-contending past.
 
The young players were the lone bright spot. Playing with energy and enthusiasm even as the season spiraled.

Management’s Reset
 
Morgan Tuck, the young, first-year GM, inherited a roster gutted by free agency and trades. Ten players from last season departed, including key reserves like Veronica Burton, now thriving with the expansion Golden State Valkyries.
 
The veterans brought in—Tina Charles and Marina Mabrey—couldn’t fix a roster filled with five rookies. A rookie head coach, injuries, and a restless fan base added to the turbulence.

Mabrey Speaks
 
The day after the season ended, the Sun had their exit interviews for reporters via Zoom.  

​Mabrey went first. 
 
When this reporter asked her about how she was able to stay locked-in, given that she asked for a trade before the season, Mabrey calmly responded as if a weight was lifted off her, “I think perspective is everything—maybe you don’t get exactly what you want every time.“
 
“But at the end of the day, I get to do this job. I’m blessed to be in this league, to be the player that I am in this league—especially looking back seven years ago,” she explained, when she came into the league with the Dallas Wings. 

“I think sometimes I’m very misunderstood. Nobody thought I would be on a team very long, or make an impact, or be one of the best players. So, I think that there is a pride in that, and I will never step on the court and let somebody just ‘cook’ me or my team, willingly.” ​

She usually stays stoic to the media. “I feel like God just kind of put me in this position to keep me here because that’s where I belong,” she said, revealing deeper thoughts, rarely shared by her in public. 
 
Despite missing nine games to an injury, Mabrey averaged 14.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists—a season statistically consistent with her previous output.  She admitted she had to adjust her leadership style for the rookies, who weren’t afraid to challenge her. 
 
“You know everybody’s different,” she said. “We had different personalities, and I realized that at first, they (her young teammates) weren’t really responding to the way I was doing it (leading). I got to give it to the rookies because they are the ones who made me realize that I needed to change. It’s not working. And they weren’t afraid to tell me, ‘No, this is not it.’”
 
And I feel like I’ve changed on the court too,” she said. “I think that my emotional maturity is growing. 

“And just also like the new energy we had this year from all the new players, brought out another side of me—where everything isn’t so serious, and everything isn’t about basketball. So, just finding joy in other things in life has brought that side of my personality out.” 
 
In what could be her swan song in a Sun uniform, Mabrey showcased the beauty of her game, with a game-high 22 points, shooting 8 of 15 from the floor—making deep three-pointers and driving to the basket. 
 
When she’s on, she can cook any player in the league. 

The New Core  
 
Rookies Saniya Rivers, Aneesah Morrow, Leila Lacan, and Rayah Marshall showed promise, with Rivers breaking the team’s rookie three-point record. 
 
Lacan was named to the Associated Press All-Rookie Team while second-year forward Aaliyah Edwards emerged as a fan favorite.
 
Rivers learned valuable lessons. “You cannot control everything,” she said after losing on Wednesday. You can’t control going out and winning the game. You can’t control 20 points, but you can control your effort, your energy, and your attitude. And I think in this league, you don’t have time to sulk about losses, or whatever the case may be.”   

And on the lighter side, Rivers added,” I think for me, teaching Marina how to dance was one of my favorite parts [of the season]. You know, giving her a little bit of flavoring, some seasoning, I think that was all on me.” 
 
True to who Rivers is, she’s going to have a good time, and take her teammates along for the ride.  
 
Coach Rachid Meziane hinted at playoff expectations for 2026, though uncertainty looms with a pending sale that could relocate the franchise.

Looking Ahead
 
For Mabrey, this season was unexpectedly meaningful. When asked about her favorite moment, she said, “This season has been a lot more fun than I anticipated it to be,” reflecting on her growth and her bond with teammates.
 
She hopes that she has built relationships that will last a lifetime. 
 
The Sun will look very different in 2026. The only questions are who will be back—and where they’ll be playing. 

###

By Anthony Price 

​The Connecticut Sun’s Leila Lacan has one job on her mind: play hard and keep improving. It’s the mindset of a rookie—though Lacan hardly fits the mold, having already spent years competing as a pro in Europe. 
 
