# 2022 Connecticut Sun season

The 2022 WNBA season was the 24th season for the Connecticut Sun franchise of the Women's National Basketball Association. It also was the 20th season for the franchise in Connecticut after relocating from Orlando. The season began on May 7, 2022, at the New York Liberty.
Despite losing their first game of the season, the Sun won their next four games in a row. They then went 2–2 to finish out the month of May with a 6–3 record. They started June with a four-game winning streak and won six of their first seven games. However, they lost three of their last four in the month to finish with a 7–4 record. In July, the Sun won 3 of its first five, but then went on a four-game winning streak. The streak Chicago on the final day of the month. They finished 7–3 in the month and secured a spot in the post season on July 28. The Sun went on a tear in August, only losing one game, to eventual #2 seed Chicago, and finished the month with a 5–1 record. Their overall regular season record of 25–11 was one shy of tying a franchise record for wins. They were the third seed in the playoffs, finishiLas Vegas and Chicago. Brionna Jones was named the Sixth Player of the Year.
As the third seed they hosted a first round matchup against the sixth seeded Dallas. The Sun won the first game in commanding fashion, 93–68. However, they lost Game Two by ten points, forcing a Game Three in Dallas. The Sun controlled the game and won by 15 points to advance to the Semifinals. There they faced off against the second seeded Chicago Sky. Connecticut won the first game by five points in Chicago. They went on to lose games two and three and faced elimination in Game Four. The Sun won game four by 24 points to force a Game Five in Chicago. The Sun won by nine points and advanced to the 2022 WNBA Finals. They faced off against the first seeded, Las Veagas Aces. Las Vegas one the first two games in Connecticut, Game One by three points, and Game Two by fourteen. The Sun won game three in Las Vegas by 29 points, but couldn't carry the momentum into Game Four losing by seven points. The Aces won the series 3–1.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/team/country |
| 1 | 12 | Nia Clouden | United States | Michigan State |
| 2 | 24 | Jordan Lewis | United States | Baylor |
| 3 | 36 | Kiara Smith | United States | Florida |

### Trades and Roster Changes

| Date | Details |
| January 1, 2022 | Extended Qualifying Offers to Natisha Hiedeman, Stephanie Jones, and Beatrice Mompremier |
| January 3, 2022 | Signed Natisha Hiedeman to a Qualifying Offer |
| January 4, 2022 | Signed Beatrice Mompremier to a Qualifying Offer |
| January 10, 2022 | Extended Jonquel Jones a Core Qualifying Offer |
| January 3, 2022 | Signed Stephanie Jones to a Qualifying Offer |
| February 1, 2022 | Signed Jonquel Jones to a Two-Year Deal |
| February 2, 2022 | Signed Courtney Williams to a Two-Year Deal |
| February 2, 2022 | Signed Taj Cole and Joyner Holmes to training-camp contracts |
| February 22, 2022 | Signed Yvonne Anderson to a training-camp contract |
| April 12, 2022 | Signed Alexus Dye, Delicia Washington and Aleksa Gulbe to training-camp contracts |
| April 14, 2022 | Signed Nia Clouden and Jordan Lewis to rookie-scale contracts |
| April 20, 2022 | Waived Alexus Dye, Delicia Washington, and Keyona Hayes |
| April 27, 2022 | Waived Jordan Lewis |
| May 2, 2022 | Waived Kaila Charles, Taj Cole, and Aleksa Gulbe |
| May 4, 2022 | Waived Stephanie Jones and Beatrice Mompremier |
| May 5, 2022 | Temporarily Suspend DeWanna Bonner due to Overseas Commitments |
| May 14, 2022 | Activated DeWanna Bonner from the Temporary Suspension List |
| May 31, 2022 | Signed Stephanie Jones to a Hardship Contract |
| June 4, 2022 | Released Stephanie Jones from her Hardship Contract |
| June 11, 2022 | Waived Yvonne Anderson |
| June 15, 2022 | Signed Jazmine Jones |
| June 24, 2022 | Waived Joyner Holmes and Jazmine Jones |
| June 26, 2022 | Signed Joyner Holmes and Jazmine Jones to 7-day contracts |
| July 3, 2022 | Signed Joyner Holmes and Jazmine Jones to their 2nd 7-day contracts |
| July 13, 2022 | Signed Joyner Holmes and Jazmine Jones to their 3rd 7-day contracts |
| July 18, 2022 | Signed Bria Hartley |
| July 21, 2022 | Signed Joyner Holmes |
| July 27, 2022 | Signed Kiana Williams to a 7-day contract |
| August 3, 2022 | Signed Odyssey Sims to a 7-day contract |
| August 10, 2022 | Signed Odyssey Sims to a Hardship Contract |

