Around the Sun

Burke Has the Winning Resume. Now the Sun Need Her Voice

By Anthony Price 

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Kennedy Burke watches the Indiana Fever shoot the ball. Photo: Clay Johnson.

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​In the WNBA, championships—and money—separate average players from winners. 
 
Kennedy Burke has been a winner, excelling off the bench. Sun GM Morgan Tuck coveted her winning pedigree, giving her a one-year, million-dollar contract. 
 
Even though Burke had never been more than a role player in the W, Tuck is hoping to sprinkle Burke’s winning ways over a young crop of talent to help them grow into winners at the pro level. Burke and Brittney Griner were the major offseason acquisitions the Sun’s front office made. 

​Sun coach Rachid Meziane coached Burke in France for two seasons. Burke, or KB as her Sun teammates know her, is an unassuming professional basketball player whose resumé quietly overflows with major accomplishments. She has bounced from country to country, with many championship trophies overseas and one for the New York Liberty. 
 
Her past success is a mark of excellence. But this season, her role is no longer the quiet contributor on that Liberty team that featured three stars: Brianna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones. 
 
The Sun expect Burke to take a massive leap to being their “star,” as well as adding leadership to a team that has five rookies and four second-year players. 
 
Can Burke make the leap from soft-spoken role player to someone who can stand up and be counted on to deliver nightly in the W?

Her roller-coaster-like play has affected her confidence. 

No Boasting 
 
Burke’s not the type of player to boast. At 6-foot-1, she prefers to have her game do the talking. She is a guard but has a rugged frame that allows her to play forward positions on both offense and defense. She is a physical player who can hit the 3-pointer and has an all-around game, getting to the basket off the dribble. 
 
She is a blue-collar player, doing the little things that lead to wins. But lately, her game has been inconsistent at best. Her roller-coaster-like play has affected her confidence. 
With 27 games remaining on the schedule, she is averaging 7.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, which is above her career averages in the W of 5.4 points, 1.9 rebounds, and .9 assists. 
 
When Burke won a championship with the Liberty, she played in a reserve role, which is not the same pressure stars face nightly. 

Burke’s preference seems to be to assimilate, but the Sun need her to exert her talent on the court and lead—there’s serious cognitive dissonance between what she is and what is expected. They need her to take the throne and lead. 
 
The Sun’s front office and coaching staff want to see her make noise on the court because the 2-13 team could use a boost from the veteran. 

Kenney Burke dribbles the basketball. Photo: Clay Johnson.

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​Cali Vibes 
 
Before she made her name as a professional, she grew up in Northridge, Los Angeles, with her older sister and parents. Her older sister, Kody, who is 6-foot-2, played basketball for North Carolina State, where she scored 1,588 points from 2010 to 2014. Her father, Rogelio, played professional basketball in Mexico and for Panama, his home country. 
 
From 2015 through 2019, Burke played for the UCLA Bruins. Listed as a guard in college, she was known as a defensive player who could score. She racked up 123 blocked shots and 237 steals in her career. 
 
Proving the scouting report correct, she scored 1,513 points, averaging 11 points per game—15.4 points and 6.2 rebounds her senior year. In 138 games, she started 97, helping the Bruins go 100-39 and make four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. 
 
Drafted by the Dallas Wings, Burke was the 22nd overall pick. The same draft in which Jackie Young was selected No. 1 by the Las Vegas Aces, Napheesa Collier No. 6 by the Minnesota Lynx, and Marina Mabrey 19th by the Los Angeles Sparks. All continue to have an impact in the league.

Burke’s start to her professional career was rocky.

​Burke’s start to her professional career was rocky. She never played a regular-season game for the Wings. They waived her on May 22nd, and a few days later, the Indiana Fever picked her up.

She played on the Indiana Fever (2 years), Seattle Storm (1 year), Washington Mystics (1 year), and New York Liberty (2 years). In 2020, she started what would be a career-high 11 games, but she didn’t play in the league during the 2023 season, opting to play overseas. 
 
Burke is now in her seventh year. Over her career, she has averaged 5.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in 15.5 minutes. She’s a role player. But overseas, she has been a star, playing in France, Spain, and Turkey. 
 
In the Ligue Féminine de Basketball in France, she was named the Most Valuable Player in 2023 and 2024 and won the Major 5 Trophy in both years. In the EuroLeague Women, she was named to the All-EuroLeague Second Team in 2024. 
 
Countries want her services. Turkey granted her citizenship in March 2026. Just in time to play for the Turkish women’s national basketball team as it played to qualify for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournaments, from March 11-17. 

Over five games in Turkey, Burke averaged 16.4 points. Turkey finished third in Group A and qualified for the Women’s World Cup, which will take place in Germany from September 4-13. 

Next Game 
 
After a travel day, it was Friday, June 12, in the early afternoon at the Mohegan Sun Arena. It was the first practice since a heartbreaking 106-102 overtime loss to the Toronto Tempo in Canada. In that game, Burke played 29 minutes and scored 11 points on 3-12 shooting and had 6 rebounds—all on offensive boards. She was 1-6 from the 3-point range. Another winnable game turned into a loss. 
 
