Around the Sun

Leila Lacan’s Debut Brings New Energy to the Sun

By Anthony Price 

Leila Lacan plays defense. Photo: Brian Davey.

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​When the Connecticut Sun selected 19-year-old French guard Leila Lacan as the No. 10 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, they were investing in the future. But Lacan wasn’t ready just yet. She stayed in France to play for the French national team in the Paris Olympics that summer, and then professionally in Europe. 
 
For Sun fans, the wait felt long. But in early July, hope finally arrived when Lacan touched down in Connecticut. 

​With only two practices with the team, she wasn’t sure she would play against the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, July 6, at Mohegan Sun Arena. Then came the call.
 
With 6:59 left In the first quarter, and the Sun mired in a brutal nine-game losing streak, Lacan received the message she didn’t expect: she was going in. Ready or not, her WNBA journey was about to begin.

First Game 
 
Lacan sprang to her feet and walked the short path to French coach Rachid Meziane—a few steps that symbolized a journey across continents. 
 
Her long curly black hair bobbed in a high ponytail as she approached Meziane, who looked at her as if she were the solution to the team’s woes.
 
Lacan shrugged off her blue warmup jacket, revealing an orange number 47 and a butterfly tattoo fluttering on her forearm. She tossed the jacket into the waiting hands of a Sun staffer. 

I was surprised to enter that quick into the game.

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As Sun’s guard Jacy Sheldon left the game, she gave Lacan a high five. Then Lacan stepped onto the court—and into the WNBA.
 
Lacan played 24 minutes, scoring five points and playing an aggressive defense that earned her 4 fouls. The Sun lost 86-68 to the Aces, marking a franchise-record 10th consecutive defeat. Still, Lacan’s debut hinted at something new—a spark of possibility in a tough season.
 
Days later, before a home game against the Seattle Storm, Lacan reflected on her sudden debut. “I was surprised to enter that quick into the game,” her French accent lilting. “You don’t really have time to think. When he [Coach Meziane] said my name, I just entered.”  
 
She knows this is a special time. “I think the WNBA is the best league in the world,” she said. “So I’m just happy to have the opportunity to be a part of it.

Teammate Jacy Sheldon likes what she sees in Lacan. “She just knows the game,” said Sheldon, the second-year player. “The first couple of minutes she was here [at practice], that’s something you can see about her game. She’s going to make people around her better,” Sheldon said.  “I’m excited to play with her.” ​

Jacy Sheldon shoots a 3-pointer. Photo: Brian Davey.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa drives to the basket. Photo: Brian Davey.

Little Things 
 
Lacan is already proving herself as a tough defender and smart playmaker, skilled at putting the ball on the floor and creating for herself and others. She looked comfortable at the free throw line, calmly scoring her first two WNBA points, and later made a three-pointer with ease. 
 
But right now, the Sun need more than flashes of skill. With Marina Mabrey out and Tina Charles nursing a sore shoulder, they need players who can rebuild a winning culture. 
 
Lacan may be that player. 

​In the third quarter of her debut, a small but telling moment stood out. Rookie Saniya Rivers was coming up the left side of the court, across from the team’s bench. Lacan, handling the ball under pressure, calmly directed her with voice and hand gestures to shift to the opposite side. 
 
“It was just the play the coach asked,” Lacan said later. “I told her to go set the screen.” 
 
The moment was easy to miss—but meaningful. In France, Lacan said, she learned to help her teammates when they forgot something, trusting they would return the favor. “It’s just a player thing,” she said. “You help each other.” 
 
What made it remarkable was that Lacan isn’t known for being vocal—at least not yet. ​“O Lord!” laughed Rivers, when asked about the mix-up. She is “perfectly fine” with Lacan directing her.
 
“The first thing I noticed about Leila was her defense,” Rivers said. “I’m a dog on defense, so having somebody come in and relieve me, guarding the best players—I was honestly stoked about that.” ​ 

The first thing I noticed about Leila was her defense.

Saniya Rivers hugs Leila Lacan. Photo: Brian Davey.

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France  
 
Lacan’s story begins in Rodez, a quiet town in southern France. Her mother, originally from Chad, emigrated to France when she was 18, where she met Lacan’s father and, eventually, helped raise one of Europe’s brightest young basketball talents. 
 
From an early age, Lacan’s skill on the court was undeniable. She quickly rose through France’s national basketball pipeline, representing her country in every major youth tournament: the 2019 FIBA U16 Women’s European Championship, 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup, the 2022 U18 European Championship and again in 2023 at the U19 World Cup. 
 
Lacan won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics last summer, losing 67-66, on a last-second two-pointer by Gabby Williams—who stepped on the three-point line.  That USA team was loaded with WNBA superstars: Brianna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier, Kelsey Plum, and others. 

After the Olympics, Lacan joined Basket Landes, her second professional team after two seasons with Union Féminine Angers Basket 49 in La Boulangère Wonderligue—the top women’s division in France.
 
Basket Landes qualified for the 2024-25 Euroleague Women tournament and won the league championship. Lacan was named the Finals MVP. 
 
Lacan made her senior national team debut in EuroBasket Women 2023 and returned in 2025, helping France to a fourth-place finish—just before she arrived in the U.S. to begin her WNBA journey. 

Leila Lacan shoots a 3-pointer. Photo: Brian Davey.

​A Different Season 
 
On July 9th, the Sun finally found a spark. Behind Tina Charles’ 29 points and Jacy Sheldon’s 16,  they ended the franchise-record 10-game losing streak with a 93-83 home win over the Seattle Storm.
 
And Leila Lacan? She was right in the mix.  Lacan scored 8 points, but her impact went beyond the box score. On two plays she drove through traffic to the basket and, at the last second,  passed to a wide-open Sheldon for two timely three-pointers—smart, unselfish basketball that ignited the team. 
 
The energy felt different with Lacan in the Sun lineup. So different, in fact, that veteran Tina Charles scooped her off the floor to celebrate her making a tough layup, a moment that spoke volumes about Lacan’s growing role on the team. 
 
For now, Lacan is still adjusting like every rookie. She wants to learn the plays, get to know her teammates, and find where everything is located, even the nearest grocery store. 
 
“It’s a lot of new things,” Lacan said with a smile. “Everything is a little bit different.” 
 
The Sun hope that “different” becomes their new identity—filled with growth, resilience, wins and perhaps one day, a championship. 

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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.