## Roster
### Depth Chart

| Pos. | Starter | Bench |
| C | Jonquel Jones | Brionna Jones |
| PF | Alyssa Thomas | Joyner Holmes |
| SF | DeWanna Bonner | DiJonai Carrington |
| SG | Courtney Williams | Nia Clouden Bria Hartley |
| PG | Natisha Hiedeman | Odyssey Sims Jasmine Thomas |

## Schedule
### Preseason

2022 pre-season game log :
May: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 1
Atlanta
W 94–78
Jonquel Jones (15)
Carrington B. Jones (6)
Jasmine Thomas (5)
Mohegan Sun 3,244
1–0 :
2022 pre-season schedule :

### Regular Season

2022 game log Total: 25–11 (Home: 13–5; Road: 12–6) :
May: 6–3 (Home: 4–1; Road: 2–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 7
@ New York
L 79–81
Alyssa Thomas (25)
A. Thomas J. Jones (7)
Natisha Hiedeman (6)
Barclays Center 6,829
0–1
2
May 14
Los Angeles
W 77–60
Alyssa Thomas (23)
Jonquel Jones (12)
Alyssa Thomas (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 5,624
1–1
3
May 17
@ New York
W 92–65
DeWanna Bonner (16)
J. Jones A. Thomas (6)
Bonner Hiedeman A. Thomas J. Thomas (3)
Barclays Center 3,054
2–1
4
May 20
Indiana
W 94–85
Jonquel Jones (19)
Jonquel Jones (8)
Bonner Hiedeman (4)
Mohegan Sun Arena 4,428
3–1
5
May 22
@ Indiana
W 92–70
B. Jones A. Thomas (18)
Jonquel Jones (9)
Alyssa Thomas (6)
Gainbridge Fieldhouse 2,612
4–1
6
May 24
Dallas
L 77–85
B. Jones J. Jones A. Thomas (13)
Jonquel Jones (12)
Alyssa Thomas (9)
Mohegan Sun Arena 4,180
4–2
7
May 26
Dallas
W 99–68
DeWanna Bonner (18)
Brionna Jones (7)
Natisha Hiedeman (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 4,308
5–2
8
May 28
Washington
W 79–71
Bonner A. Thomas Williams (14)
Alyssa Thomas (10)
Courtney Williams (7)
Mohegan Sun Arena 5,482
6–2
9
May 31
@ Las Vegas
L 81–89
DeWanna Bonner (14)
Jonquel Jones (13)
Alyssa Thomas (6)
Michelob Ultra Arena 4,693
6–3 :
June
: 7–4 (Home: 3–2; Road: 4–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
10
June 2
@ Las Vegas
W 97–90
Jonquel Jones (20)
Alyssa Thomas (12)
Williams Hiedeman (6)
Michelob Ultra Arena 3,801
7–3
11
June 3
@ Phoenix
W 92–88
Jonquel Jones (24)
Alyssa Thomas (10)
Alyssa Thomas (7)
Footprint Center 7,180
8–3
12
June 5
@ Seattle
W 93–86
Jonquel Jones (25)
Alyssa Thomas (11)
Alyssa Thomas (12)
Climate Pledge Arena 11,330
9–3
13
June 8
Indiana
W 88–69
Brionna Jones (18)
B. Jones J. Jones A. Thomas (9)
Alyssa Thomas (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 4,088
10–3
14
June 10
Chicago
L 79–83
Brionna Jones (20)
Jonquel Jones (14)
Alyssa Thomas (8)
Mohegan Sun Arena 4,816
10–4
15
June 15
Atlanta
W 105–92
Courtney Williams (20)
Jonquel Jones (9)
Alyssa Thomas (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 4,014
11–4
16
June 17
Seattle
W 82–71
DeWanna Bonner (20)
Jonquel Jones (13)
Alyssa Thomas (8)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,088
12–4
17
