2020 Connecticut Sun season explained

The 2020 WNBA season was the 22nd season for the Connecticut Sun franchise of the Women's National Basketball Association. It will also be the 18th season for the franchise in Connecticut. The season tipped off on July 26, 2020, versus the Minnesota Lynx.^[1]

This WNBA season was originally going to feature an all-time high 36 regular-season games.^[2] However, the plan for expanded games was put on hold on April 3, when the WNBA postponed its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3] Under a plan approved on June 15, the league held a shortened 22-game regular season at IMG Academy, without fans present, which started on July 24.^{[4] [5]}

The Sun's season started slowly when the team lost its first five games. They recovered to win four of their next five and were 4–7 at the season's halfway mark. The Sun won six of the next nine to secure a playoff spot with two games to go in the season. The Sun last the final two games of the season to finish 10–12. That earned them the seventh seed in the playoffs.

As the seventh seed, the Sun played in the First Round against the sixth seeded Chicago Sky. The Sun won the game 94–81 and advanced to the Second Round. There they faced off against the third seed Los Angeles Sparks. Again, they triumphed as underdogs, this time 73–59. The win saw them advance to the Semifinals, where they matched up against the first seed Las Vegas Aces. The Sun won games one and three of the best-of-five series, but could not close out games four or five, and lost the series 2–3 to end their season.

WNBA draft

See also: 2020 WNBA draft.

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
2	23	Kaila Charles		Maryland
3	35	Juicy Landrum		Baylor

Trades/Roster Changes

Date	Details
February 10, 2020	Re-signed F Jonquel Jones[6]
	Traded F Morgan Tuck and Connecticut's 1st Round Draft Pick for Seattle's 1st Round Draft Pick[7]
	Re-signed F Natisha Hiedeman[8]
February 11, 2020	Traded the 7th and the 10th picks in the 2020 WNBA draft and one first-round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft to Phoenix Mercury for F DeWanna Bonner.[9]
February 15, 2020	Re-signed G Bria Holmes[10]
February 19, 2020	Acquired G Briann January and a second round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft in exchange for Courtney Williams[11]
February 24, 2020	Acquired F Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis in exchange for a second round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft[12]
February 25, 2020	Acquired the Minnesota Lynx's 2nd round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft in exchange for G Rachel Banham.[13]
	Signed G Jazmon Gwathmey to Training Camp Contract[14]
February 26, 2020	Signed F Valeriane Ayayi to Training Camp Contract[15]
March 13, 2020	Signed G Jacki Gemelos to Training Camp Contract[16]
March 14, 2020	Signed F Megan Huff to Training Camp Contract[17]
June 22, 2020	F Jonquel Jones opts to sit out of the 2020 season.[18]
June 23, 2020	Signed F Beatrice Mompremier.[19]
June 25, 2020	Signed G Jacki Gemelos on permanent contract.[20]