Lacan is part of the new-look Sun—one of five rookies on the team. Since the French guard arrived midseason in the U.S., she has energized the Sun with her defensive steadfastness, playmaking abilities, and persistent energy.

​For Lacan, the work is not done on an 11-31 team with only two games left. The vets, Tina Charles and Marina Mabrey, are impressed. 
 
Selected 10th in the 2024 draft, Lacan is averaging 10 points, 3.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game (a total of 55 for the season). French national basketball team member Gabby Williams, who leads the league with 98 steals, is averaging the same 2.3 per game over 43 games played for the Seattle Storm.
 
Lacan is shooting 47.7% from the field (104 of 218) and 85.7% (36-42) from the free-throw line. She has made 22.4% (15 of 67) from the 3-point line. Not bad for a rookie.

​Pregame 
 
Fresh off winning an Olympic silver medal in Paris, Lacan doesn’t linger on past achievements. She wants to be better and is not easily impressed. 
 
After finishing her pregame routine, Lacan talked to this reporter courtside. Her expression was blank, but her words revealed focus. She sees the end of the season, but it’s not time to limp to the finish line. 
 
“This team wants to finish well and leave a good feeling about this team,” Lacan said. Her approach hasn’t wavered since arriving in the WNBA. “I just try to read the situation, to defend, to bring energy. That’s what I tried to do since the beginning, and what I’m still trying to do.”  
 
More playing time has made her feel confident. “I’m getting more comfortable because I know more about the league,” she said. “It gives [me] maybe more confidence because I know what to expect. It’s still the same job that has to be done.”

Lacan’s passion for the game shows in the little moments. When officials make a call against her, her eyes flash wide, and she gestures with her hands—more pantomime than argument. She is aghast that her integrity has been called into question. This can’t be, she seems to be saying. 

She explains. “When you want to win, when you try your best, when you give energy to something, your emotions get linked to it,” she said. “I just like what I do, and I want things to go well.” 

​The Mercury Heats Up
 
With the Sun eliminated from the playoff race early for the first time in years, Saturday’s game against the playoff-bound Phoenix Mercury at Mohegan Sun Arena was less about standings and more about measuring progress. 
 
It also highlighted Lacan’s value, which doesn’t always show up in the box score. She prides herself on defense by making life miserable for her opponent (there is no stat for heart), fighting through screens, and frustrating good offensive players. For her, defense is personal.
 
With the game tied at 81 and 35 seconds remaining, Lacan had the ball on the left side of the court, roughly ten feet from the three-point line.

She dribbled toward the basket and went through two screens, first from Charles and then Mabrey, which created a clear path to the basket. She closed in on the basket and made a right-hand layup, putting the Sun up, 83-81, with 27 seconds. The crowd roared! 
 
In the next few plays, she was fouled and made four free throws to put the team up 87-84. She didn’t blink. 
 
The game wasn’t over. The Mercury had one last chance. They got the ball to Kahleah Copper, a gold medalist at the Paris Olympics on the USA basketball team. 

​Lacan blanketed Copper and put her hands up, careful not to foul. Copper launched a desperate three-pointer. It sailed high in the air and clanged off the backboard. 
 
Sun win! They halted the Mercury’s six-game winning streak. 
 
For the Mercury, it was a frustrating afternoon, Alyssa Thomas, The physical point-forward who played 10 seasons for the Sun, tried to keep her team in the game, with 14 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds, plus an early trash-talking match with Charles. 
 
Thomas’ teammate, DeWanna Bonner, another former Sun player, slipped quetly to the visiting locker room after scoring just 9 points. 
 
This time, the spotlight belonged to Lacan.

Postgame 
 
Lacan logged only 3 minutes and 40 seconds in the fourth quarter, but they were decisive. She scored 6 points in crunch time, went a perfect 4 of 4 from the free-throw line, and played solid defense.  
 
Overall, she scored 14 points in 25 minutes. When asked by a reporter how she was able to be effective while battling foul trouble, she responded, “I was not really effective. I just try to keep playing. I can’t control everything. I can just control what I put into the game.” 
 
