Connecticut Sun Must Improve One Key Metric to be Competitive in 2026

The Connecticut Sun went into somewhat of a rebuild phase throughout the 2025 season, with much of their roster being tailored towards younger players and ensuring they had the opportunity to develop and get accustomed to the WNBA level. With that said, the record they put out is certainly something they will be looking to improve upon in 2026.

With two first-round picks, they are able to make some more additions to the roster that should help out with the depth of the squad. To do so, they will need to analyze what the team needs, and in 2025, it became abundantly clear what the franchise needed heading into their next campaign.

On the bright side, they were one of the better defensive teams in the league throughout the year, which is enormously impressive from a roster that mostly consists of younger talent. Showing that level of tenacity early in their careers will be crucial down the road to building success and competing with some of the best rosters in the league. There is still a long road to get there, though, and one of the key issues was one of the most obvious.

The biggest struggle for the Sun compared to the other teams in the WNBA was their 3-point shooting, as in the year they ended up with only a 30.2% rate on 3-point shots. The only other team within a similar range was the Dallas Wings, who hit 30.4%, but otherwise every team was at 32.5% or above.

It is no coincidence that two of the three worst teams in the league were at the bottom of the leaderboard in three-point shooting, as it has become more and more vital to the game of basketball over the years. It wasn’t just a three-point shot issue for Connecticut, though, as they were also last in two-point shot rate at 45.9%, which is brutal.

Shooting efficiency is one of the simplest statistics to look into and define, but one of the most difficult to get right for any roster. It isn’t just as simple as making more shots; it becomes an analysis of schematic decisions and how the team is able to generate scoring chances with assists and open looks.

This will be a huge point of emphasis for coach Rachid Meziane heading into year two as the team works through the offseason to try and build off their success on defense. Bringing in some veteran talents to help provide some scoring opportunities may help as well, which may be under consideration.