Connecticut Sun facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Connecticut Sun
Conference	Eastern
Leagues	WNBA
Founded	1999; 26 years ago (1999)
History	Orlando Miracle 1999–2002 Connecticut Sun 2003–present
Arena	Mohegan Sun Arena
Location	Uncasville, Connecticut
Team colors	Orange, navy blue, white
Main sponsor	Yale New Haven Health System
President	Jennifer Rizzotti
General manager	Darius Taylor
Head coach	Vacant
Assistant(s)	Abi Olajuwon Briann January Austin Kelly
Ownership	Mohegan Tribe
Championships	0
Conference titles	2 (2004, 2005)
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The Connecticut Sun is a professional basketball team for women. They play in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team is based in Uncasville, Connecticut. They are the only major professional sports team in Connecticut.

The team started in 1999 as the Orlando Miracle. They were like a "sister team" to the NBA's Orlando Magic. In 2003, the team faced money problems. The Mohegan Indian tribe bought the team and moved it to Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. This made them the first Native American tribe to own a professional sports team! The team's name, "Sun," comes from its connection to Mohegan Sun. Their logo is a modern version of an old Mohegan symbol.

The Sun have made it to the WNBA Playoffs in 15 of their 21 seasons in Connecticut. Even with all that success, they are the oldest team in the league that hasn't won a championship yet.

History

Orlando Miracle (1999–2002)

Before moving to Connecticut, the team was known as the Orlando Miracle. They played their home games in Orlando, Florida. After the 2002 season, the NBA sold all the WNBA teams. The Orlando Magic owners didn't want to keep the Miracle. So, the Mohegan Tribe bought the team. On January 28, 2003, it was announced that the Miracle would move to Uncasville, Connecticut. They changed their name to the Sun.

Moving to Connecticut and Becoming Famous (2003–2004)

The former Sun alternate logo.

With a new home and two former UConn Huskies players, the Sun started fresh in 2003. They picked Debbie Black and got former UConn star Rebecca Lobo. This added more local players to join Nykesha Sales. Chris Sienko, the general manager, chose Mike Thibault as the team's first head coach. Thibault had won two NBA titles as an assistant coach.

On May 24, 2003, the Sun played their first regular season game in Connecticut. It was shown on ABC. The Sun lost to the two-time champion Sparks in front of a sold-out crowd. By the end of the 2003 season, the Sun had a winning record of 18 wins and 16 losses. They made it to the playoffs for the first time since moving. The Sun easily beat the Sting in the first round. But they lost to the Detroit Shock in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Rebecca Lobo retired after seven seasons. The Sun kept key players like Katie Douglas, Nykesha Sales, and Taj McWilliams-Franklin. They also added UConn player Asjha Jones and Minnesota star Lindsay Whalen. Whalen was picked fourth in the 2004 Draft. The Sun finished with another 18–16 record and won the top spot in the Eastern Conference. They beat the Washington Mystics and then swept the New York Liberty to reach the WNBA Finals. In the Finals, they lost a close series, 2–1, to the Seattle Storm.

Strong Teams and Challenges (2005–2007)

In 2005, the Sun got a very tall player, 7'2" (2.18 m) center Margo Dydek. With her, the Sun became very strong in the Eastern Conference. They had an amazing record of 26 wins and 8 losses. This was the best regular season record for an Eastern Conference team in WNBA history! In the playoffs, the Sun easily reached the finals. They swept both the Detroit Shock and the Indiana Fever. In the 2005 WNBA Finals, the Sun played against the Sacramento Monarchs. The Sun had some injuries, including to Lindsay Whalen. Even with home-court advantage, the Sun lost the series in four games. This was the first WNBA Finals to be a best-of-five series.

Mohegan Sun Arena filling up before a game.

The Sun's success was recognized in 2005. They were chosen to host the WNBA All-Star Game. Sun coach Mike Thibault coached the Eastern Conference team. At the end of the game, Lisa Leslie became the first woman to dunk in an All-Star Game.

In 2006, the Sun had another great season, matching their 2005 record. Mike Thibault won the WNBA Coach of the Year Award. All five of their starting players were chosen for the All-Star team! These were Katie Douglas, Margo Dydek, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Nykesha Sales, and Lindsay Whalen. In the playoffs, the Sun won their first round. But they lost to the Detroit Shock in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Sun started slowly in 2007. But they came back strong, winning 11 of their next 13 games. They finished the season with an 18–16 record. This earned them the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They faced the Indiana Fever in the first round. Game 1 was a thrilling triple-overtime game, which the Sun won 93–88. This was the first time a WNBA playoff game went into three overtimes! However, the Fever won the next two games and the series.

