The Connecticut Sun said goodbye to both Aneesah Morrow and Uncasville in their last season of shining.
Beyond the WNBA's fateful eight lies a searching seven.
The FIBA World Cup break has paused the 2026 WNBA season, but the eight-team playoff field has been established with four games left on every group's docket. The remaining seven are left to pick up the pieces for next season, however, forced to ponder their fates as they watch the league's 30th postseason from the sidelines.
With that in mind, BIL looks into the futures of these voyages of the damned and what kind of waters they'll traverse on the trip ahead. This will be presented in the order of each team's elimination from playoff contention.
Part two heads back east as we take a look at the closing case of the CONNECTICUT SUN ...
Team: Connecticut Sun
Record: 10-30 (and counting)
Last Playoff Appearance: 2024
Date of Playoff Death: August 15
What Went Wrong
When we go through lists such as these, most of the subjects and their loyal fans can at least take solace in the fact that their squad will be able to fight another day. The Sun, or at least their supporters in the locale they've called home for over two decades, didn't even have that.
Midnight finally came for the Sun, whose long-awaited sale went through with an aura of controversy: despite reportedly gaining interest from a group interested in keeping the squad based in New England, the league-approved transfer instead went to Houston for a resurrection of the Comets. Thus ends a 24-year run at Mohegan Sun Arena, one peppered with undeniable success (four WNBA Finals appearances) and yet a glaring lack of a championship trophy hoist.
It was clear from the get-go that a lame duck status was going to be just one more bitter entree added to Connecticut's bitter last supper: the Sun had already bid farewell to most of its most recent title-contending core and put the finishing touch on its rebuilding form by leaving future Canadian Marina Mabrey exposed in the expansion draft. Every rep from the Sun's 2022 Finals-contending squad had already gone. Mabrey's departure left just one participant (Olivia Nelson-Ododa) from the 2024 group that fell one win short of a return to the Finals.
To be fair, the Sun made a sizable splash in free agency by signing an undeniable legend of the game Brittney Griner amidst the speedy frenzy once the collective bargaining agreement was struck. One can pessimistically say it was done out of necessity, as Connecticut carried no 2026 lottery pick, having sacrificed it in a Chicago-based swap for Mabrey (the Sky eventually chose Gabriela Jaquez fifth overall).
Together, we'll rise. One last time🧡 pic.twitter.com/Wb0D7hnl7b
— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) April 2, 2026
Final Sunset Season
Griner still looked formidable at age 35 after her role somewhat diminished in Atlanta last season but recurring knee issues have forced her to take in a good bit of Connecticut's "sunset season" from the sidelines. The delayed entry of Leila Lacan proved equally painful as the Sun lost their first five and never recovered, as their scoring issues never really figured themselves out. At the FIBA break, Connecticut ranks dead last in almost every major conventional offensive metric and has broken into triple-figures just once this season ... in a 106-102 overtime loss to Toronto on June 10.
Beyond Griner, Connecticut has mostly made do with a series of acquired role veterans (i.e. Kennedy Burke) and serving as a launching pad for struggling lottery picks (i.e. Aaliyah Edwards, Diamond Miller), all while working in new rookies like Nell Angloma, Gianna Kneepkens, and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
Those early struggles made it clear that the point of this season would be to grant Houston an enviable nest egg, one that saw the Sun end the Aneesah Morrow era after a year-and-a-half. Morrow, well-regarded for her rebounding prowess, was viewed by some as one of the dueling headliners of the future next to fellow 2025 draftee Saniya Rivers. But Rivers saw dips in most major metrics this season and Morrow was sent north to Toronto in a deal that netted Maria Kliundikova's rights and a second-round pick.
Despite lingering hints of getting it together (such as a respectable doubleheader against the league-leading Lynx in early July), Connecticut's consistency has been hard to come in this final season: the Sun ended the pre-FIBA slate with three consecutive double-decade losses and they own just one win against a team that will appear on the playoff bracket (July 6 against the Olivia Miles-less Lynx).
