2021 Connecticut Sun season

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2021 Connecticut Sun season
Head Coach Curt Miller
Arena Mohegan Sun Arena
Attendance 2,992 per game
Results
Record 26–6
(.813)
Place 1st (Eastern)
Playoff Finish 1st seed, Lost in Semifinals to Phoenix Mercury 2–3
Team Leaders
Points Jonquel Jones – 19.4 ppg
Rebounds Jonquel Jones – 11.2 rpg
Assists Jasmine Thomas – 4.0 apg
Connecticut Sun seasons
< 2020 2022 >

The 2021 WNBA season was the 23rd season for the Connecticut Sun franchise of the Women's National Basketball Association. It was also the 19th season for the franchise in Connecticut. The season began on May 14, 2021, at the Atlanta Dream.[1]

The Sun started the season strongly and went on a five-game winning streak before losing their first game. They lost two of their last three games in May to finish with a strong 6–2 record in that month. The month of June was streaky for the Sun, with a three-game losing streak book-ended by a two-game winning streak and a three-game winning streak. Those streaks left the team with a 5–3 record in June. The Sun went 3–1 in July, the last month before the Olympic break. The team headed into the Olympic break with a 14–6 overall record.

The first game back from the Olympic break was the inaugural WNBA Commissioner's Cup, where the Sun faced off against the Seattle Storm in Phoenix. The game was difficult for the Sun and they lost 57–79. However, this result would not portend the rest of the team's results after the Olympic break. The Sun won their remaining seven games in August to finish the month with a 7–0 regular season record. Their dominance continued into September where the Sun went 5–0, to finish the season on a thirteen-game winning streak. Their final regular season record was 26–6, which earned them the top seed in the 2021 WNBA Playoffs. Their 26 wins was tied for the most regular season wins in franchise history with 2005 and 2006.

As the first seed in the playoffs, the Sun earned a double bye into the Semifinals and would have home-court advantage against the lowest remaining seed from the Second Round. After the Second Round, it was determined that the Sun would play the Chicago Sky. The series started off with a thrilling double overtime game that the Sun dropped 95–101. The Sun won the next game 79–68 to take a 1–1 series into Chicago. Chicago used their home court to their advantage and won the next two games and the series 3–1.

WNBA draft

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

See also: 2021 WNBA draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
2 20 DiJonai Carrington  United States Baylor
2 21 Micaela Kelly  United States Central Michigan
3 30 Aleah Goodman  United States Oregon State

Trades/Roster Changes

Date Details
January 4, 2021 Extended Qualifying Offer to G Natisha Hiedeman[2]
January 5, 2021 Extended Qualifying Offers to C Brionna Jones and C Beatrice Mompremier[3]
January 7, 2021 Signed G Natisha Hiedeman to the Qualifying Offer[4]
January 10, 2021 Signed C Beatrice Mompremier to the Qualifying Offer[5]
February 1, 2021 Signed G Kamiah Smalls to a Training Camp Contract[6]
February 2, 2021 Re-Signed F Alyssa Thomas[7]
February 4, 2021 Re-Signed G Jasmine Thomas[8]
February 5, 2021 Re-Signed C Brionna Jones[9]
February 6, 2021 Signed G Sydney Wallace to a Training Camp Contract[10]
February 15, 2021 Signed F Morgan Bertsch to a Training Camp Contract[11]
March 28, 2021 Signed F Stephanie Jones to a Training Camp Contract[12]
April 9, 2021 Signed F Tanaya Atkinson to a Training Camp Contract[13]
April 16, 2021 Signed F Teana Muldrow to a Training Camp Contract[14]
April 17, 2021 Signed G DiJonai Carrington, G Micaela Kelly, and G Aleah Goodman to Rookie Scale Contracts.[15]
Signed G Feyonda Fitzgerald, F Vionise Pierre-Louis, and C Kai James to Training Camp Contracts.[16]
April 18, 2021 Signed F Brianna Fraser to a Training Camp Contract[17]
April 17, 2021 Waived G Sydney Wallace, F Vionise Pierre-Louis, F Teana Muldrow, and C Kai James.[18]
May 2, 2021 Waived F Tanaya Atkinson.[19]
May 9, 2021 Waived G Micaela Kelly, G Feyonda Fitzgerald, and F Morgan Bertsch.[20]
May 11, 2021 Waived G Aleah Goodman and F Brianna Fraser.[21]
May 12, 2021 Waived G Kamiah Smalls.[22]
Temporarily Suspended G Jasmine Thomas.[23]
May 14, 2021 Signed G Aleah Goodman to a Hardship Contract.[24]
May 17, 2021 Activate G Jasmine Thomas from Temporary Suspension List.[25]
Released G Aleah Goodman from Hardship Contract.
May 21, 2021 Signed G Shatori Walker-Kimbrough to a Hardship Contract.[26]
May 28, 2021 Released G Shatori Walker-Kimbrough from the Hardship Contract.[27]
June 6, 2021 Temporarily Suspend F Jonquel Jones due to Overseas Commitments[28]
June 7, 2021 Signed F Emma Cannon to a Hardship Contract[29]
June 27, 2021 Release F Emma Cannon from the Hardship Contract[30]
June 29, 2021 Activate F Jonquel Jones from Temporary Suspension[31]