June 19
@ Washington
L 63–71
Jonquel Jones (15)
Jonquel Jones (16)
Alyssa Thomas (3)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 3,959
12–5
18
June 22
New York
L 77–81
Courtney Williams (16)
Jonquel Jones (11)
Alyssa Thomas (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 4,652
12–6
19
June 26
@ Atlanta
W 72–61
Courtney Williams (17)
Alyssa Thomas (11)
Alyssa Thomas (8)
Gateway Center Arena 2,722
13–6
20
June 29
@ Chicago
L 83–91
Jonquel Jones (24)
Jonquel Jones (11)
Natisha Hiedeman (7)
Wintrust Arena 6,709
13–7 :
July
: 7–3 (Home: 3–2; Road: 4–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
21
July 3
Washington
W 74–72 (OT)
Alyssa Thomas (23)
Alyssa Thomas (9)
Natisha Hiedeman (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 5,814
14–7
22
July 5
@ Dallas
L 71–82
Courtney Williams (25)
Jonquel Jones (7)
Alyssa Thomas (6)
College Park Center 3,445
14–8
23
July 13
@ Indiana
W 89–81
Jonquel Jones (20)
Jonquel Jones (14)
Alyssa Thomas (7)
Indiana Farmers Coliseum 3,212
15–8
24
July 15
@ Atlanta
W 93–68
Jonquel Jones (21)
B. Jones J. Jones A. Thomas (6)
Alyssa Thomas (5)
Gateway Center Arena 2,962
16–8
25
July 17
Las Vegas
L 83–91
DeWanna Bonner (19)
Alyssa Thomas (14)
Alyssa Thomas (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,814
16–9
26
July 19
New York
W 82–63
Brionna Jones (21)
Alyssa Thomas (13)
Courtney Williams (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,288
17–9
27
July 22
@ Minnesota
W 94–84
DeWanna Bonner (20)
Alyssa Thomas (10)
Alyssa Thomas (12)
Target Center 8,321
18–9
28
July 24
@ Minnesota
W 86–79
Natisha Hiedeman (19)
Alyssa Thomas (10)
DeWanna Bonner (8)
Target Center 7,231
19–9
29
July 28
Seattle
W 88–83
Alyssa Thomas (19)
DeWanna Bonner (10)
Alyssa Thomas (11)
Mohegan Sun Arena 9,137
20–9
30
July 31
Chicago
L 92–95 (OT)
DeWanna Bonner (23)
Bonner B. Jones (9)
Alyssa Thomas (8)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,254
20–10 :
August
: 5–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
31
August 2
Phoenix
W 87–63
Natisha Hiedeman (16)
Alyssa Thomas (12)
Alyssa Thomas (10)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,130
21–10
32
August 4
Phoenix
W 77–64
Jonquel Jones (14)
Alyssa Thomas (13)
Alyssa Thomas (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,215
22–10
33
August 7
@ Chicago
L 91–94
DeWanna Bonner (18)
Jonquel Jones (10)
DeWanna Bonner (6)
Wintrust Arena 8,224
22–11
34
August 9
@ Los Angeles
W 97–71
Jonquel Jones (21)
Jonquel Jones (10)
Alyssa Thomas (7)
Crypto.com Arena 5,789
23–11
35
August 11
@ Los Angeles
W 93–69
Alyssa Thomas (18)
Alyssa Thomas (9)
DeWanna Bonner (7)
Crypto.com Arena 4,987
24–11
36
August 14
Minnesota
W 90–83
Alyssa Thomas (16)
Alyssa Thomas (7)
Hiedeman A. Thomas (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 7,489
25–11 :
2022 season schedule :