Game log

Regular season

|- style="background:#fcc;"| 1| July 26| Minnesota Lynx| L 69–77| A. Thomas (20)| Tied (8)| Tied (4)| IMG Academy
0| 0–1|- style="background:#fcc;"| 2| July 28| Washington Mystics| 89–94| Bonner (29)| A. Thomas (11)| Bonner (5)| IMG Academy
0| 0–2|- style="background:#fcc;"| 3| July 30| Los Angeles Sparks| L 76–81| Bonner (34)| A. Thomas (18)| A. Thomas (8)| IMG Academy
0| 0–3|- style="background:#fcc;"| 4| August 1| Minnesota Lynx| L 69–78| Bonner (28)| Tied (7)| J. Thomas (4)| IMG Academy
0| 0–4|- style="background:#fcc;"| 5| August 4| Seattle Storm| L 74–87| Jones (20)| A. Thomas (13)| Hiedeman (5)| IMG Academy
0| 0–5|- style="background:#bbffbb;"| 6| August 6| Dallas Wings| W 91–68| Jones (17)| A. Thomas (10)| J. Thomas (9)| IMG Academy
0| 1–5|- style="background:#fcc;"| 7| August 8| Chicago Sky| L 93–100| J. Thomas (22)| A. Thomas (6)| J. Thomas (6)| IMG Academy
0| 1–6|- style="background:#bbffbb;"| 8| August 10| Atlanta Dream| W 93–82| A. Thomas (21)| Bonner (9)| J. Thomas (7)| IMG Academy
0| 2–6|- style="background:#bbffbb;"| 9| August 12| Dallas Wings| W 70–66| Bonner (18)| A. Thomas (7)| Tied (4)| IMG Academy
0| 3–6|- style="background:#bbffbb;"| 10| August 14| Chicago Sky| W 77–74| Bonner (19)| A. Thomas (10)| A. Thomas (8)| IMG Academy
0| 4–6|- style="background:#fcc;"| 11| August 16| Seattle Storm| L 72–95| J. Thomas (17)| Jones (11)| A. Thomas (6)| IMG Academy
0| 4–7|- style="background:#bbffbb;"| 12| August 18| Indiana Fever| W 84–62| Bonner (28)| A. Thomas (11)| Tied (6)| IMG Academy
0| 5–7|- style="background:#fcc;"| 13| August 20| Las Vegas Aces| 78–99| Tied (15)| A. Thomas (7)| A. Thomas (7)| IMG Academy
0| 5–8|- style="background:#bbffbb;"| 14| August 22| New York Liberty| W 82–65| A. Thomas (25)| Bonner (12)| Bonner (6)| IMG Academy
0| 6–8|- style="background:#fcc;"| 15| August 28| Los Angeles Sparks| W 80–76| A. Thomas (19)| A. Thomas (9)| J. Thomas (6)| IMG Academy
0| 6–9|- style="background:#bbffbb;"| 16| August 30| Washington Mystics| W 76–63| Bonner (20)| Tied (11)| A. Thomas (8)| IMG Academy
0| 7–9|- style="background:#bbffbb;"| 17| September 1| New York Liberty| W 70–65| Bonner (27)| Bonner (12)| A. Thomas (4)| IMG Academy
0| 8–9|- style="background:#fcc;"| 18| September 3| Las Vegas Aces| L 78–93| Bonner (22)| Mompremier (16)| January (5)| IMG Academy
0| 8–10|- style="background:#bbffbb;"| 19| September 5| Indiana Fever| W 96–77| Bonner (22)| 3 tied (6)| J. Thomas (7)| IMG Academy
0| 9–10|- style="background:#bbffbb;"| 20| September 7| Phoenix Mercury| W 85–70| Bonner (25)| A. Thomas (9)| A. Thomas (9)| IMG Academy
0| 10–10|- style="background:#fcc;"| 21| September 9| Phoenix Mercury| L 95–100| Bonner (32)| A. Thomas (17)| A. Thomas (5)| IMG Academy
0| 10–11|- style="background:#fcc;"| 22| September 11| Atlanta Dream| L 75–82| Bonner (17)| A. Thomas (9)| Hiedeman (4)| IMG Academy
0| 10–12

Playoffs

|- style="background:#bbffbb;"| 1| September 15| Chicago Sky| W 94–81| A. Thomas (28)| A. Thomas (13)| A. Thomas (8)| IMG Academy| 1–0|- style="background:#bbffbb;"| 1| September 17| Los Angeles Sparks| 73–59| A. Thomas (19)| Bonner (13)| J. Thomas (6)| IMG Academy| 1–0|- style="background:#bbffbb;"| 1| September 20| Las Vegas Aces| W 87–62| J. Thomas (31)| Bonner (8)| A. Thomas (5)| IMG Academy| 1–0|- style="background:#fcc;"| 2| September 22| Las Vegas Aces| L 75–83| Bonner (23)| Mompremier (9)| J. Thomas (4)| IMG Academy| 1–1|- style="background:#bbffbb;"| 3| September 24| Las Vegas Aces| W 77–68| A. Thomas (23)| A. Thomas (12)| J. Thomas (6)| IMG Academy| 2–1|- style="background:#fcc;"| 4| September 27| Las Vegas Aces| L 75–84| J. Thomas (25)| Bonner (15)| J. Thomas (6)| IMG Academy| 2–2|- style="background:#fcc;"| 5| September 29| Las Vegas Aces| L 63–66| A. Thomas (22)| Jones (12)| Bonner (6)| IMG Academy| 2–3

Playoffs

See main article: 2020 WNBA Playoffs.

Statistics

Regular season

style= width="16%"	Player	style= width="6%"	GP	style= width="6%"	GS	style= width="6%"	MPG	style= width="6%"	FG%	style= width="6%"	3P%	style= width="6%"	FT%	style= width="6%"	RPG	style= width="5%"	APG	style= width="6%"	SPG	style= width="6%"	BPG	style= width="6%"	PPG
DeWanna Bonner	22	22	33.3	42.2	25.2	89.5	7.8	3.0	1.7	0.5	19.7
Alyssa Thomas	21	21	32.8	50.0	0	68.6	9.0	4.8	2.0	0.3	15.5
Brionna Jones	21	21	26.1	60.5	100	69.1	5.6	1.0	1.7	0.7	11.2
Jasmine Thomas	19	19	25.5	40.4	33.3	91.3	1.7	4.0	1.3	0.3	10.2
Natisha Hiedeman	22	4	18.5	35.4	35.9	70.0	1.9	1.9	0.4	0	6.1
Kaila Charles	21	7	17.9	41.2	36.7	71.0	2.6	0.9	0.8	0.3	5.4
Briann January	13	10	23.3	29.3	36.7	83.3	1.2	3.4	0.6	0.2	5.0
Bria Holmes	18	4	16.2	35.7	33.3	66.7	1.8	1.1	0.7	0.3	4.9
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis	16	0	10.3	29.7	25.5	57.1	1.3	0.3	0.2	0.1	3.4
Essence Carson	11	2	11.2	32.5	28.6	75.0	1.5	0.6	0.4	0.1	3.2
Theresa Plaisance	13	0	6.9	37.9	29.4	83.3	1.0	0.1	0.4	0.2	2.5
Beatrice Mompremier	21	0	8.9	42.6	0	44.4	3.3	0.1	0.2	0.6	2.3