Top Silver Lining
With lottery pick development out of the question, the Sun had to rely on veteran breakouts, primarily finding that in the form of Nelson-Ododa. One of the last UConn alumnae to take her talents to Uncasville put up career-bests in all major categories and gives the future Comets a solid foundation for interior liftoff once they make the move to Houston.
Since the All-Star break, Nelson-Ododa is one of six WNBA players averaging at least 10 points and six rebounds while shooting at least 55% from the field. She's joined on that list by Edwards, as well as postseason post headliners Natasha Howard and Jessica Shepard.
Another vital building block is Lacan, one of the top threats to American supremacy at the Summer Olympics. Lacan took a few undeniable steps back in year two (particularly on the offensive end) but she continues to be Connecticut's defensive stalwart who's essential for a young team attempting to find its identity.
Any discussion about the Sun's bright spots is likely moot without Griner. As she enters her late 30s, the idea of her being around for the team’s presumed return to glory in Space City admittedly feels naive.
Having said that, having some semblance of the old Griner back after she got a little buried on Atlanta's depth chart was certainly a treat and shows that there may be more records for her to break before it's all said and done. "Sun legend Brittney Griner" may become a mainstay of the facetious game social media users play (i.e. "Celtics legend Shaquille O'Neal, Comets/Sun legend Rebecca Lobo) but her work as both an on-floor contributor and off-court veteran has served as a rare buoy on the tempestuous seas of relocation.
Looking Ahead
Unrestricted Free Agents: Brittney Griner
Restricted Free Agents: Diamond Miller
Exclusive Rights Free Agents: Raegan Beers, Ashlon Jackson
Landing under the Houston Rockets' umbrella is inspiring enough: Tilman Fertitta and Co. have opted to spare no expense in an attempt to leap into the NBA's Western Conference penthouse. They splurged on Kevin Durant and just granted Amen Thompson a massive extension, and the resources to similarly spend are available in the W: entering the 2027 offseason, Connecticut/Houston is the only team that has $5 million in cap space to work with.
That'll give the franchise a good chance to financially woo its hometown star in Griner, who originally burst onto the national scene at Nimitz High School. Griner has centered her active focus on this season but the temptation to headline the city's return to WNBA play would no doubt contribute to a congratulatory coda her play has helped establish.
Time will tell exactly how much Connecticut continuity the Comets will desire (including with head coach Rachid Meziane, almost halfway through a four-season deal signed before 2025) but it should be easy to retain its exclusive/restricted free agents. Miller, along with Edwards, continues to work toward reclaiming the narrative of her professional career while Beers, third among rookies in rebounds per 40 minutes, has exceeded what's normally expected out of an undrafted freshman.
Draft-wise, the post-Alyssa Thomas fire sale has placed the Sun in a relatively decent spot: at the FIBA break, they currently have the top lottery odds to land the No. 1 and only the Tempo could stage any meaningful run at that bittersweet honor.
Heroic. Elite. Timeless.
— Houston Comets (@HoustonComets) May 14, 2026
The new era of Comets basketball starts now ☄️ pic.twitter.com/hfR0kN3XGH
Is There Hope?
There are reasons to get excited about what the Comets reboot can bring to the table. It's a shame that Connecticut, so integral to the history of women's basketball, won't be able to enjoy it, but the ball has bounced into the handy hands of Houston.
The first season in life after Jones, Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, and more could at least carry the veteran assurance of Mabrey. Her subsequent departure allowed the Sun to fully rip the band-aid off and see exactly what they need as they look to impress a new yet familiar crowd. Some (i.e. Nelson-Ododa, a healthy Edwards) established concrete cases for their continued franchise inclusion. Others have struggled to do so (evidenced by their league-low in scoring) and could become casualties of new management's potential spending.
No matter how they spend in this coming offseason, it's going to take the Comets-to-be a few attempts to fully re-establish the championship momentum that Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes, and more put up at the WNBA's onset. Removing the will they/won't they nature of relocation and continuing a firmly established franchise plan, however, should at least make the journey back a little less bumpy.
Previous Obituaries
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