### Playoffs

2022 playoff game log :
First Round vs. Dallas Wings Won Series: 2–1
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
August 18
Dallas
W 93–68
Jonquel Jones (19)
Alyssa Thomas (10)
Alyssa Thomas (7)
Mohegan Sun Arena 4,797
1–0
2
August 24
Dallas
L 79–89
B. Jones J. Jones (20)
Jonquel Jones (9)
Alyssa Thomas (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,788
1–1
3
August 24
@ Dallas
W 73–58
DeWanna Bonner (21)
Jonquel Jones (10)
DeWanna Bonner (5)
College Park Center 5,016
2–1 :
Semifinals vs. Chicago Sky Won Series: 3–2
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
August 28
@ Chicago
W 68–63
DeWanna Bonner (15)
Alyssa Thomas (10)
Alyssa Thomas (7)
Wintrust Arena 8,955
1–0
2
August 31
@ Chicago
L 77–85
Jonquel Jones (23)
Alyssa Thomas (10)
Alyssa Thomas (4)
Wintrust Arena 8,311
1–1
3
September 4
Chicago
L 72–76
DeWanna Bonner (18)
Alyssa Thomas (13)
Alyssa Thomas (7)
Mohegan Sun Arena 9,142
1–2
4
September 6
Chicago
W 104–80
Bonner Williams (19)
Alyssa Thomas (8)
Jonquel Jones (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 5,868
2–2
5
September 8
@ Chicago
W 72–63
Bonner J. Jones (15)
Thomas J. Jones (10)
Alyssa Thomas (8)
Wintrust Arena 8,014
3–2 :
Finals vs. Las Vegas Aces Lost Series: 1–3
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 11
@ Las Vegas
L 64–67
Alyssa Thomas (19)
Alyssa Thomas (11)
Bonner A. Thomas (5)
Michelob Ultra Arena 10,135
0–1
2
September 13
@ Las Vegas
L 71–85
Courtney Williams (18)
Jonquel Jones (11)
Courtney Williams (5)
Michelob Ultra Arena 10,211
0–2
3
September 15
Las Vegas
W 105–76
Jonquel Jones (20)
Alyssa Thomas (15)
Alyssa Thomas (11)
Mohegan Sun Arena 8,745
1–2
4
September 18
Las Vegas
L 71–78
Courtney Williams (17)
Alyssa Thomas (10)
Alyssa Thomas (11)
Mohegan Sun Arena 9,652
1–3 :
2022 playoff schedule :

## Standings

| # | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
| 1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 13–5 | 13–5 | 9–1 |
| 2 | x – Chicago Sky | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 14–4 | 12–6 | 9–1 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 25 | 11 | .694 | 1.0 | 11–7 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 5–5 |
| 4 | x – Seattle Storm | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–4 |
| 5 | x – Washington Mystics | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 6 | x – Dallas Wings | 18 | 18 | .500 | 8.0 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 7 | x – New York Liberty | 16 | 20 | .444 | 10.0 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–4 |
| 8 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 15 | 21 | .417 | 11.0 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 3–7 |
| 9 | e – Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 4–6 |
| 10 | e – Atlanta Dream | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 11 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 13 | 23 | .361 | 13.0 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 12 | e – Indiana Fever | 5 | 31 | .139 | 21.0 | 2–16 | 3–15 | 2–16 | 2–8 |
Notes
    (#) – League Standing
    x – Clinched playoff berth
    e – Eliminated from playoff contention
    Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

## Playoffs

| Round One: Best-of-3 | Round One: Best-of-3 | Round One: Best-of-3 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 |
| 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 2 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Seattle Storm | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Seattle Storm | 2 | 4 | Seattle Storm | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Washington Mystics | 0 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Washington Mystics | 0 | | | | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 1 |
| 2 | Chicago Sky | 2 | | | | | | | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 1 |
| 7 | New York Liberty | 1 | | | | | | |
| 7 | New York Liberty | 1 | 2 | Chicago Sky | 2 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 3 | | | |
| 3 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 3 | | | |
| 6 | Dallas Wings | 1 | | | | | | |
Bold Series winner