A Short Dip (2008–2009)

After the 2007–08 season, the Connecticut Sun made big changes to their team. They wanted to win a championship. They traded Katie Douglas and got Tamika Whitmore. Nykesha Sales decided to sit out the 2008 season due to injuries. Margo Dydek also took the season off because she was pregnant.

With many new players, the Sun started the season well, winning eight of their first nine games. They finished the regular season with 21 wins and 13 losses. This put them second in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, the New York Liberty won the deciding Game 3 on the Sun's home court. For the second year in a row, the Sun didn't make it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The 2009 WNBA All-Star Game was held at Mohegan Sun Arena on July 25. This was the second time the Sun hosted the game. The 2009 season was just okay for the team. An injury to Asjha Jones hurt their chances. They finished with 16 wins and 18 losses, missing the playoffs.

Tina Charles Leads the Way (2010–2012)

A Sun game in 2011.

Connecticut started rebuilding their team. They got DeMya Walker and then traded for the first pick in the 2010 draft. This trade brought Renee Montgomery to the Sun. They also added Kara Lawson.

In the 2010 WNBA draft, the Sun had two first-round picks. With their first-ever top pick, they chose UConn star Tina Charles. She was the best player available. The Sun also picked Danielle McCray and Allison Hightower. They also got Kelsey Griffin in another trade. After the 2010 WNBA season, the Connecticut Sun became the first WNBA team to make a profit!

The 2011 season started well. The team had a good record and made it to the playoffs. In 2012, they added Tina Thompson and Swin Cash. The team won 13 of their first 17 games. They finished with 25 wins and 9 losses, taking first place in the Eastern Conference.

The Sun beat the Liberty in the semifinals. They then faced the Indiana Fever in the Conference Finals. They won Game 1, putting them one win away from the Finals. But the Fever fought back and won Game 2 in a very close game. In Game 3, the Fever started strong and the Sun couldn't catch up. The Fever won the game and the series. After the season, Tina Charles was named WNBA Most Valuable Player. Renee Montgomery was named WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year. Coach Thibault was let go after 10 seasons.

New Coaches (2013–2016)

The team hired Hall of Famer Anne Donovan as the new coach. She had coached the 2004 Seattle Storm team that beat Connecticut in the finals. Anne Donovan coached the Sun for three seasons. She left in 2015. Curt Miller became the new head coach in 2016.

During this time, the Sun also hosted two more WNBA All-Star Games at Mohegan Sun Arena, in 2013 and 2015.

A New Era (2016–Present)

With Curt Miller as coach, the team made more changes. They traded players like Elizabeth Williams and Chelsea Gray. They brought in new players like Jonquel Jones and Morgan Tuck. In 2016, the Sun won 11 of their last 20 games. They finished with 14 wins and 20 losses, just missing the playoffs.

In 2017, the Sun traded Camille Little and got Lynetta Kizer and Brionna Jones. Chiney Ogwumike missed the 2017 season due to an injury. The team finished with 21 wins and 13 losses. They made the playoffs for the first time in five years! But they lost to the Phoenix Mercury in the Second Round. Chiney returned in 2018.

The 2019 team continued their strong play. They finished with 23 wins and 11 losses. This was the second-best record in the league. They swept the Los Angeles Sparks in the Semifinals. This sent them to the WNBA Finals to play the Washington Mystics. This was the first WNBA Finals for Connecticut in 14 years! The teams split the first two games. Washington won Game 3. The Sun won Game 4. In Game 5, the Sun led at halftime. But the Mystics scored a lot of points in the last quarter to win the championship.

The 2020 season was shorter because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Teams played 22 games without fans in Florida. The Sun went 10–12 and made the playoffs as the seventh seed. They won their first two playoff games. They reached the Semifinals against the Las Vegas Aces. They won two of the first three games. But they lost the next two and didn't make the Finals.

In 2021, the team played 32 games and lost only six times. They had 26 wins, which tied a team record. They earned the top spot in the league. They got a bye to the Semifinals. But they lost to the Chicago Sky in four games.

In 2022, the Sun played a 36-game schedule. They went 25–11 and finished third. They beat the Dallas Wings in the First Round. They then narrowly beat the Chicago Sky in five games to reach the WNBA Finals again. They faced the top-seeded Las Vegas Aces. The Aces won Game 1 closely and Game 2 easily. The Sun scored 105 points in Game 3 at home. But the Aces won Game 4 to win the championship.