Burke was sitting in the lower bowl of the arena after practice, talking to associate head coach Roneeka Hodges. From the court, they seemed to be engrossed in a deep conversation. 
 
15 minutes later, Burke made her way down to the court where I was waiting for her. She is tall with a strong frame. She doesn’t slouch. Her long braids were in perfect rows.
 
This was our first meeting. I asked her what she thought she could bring to the team. “Just being more of a leader, on the court, off the court, making sure that I’m speaking up more than usual. It’s still something I’m working on, but I feel like day by day, I’m getting just a little bit better.” 

“I’m not a big-time player, and that’s okay. 

Burke Kennedy shoots over an Indiana Fever defender. Photo: Clay Johnson.

We talked about the championships she won. She’s modest—almost coming across as shy. She needed to be led into this topic. She’s not the type of player who is going to brag. “I’m not a big-time player, and that’s okay. But I’ve also accomplished so much overseas and just throughout my basketball career.” 
 
Burke is the only player on the Sun roster who has won a championship at this level; yet, no one has asked her about her experience. She takes it all in stride and seems to downplay her accomplishments. 
 
Burke has a California vibe. She’s polite, reserved, and not overly friendly. 
 
Kobe Bryant is her all-time favorite basketball player. She’s still a huge Lakers fan, she says. As a Kobe fan, one of the things she takes from him is “just being the best, not only as a player, but the best person I can be for these young players on this team. Just being a leader and having that mentality that no one can stop me,” she says. 
 
There’s another side of Burke you won’t see on the basketball court. It’s almost counter to who she projects on the court. “I love roller coasters,” she says, as if revealing a deep secret. She hopes to get on a roller coaster soon. 
 
But true to who she is, “the majority of time I’m just to myself at home and just chilling.” 

​She is proud of her relationship with Meziane. “I have a really good relationship with Rachid, so I can talk to him about literally anything outside of basketball. He’s a great listener, a great person. So, I mean, to have those conversations with him, it means a lot.” 
 
Rachid wants more out of her. “I know he wants me to be aggressive. And when I get the ball in my hands, be a contributor, looking [for] ways to score and at the same time getting my teammates involved,” she says.  
 
When asked about her up-and-down performance this year, she is forgiving of her lapses. “I mean, at the end of the day, I have to give myself grace in those games where I’m not contributing as much,” she says. She spoke to Meziane the day of our conversation about building her confidence and being a leader. There was an emphasis on her being herself when stepping into the game and shooting with confidence. Regardless of wins or losses, it’s “playing hard no matter what,” she says. 
 
After the loss to the Tempo, Meziane spoke about Burke. “This kind of production can help her trust in herself and just show her teammates that she is capable of scoring,” he said. 

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​“It’s what I’m repeating to her every day. She’s here to be one of our leaders, so I hope just hearing this message every day could help her to play with more confidence,” he says. “I know KB very well, and I know a lot of things are just coming from confidence for her. So, I hope that tonight she just sees that she’s the one who can contribute more offensive-wise.” It comes across as a plea. 
 
During the Indiana Fever pregame press conference on Saturday, Meziane mentioned that he had spoken to Burke about how important she is to the team. He believes the conversation that he had with her may help her change her mindset. 
 
“She has to understand that she is very important to us,” Meziane says. “And coming off a team like [the] New York Liberty, playing with a lot of all-stars, it’s something different. Being our star,” Meziane says with an air quote, “it’s probably something new for her.” 

She has to understand that she is very important to us.

​Meziane is okay with giving Burke time to adjust to her role with the team. He comments that she also needs more ball touches. “She has to get the ball more often and shoot more to build her confidence,” he states. He acknowledged that it is hard to score from behind the 3-point line when Burke only has one or two attempts. “I can also take some responsibilities on that and just make sure that she is going to touch more balls.”
 
The Sun lost to the Fever 85-75 in Connecticut. Burke played 24 minutes and scored 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting. In the end, it wasn’t enough. She had a key turnover late in the fourth quarter that led to a Fever 3-pointer. 

There’s Still Time
 
“KB is awesome. I love her,” Sun rookie and fellow UCLA Bruin Charlisse Leger-Walker says. She is fresh off a national championship with the Bruins in April, along with fellow rookie Gianna Kneepkens. 
 
After practice, Leger-Walker noted that Burke was extremely supportive in helping her understand the league on a mental level. “How to switch from a college mindset to a pro mindset, whether that’s resetting really quickly after a loss, or coming in and making sure we are doing the little things, or taking care of your body,” she says. “All of those little things that you can only get from a vet player are what she brings. I’m really glad she is one of our vets on this team.” 
 
That’s part of what Tuck and Meziane are looking for from her. If Burke can play her role consistently, the Sun may add wins. And for management, it will be money well spent on the quiet vet. 

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