## Statistics
### Regular Season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Jonquel Jones | 33 | 32 | 26.4 | .513 | .369 | .802 | 8.6 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 14.6 |
| Brionna Jones | 36 | 7 | 25.1 | .571 | .000 | .844 | 5.1 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 13.8 |
| DeWanna Bonner | 33 | 33 | 30.0 | .439 | .329 | .827 | 4.7 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 13.5 |
| Alyssa Thomas | 36 | 36 | 32.1 | .500 | .000 | .730 | 8.2 | 6.1 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 13.4 |
| Courtney Williams | 34 | 34 | 27.9 | .426 | .338 | .750 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 11.1 |
| Natisha Hiedeman | 36 | 31 | 25.0 | .431 | .411 | .800 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 9.1 |
| DiJonai Carrington | 36 | 2 | 17.5 | .414 | .306 | .750 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 6.8 |
| Jasmine Thomas | 5 | 5 | 21.8 | .267 | .385 | .923 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 6.6 |
| Odyssey Sims$^≠$ | 5 | 0 | 18.2 | .333 | .273 | 1.000 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 5.8 |
| Bria Hartley$^≠$ | 3 | 0 | 12.0 | .455 | .500 | .000 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 4.7 |
| Yvonne Anderson$^‡$ | 11 | 0 | 9.2 | .462 | .400 | 1.000 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 3.2 |
| Nia Clouden | 28 | 0 | 8.9 | .340 | .414 | .588 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2.1 |
| Joyner Holmes | 26 | 0 | 7.9 | .311 | .227 | .769 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2.0 |
| Stephanie Jones$^‡$ | 2 | 0 | 4.0 | .000 | .000 | 1.000 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Jazmine Jones$^‡$ | 7 | 0 | 6.3 | .286 | .000 | .400 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.9 |
| Kiana Williams$^‡$ | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
$^‡$Waived/Released during the season $^†$Traded during the season $^≠$Acquired during the season

### Playoffs

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Jonquel Jones | 12 | 12 | 27.0 | .507 | .414 | .829 | 8.4 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 14.9 |
| Alyssa Thomas | 12 | 12 | 33.5 | .474 | .000 | .576 | 9.5 | 6.3 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 12.3 |
| DeWanna Bonner | 12 | 12 | 31.5 | .341 | .294 | .886 | 5.8 | 3.6 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 12.2 |
| Courtney Williams | 12 | 12 | 27.1 | .415 | .318 | .667 | 3.9 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 10.3 |
| Brionna Jones | 12 | 0 | 21.3 | .522 | .000 | .711 | 4.0 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 10.6 |
| Natisha Hiedeman | 12 | 12 | 26.2 | .419 | .444 | .769 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 8.2 |
| DiJonai Carrington | 12 | 0 | 14.6 | .450 | .231 | .700 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 5.9 |
| Odyssey Sims | 12 | 0 | 13.8 | .436 | .286 | .875 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 3.6 |
| Nia Clouden | 7 | 0 | 4.6 | .444 | .500 | 1.000 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.9 |
| Joyner Holmes | 7 | 0 | 4.1 | .500 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 4.1 |

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded |
| Alyssa Thomas | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | May 23 |
| Alyssa Thomas | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | July 25 |
| Alyssa Thomas | Eastern Conference Player of the Month - May | June 1 |
| Alyssa Thomas | Eastern Conference Player of the Month - July | August 2 |
| Alyssa Thomas | WNBA All-Star Selection | June 28 |
| Alyssa Thomas | All-Defensive Second Team | August 30 |
| Alyssa Thomas | All-WNBA Second Team | September 15 |
| Jonquel Jones | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | June 6 |
| Jonquel Jones | WNBA All-Star Starter | June 22 |
| Jonquel Jones | All-Defensive Second Team | August 30 |
| Jonquel Jones | All-WNBA Second Team | September 15 |
| Brionna Jones | WNBA All-Star Selection | June 28 |
| Brionna Jones | Sixth Player of the Year | September 1 |