Current Home

The Sun play their home games at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The arena is part of the Mohegan Sun Casino. The Mohegan tribe owns Mohegan Sun. The arena is on the Mohegan reservation. This means the team is not technically under the State of Connecticut's control. But it's still considered to be located in Connecticut. The Mohegan Sun Arena can hold 9,323 people for a basketball game. The Sun is the only top-level professional sports team in Connecticut.

Uniforms

The Connecticut Sun has had different uniforms over the years:

• 1999–2002: As the Orlando Miracle, they wore white for home games and blue for away games.
• 2003: As the Sun, they wore white with red for home games and pure red with gold for away games.
• 2004–2006: White with red for home games, and blue with red and gold for away games.
• 2007: White with sun images for home, blue with sun images for away.
• 2008–2010: White with "Connecticut" written vertically for home, blue with "Sun" written vertically for away.
• 2011–2015: White with yellow stripes for home, blue with white stripes for away. The Sun logo moved to the left shoulder.
• 2015–Present: Frontier Communications became the jersey sponsor.
• 2016: The Sun added an orange uniform. They also kept their blue jersey.
• 2021–Present: They added a "Rebel Edition" blue jersey. It has the Mohegan word Keesusk (meaning sun) on the front. This jersey honors Gladys Tantaquidgeon, a Mohegan medicine woman.

Season-by-season records

This table shows how the Connecticut Sun (and Orlando Miracle) have done each season.

Players

Current roster

Honored numbers

The Sun have honored numbers for these great players:

FIBA Hall of Fame

One Sun player has been honored in the FIBA Hall of Fame:

Management and Coaches

Owners

• RDV Sports, Inc., owners of the Orlando Magic (1998–2002)
• Mohegan Sun (2003–present)

Head coaches

Here are the head coaches for the Connecticut Sun:

General managers

• Carolyn Peck (1998–2001)
• Dee Brown (2002)
• Chris Sienko (2003–2016)
• Curt Miller (2016–2022)
• Darius Taylor (2023–Present)

Media Coverage

You can watch Connecticut Sun games on NBC Sports Boston. Some games are also shown on NECN.

In the past, Sun games were on NESN and WCTX (MyTV 9). Sometimes, NBA TV would show these local broadcasts across the country. Commentators for the Sun games included Bob Heussler and Rebecca Lobo. From 2012–2014, games were on CPTV Sports. For the 2011 season, games were on Comcast Sports Net New England.

You can also listen to audio broadcasts for all home games by Bob Heussler. These are available online through WNBA League Pass. Some Sun games are also shown on national TV channels like CBS, CBS Sports Network, Ion Television, ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC.

Team Records and Player Awards

Team Leaders

Here are some of the all-time leaders for the Connecticut Sun:

Individual Honors

Many Sun players and coaches have won special awards:

All–Stars

These players have been chosen to play in the WNBA All-Star Game while with the Sun:

• 1999: Shannon Johnson, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Nykesha Sales
• 2000: Shannon Johnson, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Nykesha Sales
• 2001: Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Nykesha Sales
• 2002: Shannon Johnson, Nykesha Sales
• 2003: Shannon Johnson, Nykesha Sales
• 2004: Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Nykesha Sales, Lindsay Whalen
• 2005: Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Nykesha Sales
• 2006: Katie Douglas, Margo Dydek, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, Nykesha Sales, Lindsay Whalen
• 2007: Katie Douglas, Asjha Jones
• 2008: No All-Star Game
• 2009: Asjha Jones
• 2010: Tina Charles, Renee Montgomery
• 2011: Tina Charles, Renee Montgomery
• 2012: No All-Star Game
• 2013: Tina Charles, Allison Hightower
• 2014: Katie Douglas, Chiney Ogwumike
• 2015: Alex Bentley, Kelsey Bone
• 2016: No All-Star Game
• 2017: Jasmine Thomas, Jonquel Jones, Alyssa Thomas
• 2018: Chiney Ogwumike
• 2019: Jonquel Jones, Alyssa Thomas
• 2020: No All-Star Game
• 2021: DeWanna Bonner, Brionna Jones, Jonquel Jones
• 2022: Brionna Jones, Jonquel Jones, Alyssa Thomas
• 2023: Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner
• 2024: DeWanna Bonner, Brionna Jones, Alyssa Thomas

Olympians

These Sun players have played in the Olympics:

• 2008: Erin Phillips (Australia)
• 2012: Tina Charles (USA)
• 2016: Asjha Jones (USA)
• 2024: Alyssa Thomas (USA)

See also

In Spanish: Connecticut Sun para niños