Mabrey couldn’t wait to speak, clutching the microphone in her hand. “Well, I think she [Lacan] was really effective still,” Mabrey said. “Sometimes, it is hard to get fouls and come to the bench and still come in and hit clutch free throws, get big rebounds, get deflections, make other players on the other team mad. So, I think, you were very effective,” Mabrey stated, as she looked at Lacan. 
 
Respect like that doesn’t come easily in the WNBA. But in just a few weeks, Lucan has earned it—from her teammates, her vets, and her opponents. Even Charles, with the usual ice on her shoulder, looked on with approval. 
 
The rookie isn’t just surviving. She’s arriving.

###

​Making it into the WNBA is no small feat. But for reserve players, the real challenge often begins after they’ve made the roster—finding minutes to earn playing time while keeping their heads in the game. 
 
That’s the puzzle facing the Connecticut Sun, a franchise caught between a losing season and the promise of tomorrow. With four drafted rookies—Leila Lacan, Saniya Rivers, Aneesah Morrow and Rayah Marshall—the Sun are investing in their future, even as growing pains dominate the present. 

Head coach Rachid Meziane, a French import with an untested European style of play, has been shuffling lineups all year, trying to find the right grouping of players to unlock wins. So far, the results have been dismal.
 
The Sun are 10-29, after losing 94-70 at home to the league-leading Minnesota Lynx on Saturday night. The Lynx, 31-8, who clinched home-court advantage throughout the playoffs with the win, appear destined to be in the Finals, after losing to the New York Liberty last season. 

Ups and Downs 
 
By the midpoint of the season, Meziane had settled on an eight-player rotation. Early on, Haley Peters and Lindsay Allen were part of that rotation—and both started games. 
 
But as the losses piled up at an unprecedented rate, including a 10-game losing streak, the franchise shifted its focus squarely to its rookies. Almost overnight, Peters and Allen were out of Meziane’s rotation. Such is the harsh reality of an unsympathetic business. 
 
For younger, less seasoned players, the sudden benching might have been crushing. But not Peters and Allen, who refused to let it undo them. 

​Life as a reserve, called a low-minute or no-minute player, is a grind. The Sun rarely practice during the season, due to the crowded, byzantine schedule. To stay ready, the reserves must scramble to stay in shape. 
 
This reporter has witnessed Peters, Allen and others put in extra work in an empty Mohegan Sun Arena. Long after the red lights on the TV cameras are turned off, and while the cleaning crew sweeps away debris scattered like the aftermath of a college fraternity party, the reserve players are still on the floor. They are united on the court by their desire to stay ready. 

​Real Talk  
 
Before Monday night’s exciting game in Brooklyn—an 81-79 loss to the New York Liberty—Allen and Peters talked to this reporter about life as reserves. 
 
Allen, now in her eighth year in the league, focuses on her pregame warmup. “Just trying to be mentally ready. You can’t really control anything else,” she said. “I try to focus on what I can control.” 
 
She paused, then added what the league means to her: “This is what I worked for my whole life. This is a dream that I wanted to achieve, so I’m super grateful for every opportunity I get in this league, against the best players in the world.” 
 
During her pregame workout, Allen was determined to improve her pull-up jumper and shooting threes. Shot after shot, she was focused, then summed it up simply: “Just staying in shape, really. Trying to stay in game shape, when I don’t play.” Moments later, she disappeared into the cavernous Barclays Center shadows.

Peter’s pregame routine doesn’t change. The undrafted veteran with three years of W experience works with the player development staff on an individual workout, strength and conditioning, and warming up. Just like Allen, Peters knows pregame is important. She shoots three-pointers and works on her moves in the low post before a game, ready to make those shots in the game. 

​Peters knows the challenge is mostly mental. “Yeah, it’s not easy,” she admitted, her tone dipping. When on the bench, she stays engaged in the game and remembers what the team talked about in film sessions or practice. She watches for those details of the game plan. “When you see stuff that’s going on the court, when people come off, you try to talk to them, and understand what they are seeing, and tell them some of the stuff you’re seeing from the bench,” she said.  
 