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
DeWanna Bonner	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week	August 17, 2020	[21]
Alyssa Thomas		August 31, 2020	[22]
DeWanna Bonner		September 8, 2020	[23]
Alyssa Thomas	1st Team All-Defense	September 29, 2020	[24]
DeWanna Bonner	All-WNBA Second Team	October 4, 2020	[25]

External links

• • Connecticut Sun at ESPN.com

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2020 Connecticut Sun Schedule. sun.wnba.com. WNBA. February 6, 2020.
2. Web site: Atlanta Dream Announce 2020 Schedule - Atlanta Dream. dream.wnba.com. February 1, 2020.
3. News: 2020-04-03. WNBA Statement Regarding the Start of the 2020 Regular Season. 2020-04-03.
4. Web site: 2020-06-15. WNBA Announces Plan To Tip Off 2020 Season. 2020-06-17. WNBA. en-US.
5. Web site: 2020-06-15. WNBA announces plans for 2020 season to start late July in Florida. 2020-06-15. NBC Sports Washington.
6. Web site: Jonquel Jones Returns to the Sun. sun.wnba.com. WNBA. February 10, 2020. February 11, 2020.
7. Web site: Seattle Completes Trade with Connecticut Acquires Morgan Tuck. storm.wnba.com. WNBA. February 10, 2020. February 11, 2020.
8. Web site: Connecticut Signs Hiedeman. sun.wnba.com. WNBA. February 10, 2020. February 11, 2020.
9. Web site: Phoenix Mercury All-Star DeWanna Bonner traded to Connecticut Sun. azcentral.com. Arizona Republic. Jeff. Metcalfe. February 11, 2020. February 11, 2020.
10. Web site: Connecticut native and dynamic playmaker Bria Holmes re-signs with the Sun. sun.wnba.com. WNBA. February 15, 2020. February 15, 2020.
11. Web site: Sun Acquire All-Star Briann January, 2021 draft pick as a part of a three-team trade. sun.wnba.com. WNBA. February 19, 2020. February 19, 2020.
12. Web site: Sun Acquire Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis from Seattle. sun.wnba.com. WNBA. February 24, 2020. February 25, 2020.
13. Web site: Minnesota Lynx Acquire Rachel Banham. lynx.wnba.com. WNBA. February 25, 2020. February 25, 2020.
14. Web site: Connecticut Signs Gwathmey. twitter.com/ConnecticutSun. Connecticut Sun. February 25, 2020. February 26, 2020.
15. Web site: Connecticut Signs Valeriane Ayayi. twitter.com/ConnecticutSun. Connecticut Sun. February 25, 2020. February 26, 2020.
16. Web site: Connecticut Signs Jacki Gemelos. twitter.com/ConnecticutSun. Connecticut Sun. March 13, 2020. March 14, 2020.
17. Web site: Connecticut Signs Megan Huff. twitter.com/ConnecticutSun. Connecticut Sun. March 14, 2020. March 14, 2020.
18. Web site: Jones Opts out for 2020 Season. sun.wnba.com. WNBA. June 22, 2020. June 22, 2020.
19. Web site: Connecticut Welcomes Beatrice Mompremier. sun.wnba.com. WNBA. June 23, 2020. June 24, 2020.
20. Web site: Jacki Gemelos Signs with the Sun. sun.wnba.com. WNBA. June 25, 2020. June 26, 2020.
21. Web site: August 17, 2020. Bonner, Collier Earn Players Of The Week Honors For Week 3. wnba.com. WNBA. August 17, 2020.
22. Web site: August 31, 2020. Thomas, Stewart Earn Player of the Week Honors For Week 5. wnba.com. WNBA. August 31, 2020.
23. Web site: September 8, 2020. Diggins-Smith, Bonner Earn Player Of The Week Honors For Week 6. wnba.com. WNBA. September 9, 2020.
24. Web site: Two Atlanta Dream Players And Seattle Storm's Alysha Clark Headline 2020 WNBA All-Defensive Team. wnba.com. WNBA. September 29, 2020. September 29, 2020.
25. Web site: A'ja Wilson And Candace Parker Unanimously Selected To 2020 All-WNBA First Team. wnba.com. WNBA. October 4, 2020. October 5, 2020.