Dream 85, Sun 70: That's all, folks

And that’s all, folks.

The 2025 Connecticut Sun season ended not with a bang, but with a whimper followed by a small bang followed by a whimper, as they fell to red-hot Atlanta 85-70 Wednesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.


I’m sad it’s over, but obviously not nearly as sad as I’ve been in past seasons, which have usually ended sometime in October deep in the playoffs. Make no mistake, although it looked worse a month ago, the Sun were a bad basketball team this season, finishing with a record of 11-33 that the analytics say could have been worse without a little fortune.


It also stinks that the Sun had to finish the season without what should be their MVP, rookie Leila Lacan, and her loss was felt deeply, although it was a long, long season for Lacan in France through the WNBA games. It also should be remembered that Olivia Nelson-Ododa has had the most win shares (trust the analytics) for the Sun all season long, and maybe the analytics are onto something because the team looked much, much worse when she left the lineup.


There will be plenty of time to analyze the mistakes the front office made in what veterans they brought in, and how much they were limited due to the Sun’s off-court woes, but this isn’t the time for that.


For now, let’s celebrate the good for 2025, like the third quarter when the Sun, who could easily have run out the clock and got their stuff together to go home, but instead turned back the clock to a few weeks ago, forcing turnovers and outworking the Dream on the glass to try to climb back into it from a seemingly impossible deficit.


If they can add some polish and depth to that effort, they should be much improved in 2026.


What else did we learn as the 2025 season came to an end (cries)?:



 

  1. Atlanta is very good - Again, it was a shame the Sun had to finish with three games against the Dream, especially because they were still playing for seeding. The Sun exposed some holes in the second half, but it did seem like they weren’t quite dialed in on the defensive end, and as I’ve mentioned too many times in the past couple of weeks, Atlanta might be the hottest defensive team in the WNBA. 

  2. Excited to see improvement in the offseason - Lacan’s route to the 2026 WNBA season remains unclear, whether it will involve a lot or a little basketball in France, we shall see. But we hope Saniya Rivers might get a roster spot in Unrivaled this winter, something Aaliyah Edwards participated in last season as well (as did Marina Mabrey, who got hurt as well). Can Aneesah Morrow and Nelson-Ododa find a way to continue their improvement. We’ve seen plenty of WNBA players make big improvements (just look at Brionna Jones, who was on the opposing team Wednesday) from one season to the next, especially early in their careers. It’s up to the Sun youngsters to do the same heading into 2026. 

  3. Probably it for Marina Mabrey -  Sadly, Mabrey followed up a very good 2024 Sun season with a dud in 2025. She didn’t handle the increased attention from opponents well, and as the season progressed sometimes couldn’t hit shots even when open, with her defense on the other end not really a strength, either. She’s still an electric scorer when hot, and I think with a better fit, she could be a sneaky asset for someone looking to be a contender (she did have 22 points Wednesday). Probably the same for Haley Peters and Lindsay Allen as well, but we shall see.


Player of the game:  Saniya Rivers - Rivers has work to do, but if she improves next season as much as she did this one, look out. Rivers still needs some polish and is not an elite passer (or probably as good as Lacan right now), but has shown the ability to lead on offense down the stretch. With a little help, she could be a star in the making.


Inside the numbers : 3 -  Number of three-pointers the Sun hit in their final game, taking 20 of them (15%). It’s on the likes of Morrow, Rivers, and Lacan to try to improve in this area and the Sun should really work hard to bring in a shooter (I know they traded Jacy Sheldon) who could open up defenses. But we’ll see who wants to come to Uncasville. 


Under the radar: We got to see a little of Rayah Marshall, who may be able to grab a roster spot next season with some improvement on the offensive end. It’s somewhat of a shame that we didn’t get to see more of her this season to see what she could do, but as I pointed out above, there are plenty of solid WNBA veterans who didn’t get much time or struggled in their rookie season, so I think there’s hope for Marshall yet.


Aaliyah Edwards had five steals in this one and eight rebounds but went 1-for-7 from the field, while Morrow was 3-for-14 from the field, but had another double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. They have a lot of similarities in how they play, which may be tough for the Sun’s future, but the offseason awaits, and we’ll see what 2026 brings and how much they improve in the winter.


If you've read this far, on game recap No. 44 of 44, much thanks to you for reading along this season. We'll see what my offseason brings, but I'll have some content if it is warranted and when we get a Collective Bargaining Agreement and the expansion draft comes about.


Quotable:  Coming soon


Next up: Season complete

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