Roster

2021 Connecticut Sun roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From
G/F 24 United States Bonner, DeWanna 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 143 lb (65 kg) 1987-08-21 Auburn
G/F 21 United States Carrington, DiJonai 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1998-01-08 Baylor
G/F 3 United States Charles, Kaila 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 167 lb (76 kg) 1998-03-23 Maryland
G 2 United States Hiedeman, Natisha 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 135 lb (61 kg) 1997-02-10 Marquette
G 20 United States January, Briann 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 144 lb (65 kg) 1987-01-11 Arizona State
F 42 United States Jones, Brionna 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1995-12-18 Maryland
F 35 Bosnia and Herzegovina Jones, Jonquel 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1994-01-05 George Washington
F 4 United States Jones, Stephanie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-07-10 Maryland
F 1 United States Mompremier, Beatrice 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1996-08-08 Miami (FL)
F 25 United States Thomas, Alyssa Injured 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1992-04-12 Maryland
G 5 United States Thomas, Jasmine 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 143 lb (65 kg) 1989-09-30 Duke
Head coach
United States Curt Miller (Baldwin Wallace)
Assistant coaches
United States Brandi Poole
United States Chris Koclanes
Athletic trainer
United States Nicole Alexander
Strength and conditioning coach
United States Analisse Rios
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Game log

Preseason

2021 pre-season game log
2021 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2021 game log
2021 season schedule

Playoffs

2021 playoff game log
Semifinals
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 September 28 Chicago L 95–101 (2OT) Jonquel Jones (26) Jonquel Jones (11) January
J. Jones (4)		 Mohegan Sun Arena
4,720		 0–1
2 September 30 Chicago W 79–68 Bonner
A. Thomas (15)		 Alyssa Thomas (11) Alyssa Thomas (6) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,088		 1–1
3 October 3 @ Chicago L 83–86 DeWanna Bonner (22) Jonquel Jones (10) Jasmine Thomas (6) Wintrust Arena
7,421		 1–2
4 October 6 @ Chicago L 69–79 Jonquel Jones (25) Jonquel Jones (11) Alyssa Thomas (4) Wintrust Arena
2021 playoff schedule

Standings

# Team W L PCT GB Conf. Home Road Cup
1 x – Connecticut Sun 26 6 .813 – 12–3 15–1 11–5 9–1
2 x – Las Vegas Aces 24 8 .750 2 11–4 13–3 11–5 6–4
3 x – Minnesota Lynx 22 10 .688 4 10–5 13–3 9–7 7–3
4 x – Seattle Storm 21 11 .656 5 9–6 11–5 10–6 8–2
5 x – Phoenix Mercury 19 13 .594 7 6–9 7–9 12–4 5–5
6 x – Chicago Sky 16 16 .500 10 10–5 6–10 10–6 6–4
7 x – Dallas Wings 14 18 .438 12 7–8 7–9 7–9 3–7
8 x – New York Liberty 12 20 .375 14 6–9 7–9 5–11 5–5
9 e – Washington Mystics 12 20 .375 14 7–8 8–8 4–12 4–6
10 e – Los Angeles Sparks 12 20 .375 14 2–13 8–8 4–12 1–9
11 e – Atlanta Dream 8 24 .250 18 6–9 4–12 4–12 4–6
12 e – Indiana Fever 6 26 .188 20 4–11 4–12 2–14 2–8

Notes

(#) – League Standing
x – Clinched playoff berth
e – Eliminated from playoff contention
Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings


Playoffs

Template:8TeamBracket-StepladderToSF Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

Statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Source:[32]

Regular Season

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Jonquel Jones 27 27 31.7 51.5 36.2 80.2 11.2 2.8 1.3 1.3 19.4
DeWanna Bonner 32 32 31.9 39.5 31.7 89.2 6.4 3.4 1.3 0.7 15.2
Brionna Jones 32 32 30.6 57.1 0.0 79.6 7.3 1.8 1.4 0.5 14.7
Jasmine Thomas 30 30 29.6 38.6 40.0 87.5 2.4 4.0 1.3 0.2 10.6
Natisha Hiedeman 32 5 20.1 40.0 39.8 70.0 1.8 1.9 0.8 0.2 7.6
Briann January 29 29 30.2 42.5 38.0 86.8 1.4 3.1 0.9 0.1 7.0
Alyssa Thomas 2 0 17.5 26.7 0.0 75.0 5.0 2.0 0.5 0.0 5.5
Kaila Charles 30 4 16.3 36.8 30.3 87.5 2.8 1.1 0.5 0.4 4.3
DiJonai Carrington 24 1 9.2 32.9 14.3 73.3 2.0 0.5 0.5 0.1 2.8
Beatrice Mompremier 32 0 8.6 49.1 0.0 41.7 2.4 0.2 0.4 0.3 1.8
Stephanie Jones 18 0 5.5 41.1 0.0 50.0 1.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 1.4

Awards and honors

Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
Jonquel Jones Eastern Conference Player of the Month June 2 [33]
Eastern Conference Player of the Week June 7 [34]
DeWanna Bonner June 28 [35]
Brionna Jones WNBA All-Star Selection June 30 [36]
Jonquel Jones
DeWanna Bonner
Brionna Jones Eastern Conference Player of the Week July 6 [37]
Jonquel Jones yay Eastern Conference Player of the Week July 12 [38]
August 23 [39]
Brionna Jones Eastern Conference Player of the Week August 30 [40]
Jonquel Jones Eastern Conference Player of the Month September 2 [41]
Curt Miller WNBA Coach of the Month – August [42]
Jonquel Jones Eastern Conference Player of the Week September 6 [43]
Curt Miller WNBA Coach of the Month – September September 20 [44]
Jonquel Jones Eastern Conference Player of the Month [45]
Peak Performer: Rebounds [46]
Briann January WNBA All-Defensive First Team September 26 [47]
Jonquel Jones
Jasmine Thomas WNBA All-Defensive Second Team
Brionna Jones
Jonquel Jones WNBA MVP September 28 [48]
Brionna Jones WNBA Most Improved Player [49]
Curt Miller Coach of the Year Award [50]
Jonquel Jones All-WNBA First Team October 15 [51]

References

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  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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