WNBA: The Sun’s future is brighter than you think

On Wednesday night, the Connecticut Sun beat the Dallas Wings, 101-95, elevating them to 10 wins and above the nine-win Wings and Chicago Sky in the standings.

The Sun’s record doesn’t really matter, as they gave up their 2026 draft pick in the Marina Mabrey trade with the Sky in the middle of last season. So, their recent hot streak will not negatively impact their opportunity to earn a high pick, and top prospect, in the 2026 WNBA Draft. (Although, they still hold two late first-round picks, from the Mercury and the Lynx).

It remains to be seen what the first-year general manager Morgan Tuck will do with the picks, as well as the rest of the roster. Having inherited a team with a disgruntled star demanding a trade in Mabrey, her job this season hasn’t been easy. But the 31-year-old UConn graduate is no stranger to early struggles. She was drafted No. 3 overall by the Sun in the 2016 WNBA Draft, just as the organization was preparing to turn the page. But at the moment she entered the league as a player, they were still pretty bad. When talking to the The Bulletin about the losing back then, she said, “It’s frustrating, but at the same time you can’t get to down about it. You just have to keep working.”

Which is exactly what this Sun team has been doing.

In Wednesday’s win over the Wings, Leïla Lacan matched her career-high with 22 points, in addition to six assists and four steals. Fellow rookie starter Aneesah Morrow earned her sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 boards.

And remember that back in 2016, the Sun gambled on their No. 4 and No. 6 draft picks, which they used to pick Rachel Banham and Jonquel Jones, respectively. They already had an interesting young core with Alyssa Thomas and Chiney Ogwumike. Today, they have a group of intriguing young players as well, so seeing the team follow a similar path nearly a decade later is not out of the question.

Will Edwards unlock the best version of the future Sun?

One of those intriguing young players is the newest Sun: Aaliyah Edwards.

It’s too early to judge who whether the Sun or Washington Mystics won the Edwards-Jacy Sheldon trade, but at the moment Edwards is playing like a team-first player that every coach would love. Head coach Rachid Meziane was complementary of Edwards soon after her arrival, as reported by The Next’s Gabby Alfveby, he said:

I like her energy, and she bring us fresh energy, a good fighting spirit … She’s a good kid, she’s a good person, she’s a great person, and, like I said, defensively right now, she has, a positive impact. I expect more from her offensively.

That was after Edwards’ first two games, and now, nine games in, her offense is still not at the level she flashed in her Washington days, but she’s getting there. What’s more important, again, is her attitude and mentality playing the 4 position, as it was 4s that made Meziane’s teams so special back in Europe. The Belgium National Team that finished fourth at the 2024 Olympics in Paris had Emma Meesseman, while Villeneuve-d’Ascq, who finished second in the 2024 EuroLeague Women competition, had Janelle Salaün.

At the moment Edwards is coming off the bench, but next season, after she learns Meziane’s free-flowing offense, it would be quite a thing to see her step into those shoes.