Evaluating the 2022 WNBA season for the Connecticut Sun and where the franchise goes from here

Jonquel Jones stayed behind while her teammates walked off the court following the Connecticut Sun’s loss to the Las Vegas Aces in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals.

The 6-foot-6 forward wanted to go over and congratulate opposing star A’ja Wilson first. She was slow to make her way back down the court after doing so, instead taking a moment to acknowledge the fans at Mohegan Sun Arena. Jones put her hands above her head, looked around to soak it all in and clapped it up for the crowd before high-fiving fans on her way through the tunnel.

The Sun entered the 2022 playoffs knowing their championship window was only going to be open for so much longer with free agency and salary cap questions set to shake up the roster this offseason. They got further than many expected after another year of pivoting through injuries, but still were left with a disappointing taste in their mouths and plenty of questions following another campaign that ended just short of hanging a banner.

“I’m just trying to process this right now,” Jones said postgame when asked about the shrinking window. “I really wish I could answer that for you right now, but all I know is it hurts me, and that’s all I’m feeling right now.”

A shake-up in the regular season

Connecticut entered the season No. 1 in ESPN’s power rankings, with many thinking this would be the year the franchise would finally break through. The Sun had been to the finals or semifinals in each of the last three seasons, but didn’t have this complete team for any of those runs. DeWanna Bonner wasn’t on the roster in 2019 and Brionna Jones hadn’t emerged yet. In 2020, Jonquel Jones opted out of the bubble season due to COVID-19 concerns. And in 2021, Alyssa Thomas was out for most of season with a torn Achilles.

Less than a month into this season, bad luck struck again for the Sun. Jasmine Thomas tore her ACL in a game against the Indiana Fever on May 22, leaving the team without its starting point guard and veteran leader. Natisha Heideman, who also happens to be Thomas’s fiancé, was asked to step into a starting role in her fourth season in the league.

“[Hiedeman] really handled it,” Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller said. “Not an easy situation to pivot with your leader on and off the floor now out for the year. She had a remarkable year. She proved that she can be a starting point guard in this league twofold. Her future is only going to be brighter.”

The Connecticut staff did a lot of tinkering following the injury to try to find the most effective rotations. They experimented with a jumbo lineup that featured four players 6-feet-2 or taller with DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas, Brionna Jones and Jonquel Jones all on the floor together. Thomas saw some minutes at point guard in such instances, but the team eventually went away from that after a discussion raised about players wanting to be at their natural positions with Thomas at the four spot and Brionna Jones coming off the bench.

The Sun had a 14-8 record entering the All-Star break after dropping four of their last six games. After the much-needed reset, they went 11-3 over the last month of the regular season. The team signed former UConn guard Bria Hartley during that stretch and she looked to be a perfect fit until tearing her ACL around a week later. Connecticut eventually signed another veteran guard in Odyssey Sims right before the start of the playoffs.

Another deep postseason run

Connecticut ended the year with a 25-11 record, just one game behind the top-seeded Aces and Chicago Sky for the No. 3 seed in the playoffs.

They were pushed to three games by the Dallas Wings in a new first-round format, but eventually beat them on the road to advance to the semifinals. It’s safe to say that no one had the Sun picked to win their series against Chicago. They had lost their previous six games to the Sky dating back to the 2021 semifinals and had continuously struggled to close out tight games against them.

It looked as though things were going to end in similar fashion for the second consecutive season with the Sun down 2-1 in the series entering Game 4, but behind their signature style of basketball predicated on messy defense, points in the paint, points off turnovers and second chance points they pulled out a 104-80 win. That buoyed the Sun’s confidence and gave them momentum to steal Game 5 on the road, placing them in the finals with Las Vegas. Once again, Connecticut was the underdog.

Looking back at the finals series thus far ahead of Game 3, Jonquel Jones said the contest they’d regret losing the most was the first. The Sun got the game to the style they wanted in a low scoring defensive affair, but couldn’t get enough shots to fall, including a 3-pointer from DeWanna Bonner on the last possession and lost 67-64. The Sun were completely outplayed in Game 2 and the score ended up closer than the game actually was at 85-71.

Then the series shifted back to Connecticut. The season was on the line for the Sun entering Game 3, as the Aces were up 2-0 and had the chance to win the title right then and there. But with their backs against the wall, the Sun put together a performance similar to Game 4 against Chicago and dominated the whole way to pull out a 105-76 victory.

Alyssa Thomas continued to be the engine for the team, putting up the first triple-double in WNBA finals history with 16 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists. Jonquel Jones had an impressive showing to lead the team in scoring with 20 points. Connecticut also got more production from the guard and wing spots; it was the only game all series that Courtney Williams, Bonner and Hiedeman all scored in double figures.

In another do-or-die situation, Alyssa Thomas once again put the team on her back in Game 4, recording her second consecutive triple-double. Things were locked at 67-67 with three minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Las Vegas went on a 11-4 run from there to win the game and series. Connecticut didn’t score a field goal over the final two minutes, its offensive struggles once again getting in the way as it lost 78-71 and was left to watch Las Vegas celebrate.

“Nobody expected us to be here, first and foremost,” Alyssa Thomas said postgame. “They thought we would lose to Chicago and Dallas, and despite all that, we made it to the Finals. ... We played our basketball and we stuck together all year. It just didn’t go the way we wanted to.”

Looking towards the offseason

Now the question becomes what the team is going to look like next season. Salary cap issues and free agency are expected to play a big factor in roster construction, which likely isn’t going to look the same as it has in past years.

Bonner, Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones and Jasmine Thomas are all set to return as protected veterans next season. Their guaranteed salaries combine for a total $847,500 of the $1,420,500 salary cap, which leaves the Sun with $573,000 left to use towards the final six to eight members of roster, according to Her Hoop Stats.

The two biggest unknowns are Brionna Jones and Williams, who will both be unrestricted free agents. Jones, the Sixth Player of the Year and a two-time WNBA All-Star, is due for a significant pay raise after making $120,000 this season, but that would likely have to come from a team with more money to work with. Williams had signed a one-year deal worth $103,000 with the hopes of sacrificing to win a championship, but now that the Sun came up short it remains to be seen what will happen there.

Hiedeman will be a restricted free agent. She made $72,141 this season, but after proving her worth by stepping in as a starter and averaging 9.1 points, 3.3 assists and 1.8 rebounds per game along with 41.1% shooting from deep she could likely get a bigger offer elsewhere.

Miller and the Sun will have to figure out a lot in the months to come, but for now he is headed to Australia to be an assistant coach for USA Basketball in the FIBA World Cup. Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones will play under him, while Jonquel Jones will represent Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“I haven’t thought about the off-season yet,” Miller said after Sunday’s loss. “I have to change my armor and my letters on my chest, and when I get back from the World Cup, then we’ll start to prepare for next year.”