History to Watch For: 2024 Connecticut Sun
So far we've gone through four WNBA teams and some history to anticipate for each this season:
Today, let’s move on to the Connecticut Sun.
The Sun are in flux after another strong regular season that ended in the Semifinals. They return their core of DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas, and back-from-injury Brionna Jones but lost Tiffany Hayes (to retirement), Rebecca Allen (in a trade with Phoenix for Moriah Jefferson), and Natisha Hiedeman (in a trade with Minnesota for Tiffany Mitchell).
I’d expect their core to make some history this year.
DeWanna Bonner
Is there a player who has snuck up the leader boards more discreetly than DeWanna Bonner? I’m not going to dig in to why that might be, but let’s keep an eye on some upcoming milestones.
Bonner enters the 2024 WNBA season needing 15 points to move up to 5th all-time in regular season scoring and needing 119 points to get to 7,000 points in her career.
| Player | Regular Season Points | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diana Taurasi | 10,108 |
| 2 | Tina Thompson | 7,488 |
| 3 | Tamika Catchings | 7,380 |
| 4 | Tina Charles | 7,115 |
| 5 | Candice Dupree | 6,895 |
| 6 | DeWanna Bonner | 6,881 |
That move up to 5th could very easily happen in the Sun’s first game this year, and the 7,000-point milestone is easily reachable in the first 5-10 games for a player like Bonner who regularly scores 15-20 points in a game.
Bonner played all 40 regular season games last year and fell just short of 700 points (697). If she’s able to repeat that, she has the potential to pass Candice Dupree, Tamika Catchings, and Tina Thompson. Since Tina Charles is back in the league, it will be interesting to see how she and Bonner continue to climb up the top 5.
Rebounding is another area to watch for Bonner; she enters the season with 2,829 regular season rebounds, 171 from becoming the 10th player in league history with 3,000+ rebounds.
If she maintains her 2023 averages, Bonner will likely to get to 3,000 rebounds in the latter half of the 2024 season. When she does, she’ll join Tamika Catchings as just the second player in league history with 7,000+ points, 3,000+ rebounds, and 1,000+ assists. After that, if Bonner can also pass Catchings and get to 7,500 career points, she’d then of course be the first player in league history with 7,500+ points, 3,000+ rebounds, and 1,000+ assists.
Alyssa Thomas
When we talk about Alyssa Thomas, we have to start with triple-doubles. In 2023, Thomas became the first WNBA player to record double-digit triple-doubles (11 regular season and postseason combined in her career) and the first WNBA player to finish consecutive regular season games with a triple-double (and she did that twice).
There’s not much specific to watch for here because Thomas is blazing the trail. The guidance is simply just: watch. One thing that could get especially interesting: across the regular season and postseason, Thomas has recorded at least one triple-double against seven different teams, which means she needs to get one again just four other active teams: Atlanta, Dallas, Indiana, and Washington (and then Golden State, starting next year).
Following her 2023 totals, Thomas is on the verge of a couple of major career statistic milestones as well.
She is 534 points from 4,000 in her regular season career and 68 steals from 500. In her 40-game 2023 season she did just a little better than 534 points and 68 steals, so they are within reach by the end of the season if she’s able to keep up the same production. If she reaches both of those marks, she’d be the fourth player in league history to get to 4,000 points, 2,000 rebounds, 1,000 assists, and 500 steals, joining Tamika Catchings, Candace Parker, and DeWanna Bonner. She’ll likely be second-fastest to that mark, after Catchings.
| Player | Num Games to 4K PTS, 2K REB, 1K AST, 500 STL |
|---|---|
| Tamika Catchings | 272 |
| Candace Parker | 396 |
| DeWanna Bonner | 435 |
| Alyssa Thomas | Projected: ~317 |
Stephanie White
Entering her second season with the Sun and fourth overall in the WNBA as a head coach, Stephanie White has the opportunity to make a few leaderboard moves this summer.
2023 was the winningest season in Sun history by total wins (27) but 7th by win percentage (67.5%). White would have to get the Sun to at least 33 wins to best the franchise’s 2021 season, when they won 81.3% of their games (26-6).
More likely within reach is the chance to move up to third in franchise history in total regular season wins. White is currently 11 wins behind Anne Donovan (38) and 17 behind Carolyn Peck (her own college coach at Purdue) (44).
| Coach | Sun(/Miracle) Wins | Num Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Thibault | 206 | 10 |
| Curt Miller | 140 | 7 |
| Carolyn Peck | 44 | 3 |
| Anne Donovan | 38 | 3 |
| Stephanie White | 27 | 1 |
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