Peters dreamed of playing professional basketball when she was a little girl, “especially playing in arenas like the Barclays Center (with a maximum capacity of 19,000), it’s really cool,” she said.  
 
 Off the court, Peters believes in herself. “There’s a lot of mental work to be done,” she says. “It’s not an easy role (coming off the bench) to play. It’s one of the harder roles to play in sports, I think. You just have to deal with your frustration (when not playing) to understand that you still have to be a good teammate, and I really like all of my teammates. So, I want to be a good teammate to them regardless of how I feel, individually.” 

Bad News
 
Starting Sun guard Bria Hartley missed the Liberty game with an injury, and by Sunday the news worsened: she would miss the remainder of the season with a meniscus tear in her right knee.
 
In her absence, Allen started, playing for 22 minutes. Peters came off the bench to play for nine minutes. Rookies Marshall and Mamignan Toure—who began her career in the France’s Ligue Feminine back in 2012—also saw action. 
 
Just one game earlier, against the Dallas Wings, Peters, Allen and Toure all played fewer than five minutes. Meziane used them to send a message to their teammates, and the Sun won 101-95. 
 
That is the paradox of reserve life in the W: minutes are scarce, but the call can come at any time.  And so they stay ready because they never know what will happen in a league that is both expanding and unrelenting, testing not just the body, but also the mind. For Connecticut’s reserves, the toughest opponent isn’t across the court. It’s the waiting game.

​###

By Anthony Price

Tina Charles is a throwback: a mature, coachable, no-nonsense basketball star who leaves it all on the court.
 
So when Connecticut Sun GM Morgan Tuck announced her signing in early February, there was no mystery about what the franchise was getting: a poised veteran with 13 years in the WNBA and international experience, still fueled by a love for the game. 

​Last season, Charles averaged 14.9 points and 9.6 rebounds with the Atlanta Dream. For a Sun team that lost or traded all five starters from the 2024 team, the need was obvious: production in the post and veteran leadership. It was a match. 
 
Tuck made Charles the centerpiece of the rebuild. “Tina not only helped define the success of this franchise during her early years, but she also set the bar for excellence, both on and off the court,” Tuck said. 
 
This move signaled how Tuck planned to build the team. Charles is a winner—three-time Olympic gold medalist, decorated with more awards than some museums—and, in many ways, the embodiment of Connecticut basketball itself.

​860 
 
Wearing dark sunglasses, Tina Charles sat beside GM Morgan Tuck at the press conference podium. “For me personally, Connecticut is home,” Charles stated. “860 is home. It’s where I started. It’s just a special place for me personally.” 
 
Now nearing the end of a brilliant career, Charles has come full circle—back to the franchise that drafted her No. 1 overall in 2010. A future Naismith Hall of Famer, she has already been enshrined in the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame (2024), cementing her place among the game’s greats.
 
But Tuck didn’t fly to Istanbul in the offseason to lure Charles back for a farewell tour. She wanted wins and to build a winning culture. Charles, who signed a one-year deal, made her stance clear: “I’m just staying present,” she said, when asked about her future. “I have a passion for this game. Right now, I can say this year I will be here. I’m ready to play, and I’m excited to get back out there and represent.” 

Tuck’s bet has paid off. Charles is averaging 16.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. She has been a steadying force in the Sun’s locker room, on a team that has five rookies, a rookie coach, and a rookie GM. 

​From New York City to Storrs
 
Charles grew up in Jamaica, Queens, the daughter of Angella Murry, originally from Jamaica, and Rawlston Charles, from Trinidad and Tobago. Basketball grabbed her early, and by the time she reached high school she was already a prodigy. At Christ the King (NYC), she became a force—scoring 1,750 points, pulling down 1,224 rebounds, and blocking 432 shots over three varsity seasons. As a senior in 2006, she was the consensus National Player of the Year.
 
