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Despite the Connecticut Sun’s undefeated 9-0 start to the season, DeWanna Bonner believes there's still significant room for improvement. After their 76-59 win over the Atlanta Dream Tuesday, Bonner voiced her concerns about the team’s performance during the post-game press conference.
“Listen, we're 9-0, we're winning, but we're not playing great basketball right now. Be honest,” Bonner said, per Alexa Philippou of ESPN. “We have a chemistry that's been around for a long time. Other teams are going to start finding their chemistry, they're going to get better. We're going to get better; we have to get better.”
Bonner highlighted specific areas where the team has struggled, despite their winning record. She pointed out that their veteran roster has managed to cover up some of these blemishes, but the team isn’t celebrating their wins just yet.
“We know we have a long way to go. We're not celebrating these wins at all,” Bonner said.
Coach Stephanie White, the Sun’s second-year coach, echoed similar sentiments earlier in the season, noting that despite their 7-0 record at the time, the team felt more like they were 0-7 in the locker room. The Sun’s success is significant, as they are one of only seven teams in WNBA history to win at least their first nine games. Yet, there is a sense of urgency within the team, knowing their window for a championship is closing.
“We know that the window is closing on this group and the opportunity for us to compete for a championship,” White said. “Everybody understands that this is our chance and is approaching it like that.”
Sun’s performance and areas for improvement
The talk of superteams dominated the 2023 WNBA season, but this year, the Sun have garnered early attention with their historic start. Their net rating (plus-14.3) ranks first in the league, bolstered by their No. 1 defensive rating (88.1 points allowed per 100 possessions). However, their offensive rating ranks fourth (102.4 points per 100 possessions), powered by five players averaging double figures: Bonner (19.1 PPG), Brionna Jones (13.3 PPG), Alyssa Thomas (13.0 PPG), DiJonai Carrington (11.9 PPG) and Tyasha Harris (10.7 PPG).
Bonner, who will turn 37 in August, continues to play some of the best basketball of her career. Her shooting percentage is at 47.7%, despite a slow start from the 3-point line (28.3%). She recently moved into the No. 5 spot on the league's all-time scoring list with 7,053 points. Thomas, the MVP runner-up in 2023, started the season strong with a triple-double in the opener and currently leads the league in assists (8.8 APG) and ranks sixth in rebounds (9.3 RPG).
The Sun’s backcourt and bench have seen significant changes, with first-year starters Harris and Carrington stepping up in larger roles. The team has experienced several slow starts this season, with five of their wins being by single digits. Their shooting has been inconsistent, with a league-worst 29.0% from the 3-point arc and a lackluster 73.7% from the free-throw line.
“We're still working out a lot of kinks, lineups, minute restrictions,” Thomas said. “There's a lot of room for us to continue to grow, which is also scary. I don't think any of us are playing their best basketball right now.”
White remains focused on the long-term goal of winning a championship, urging her players not to let the quest for perfection consume them. The pressure is high, especially with the team’s core players hitting free agency after this season.
“I think the expectation is just really high,” White said. “The expectation for success and knowing we're not playing our best basketball, that we're leaving a lot on the table so to speak. Our team is very business-like. We've got a group, at least a core group, of perfectionists.”
History is on the Sun's side: the six previous teams in WNBA history to start the season with at least a nine-game winning streak all reached the Finals, with three of them winning the championship.