From there, Charles took her talents to UConn, where she carved out one of the most decorated college careers in history. Between 2006 and 2010, she helped the Huskies reach three consecutive Final Fours, winning back-to-back national titles in 2009 and 2010.
 
Individually, she was unstoppable. In her senior season alone, Charles swept nearly every major award—the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award, and Player of the Year honors from both the Associated Press and the United States Basketball Writers Association.
 
She graduated as UConn’s all-time leader in points and rebounds, and third in blocked shots. Her career record? An astonishing 146–6—winning 96 percent of her games in Storrs.

Big Hole 
 
The team dug themselves a crater-sized hole early in the season, losing their first five games before finally earning a narrow 85-83 win over  the Indiana Fever on May 30. The win gave the team and fans a flicker of hope—fragile, like a candle in the wind. 
 
It turned out to be false hope. Just two days later, the team suffered its worst loss in franchise history, a 100-52 pounding at the hands of the WNBA champion New York Liberty. It was rock bottom.
 
There would be more disappointments. From June 8 to July 6, the team lost 10 games in a row, including two blowouts by 37 points or more. They played with no fight or chemistry, which was reflected in the score. 

Still, they didn’t quit. Charles and the other veterans proved to be the anchors the team needed to build chemistry, establish positive daily habits, and improve. They kept working. Slowly, the work began to show.

Improving
 
Led by veterans Charles, Marina Mabrey and Bria Hartley, and the young players falling in line, the Sun have begun to steady themselves. They won four of their last five games, with two wins each over the Chicago Sky and Washington Mystics. 

Charles has been central to the surge. After a gritty 21-point, 6-rebound performance in a 67–56 win over Washington on August 21, she appeared in the postgame presser draped in ice packs—on both knees and a shoulder—yet still smiling. Two days later, she followed up with a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double against Chicago.
 
Her fire hasn’t dimmed. After scoring a big basket against the Mystics, Charles celebrated by waving her arms as if the team secured a playoff spot. 

“I get a lot of pleasure seeing these young guys being able to go out and impact the game—just seeing their progression, seeing them turn corners,” Charles said. ”That’s what it’s about, being in this vet’s seat. If I’m needed, I know I will be called upon.” 
 
When asked about what it means to have played at UConn, Charles stated, “At an early stage in your career, when you’re at UConn, Coach Auriemma challenges you to play like professionals, to walk like a professional, talk like a professional.”  

Future Hall of Famer  
 
Every day, Charles demonstrates what a professional is. She’s now sharing the blueprint. 
 
The Sun may be playing for pride—not a playoff spot, but Charles is still carving her legacy. She’s the second leading scorer in the WNBA and its all-time leading rebounder.  
 
A future Hall of Famer, Charles is the quiet star who keeps producing. 

​###

By Anthony Price 

The Connecticut Sun are in transition, and time is running out. With a paltry six wins, the Sun’s former winning culture is gone. September is approaching, and this team will be packing its bags for the long off-season—not a deep playoff run. 
 
Still, the front office isn’t standing pat. Just before the August 7 trade deadline, the Sun traded second-year guard Jacey Sheldon, who provided the Sun with a jolt of energy, stifling defense and a consistent outside scoring threat, to the Washington Mystics. In return, the Sun gain the inside presence of 6-foot-3 forward Aaliyah Edwards, along with the right to swap the Mystics first-round pick for the Sun’s first-round pick. 

​It’s not a headline-grabbing blockbuster, but it’s a clear signal. The Sun are doubling down on youth, future flexibility, and a familiar formula: trust in UConn talent.
 
Bright Future 
 
While Sheldon’s effort didn’t always show up in the win column, the future is bright for the fifth pick in the 2024 draft. The Sun believe the same about Edwards, a fellow top-six pick and a former UConn Husky. 
 
This wasn’t about making headlines but about balance. It filled a void for a post player on the Sun roster, frees up minutes for French rookie Leila Lacan, and locks up players on rookie contracts on team-friendly terms, once a new collective bargaining agreement is in place. 
 
Before the trade deadline, the team had four rookies, who were selected in the 2024 and 2025 draft. Three of those rookies have started games and played considerable minutes for the team. The Sun are determined to build around them. 

​UConn Connection 
 
No team leans on Husky pride quite like the Sun. The University of Connecticut women’s basketball dynasty—12 national titles since coach Geno Auriemma arrived in 1985—has always been a pipeline to the pros.
 
From Jennifer Rizzotti and Rebecca Lobo’s first championship in 1995, to Morgan Tuck’s four straight titles in the mid-2010s, UConn has rewritten what dominance looks like. Forty-eight huskies have been selected in the WNBA draft—28 in the first round. Six Huskies were selected first over the years: Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart and Paige Bueckers. 

Taurasi, Charles, Moore, Stewart, Napheesa Collier and Crystal Dangerfield have all been named WNBA Rookie of the Year. In addition, Taurasi, Charles, Moore and Stewart have each taken home MVP trophies. 
 
For the Sun, the connection runs deep. Edwards joins a roster that already features fellow Huskies Tina Charles, the second leading scorer in WNBA history; Olivia Nelson-Ododa; and Bria Hartley. 
 
At the start of the 2025 season, the WNBA had 15 former UConn players: Moriah Jefferson and Kia Nurse (Chicago Sky), Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings), Tiffany Haynes (Golden State Valkyries), Azura Stevens (Los Angeles Sparks), Kiah Stokes (Los Vegas Aces), Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx) Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), Katie Lou Samuelson and Gabby Williams (Seattle Storm) and Stefanie Dolson (Washington Mystics). 
 
For the Sun, though, it’s more than a coincidence. It’s a philosophy. Youth, patience and an unwavering commitment to UConn talent—that’s the blueprint for the future. 

​Back in Connecticut 
 
Before the Sky game, Charles talked to this reporter briefly about the trade. “I was very excited, just her coming back to Connecticut and what she means to these fans—because these fans are the ones that crossover from UConn,“ she said. “But you know, It’s a lot of upside for the organization, for the future. And I know she will be great.” 
 
Charles is ready to share her knowledge with Edwards. “Any way that I can impact whoever it was” she said, “[but] it’s always sweeter when it’s a UConn player because you just know the roots, you just know how our foundation is and the way we think, how coach Auriemma coached us and how we approached the game, so it’s nice.” 
 
Wearing a black headband, with purple and yellow braids cascading down her back, Edwards stood encircled by reporters before making her Connecticut home debut against the Chicago Sky. 
 
Questions flew at her from every direction, rapid and relentless, but Edwards remained composed. Having played at Mohegan Sun in college, she doesn’t have to worry about getting lost inside. And she is at ease joining a roster that already includes fellow former Huskies. 
 
“The biggest adjustment is probably just familiarity with the plays and sets, but other than that, I think my teammates and coaches have instilled so much confidence in me, you know, just hooping at the end of the day,“ Edwards said, like a veteran. “And my teammates have been super helpful in terms of spacing [on the floor] and all that.” 

​The Future
 
When asked about what type of opportunity she sees with this team, Edwards responded, “I see the franchise being a championship team in the future, and I would love to be a part of it, and I think it starts today with the building of good habits, creating that culture, and really working on the fundamentals now, since we are in the second-half of our season.” 
 
Edwards felt that the Sky game was almost a “home opener” for her. “With three games under my belt, wearing the Sun jersey, I’m loving every bit of it.” 
 
The second-year player sounds like Connecticut is where she wants to be to help rebuild the franchise in the state that helped her grow into a college star. 

Edwards is not starry-eyed. “It’s a business. It’s a competitive league. You just go to stay working,” she said. “Stay prepared and be ready for whatever is thrown at you because if you’re not going to come to show up to work today, someone else is dying for the chance, dying for the opportunity.” 
 
In her home debut, the Sun beat the Chicago Sky, 71-62, for their sixth win of the season. In the next game, the Indiana Fever rallied from down 21 points to defeat the Sun in overtime, 99-93—which officially eliminated the Sun from the playoffs. 
 
President Jennifer Rizzotti and GM Morgan Tuck know that there is still more work to do. They know success will not be a walk down memory lane. 

​###