# 2020 Connecticut Sun season

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.
This WNBA season was originally going to feature an all-time high 36 regular-season games. 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. 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.
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

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

## Trades/Roster Changes

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

## Game log
### Regular season

2020 game log Total: 10–12 :
July
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
July 26
Minnesota Lynx
L 69–77
A. Thomas (20)
Tied (8)
Tied (4)
IMG Academy 0
0–1
2
July 28
Washington Mystics
89–94
Bonner (29)
A. Thomas (11)
Bonner (5)
IMG Academy 0
0–2
3
July 30
Los Angeles Sparks
L 76–81
Bonner (34)
A. Thomas (18)
A. Thomas (8)
IMG Academy 0
0–3 :
August
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
4
August 1
Minnesota Lynx
L 69–78
Bonner (28)
Tied (7)
J. Thomas (4)
IMG Academy 0
0–4
5
August 4
Seattle Storm
L 74–87
Jones (20)
A. Thomas (13)
Hiedeman (5)
IMG Academy 0
0–5
6
August 6
Dallas Wings
W 91–68
Jones (17)
A. Thomas (10)
J. Thomas (9)
IMG Academy 0
1–5
7
August 8
Chicago Sky
L 93–100
J. Thomas (22)
A. Thomas (6)
J. Thomas (6)
IMG Academy 0
1–6
8
August 10
Atlanta Dream
W 93–82
A. Thomas (21)
Bonner (9)
J. Thomas (7)
IMG Academy 0
2–6
9
August 12
Dallas Wings
W 70–66
Bonner (18)
A. Thomas (7)
Tied (4)
IMG Academy 0
3–6
10
August 14
Chicago Sky
W 77–74
Bonner (19)
A. Thomas (10)
A. Thomas (8)
IMG Academy 0
4–6
11
August 16
Seattle Storm
L 72–95
J. Thomas (17)
Jones (11)
A. Thomas (6)
IMG Academy 0
4–7
12
August 18
Indiana Fever
W 84–62
Bonner (28)
A. Thomas (11)
Tied (6)
IMG Academy 0
5–7
13
August 20
Las Vegas Aces
78–99
Tied (15)
A. Thomas (7)
A. Thomas (7)
IMG Academy 0
5–8
14
August 22
New York Liberty
W 82–65
A. Thomas (25)
Bonner (12)
Bonner (6)
IMG Academy 0
6–8
15
August 28
Los Angeles Sparks
W 80–76
A. Thomas (19)
A. Thomas (9)
J. Thomas (6)
IMG Academy 0
6–9
16
August 30
Washington Mystics
W 76–63
Bonner (20)
Tied (11)
A. Thomas (8)
IMG Academy 0
7–9 :
September
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
17
September 1
New York Liberty
W 70–65
Bonner (27)
Bonner (12)
A. Thomas (4)
IMG Academy 0
8–9
18
September 3
Las Vegas Aces
L 78–93
Bonner (22)
Mompremier (16)
January (5)
IMG Academy 0
8–10
19
September 5
Indiana Fever
W 96–77
Bonner (22)
3 tied (6)
J. Thomas (7)
IMG Academy 0
9–10
20
September 7
Phoenix Mercury
W 85–70
Bonner (25)
A. Thomas (9)
A. Thomas (9)
IMG Academy 0
10–10
21
September 9
Phoenix Mercury
L 95–100
Bonner (32)
A. Thomas (17)
A. Thomas (5)
IMG Academy 0
10–11
22
September 11
Atlanta Dream
L 75–82
Bonner (17)
A. Thomas (9)
Hiedeman (4)
IMG Academy 0
10–12 :
2020 season schedule :

### Playoffs

2020 playoff game log Total: 4–3 :
First Round
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 15
Chicago Sky
W 94–81
A. Thomas (28)
A. Thomas (13)
A. Thomas (8)
IMG Academy
1–0 :
Second Round
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 17
Los Angeles Sparks
73–59
A. Thomas (19)
Bonner (13)
J. Thomas (6)
IMG Academy
1–0 :
Semifinals
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 20
Las Vegas Aces
W 87–62
J. Thomas (31)
Bonner (8)
A. Thomas (5)
IMG Academy
1–0
2
September 22
Las Vegas Aces
L 75–83
Bonner (23)
Mompremier (9)
J. Thomas (4)
IMG Academy
1–1
3
September 24
Las Vegas Aces
W 77–68
A. Thomas (23)
A. Thomas (12)
J. Thomas (6)
IMG Academy
2–1
4
September 27
Las Vegas Aces
L 75–84
J. Thomas (25)
Bonner (15)
J. Thomas (6)
IMG Academy
2–2
5
September 29
Las Vegas Aces
L 63–66
A. Thomas (22)
Jones (12)
Bonner (6)
IMG Academy
2–3 :
2020 playoff schedule :

## Standings

| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. |
| 1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 18 | 4 | .818 | – | 8–2 |
| 2 | x – Seattle Storm | 18 | 4 | .818 | – | 8–2 |
| 3 | x – Los Angeles Sparks | 15 | 7 | .682 | 3 | 5–5 |
| 4 | x – Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 8 | .636 | 4 | 4–6 |
| 5 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 13 | 9 | .591 | 5 | 4–6 |
| 6 | x – Chicago Sky | 12 | 10 | .545 | 6 | 6–4 |
| 7 | x – Connecticut Sun | 10 | 12 | .455 | 8 | 7–3 |
| 8 | x – Washington Mystics | 9 | 13 | .409 | 9 | 6–4 |
| 9 | e – Dallas Wings | 8 | 14 | .364 | 10 | 1–9 |
| 10 | e – Atlanta Dream | 7 | 15 | .318 | 11 | 5–5 |
| 11 | e – Indiana Fever | 6 | 16 | .273 | 12 | 4–6 |
| 12 | e – New York Liberty | 2 | 20 | .091 | 16 | 2–8 |
* v
* t
* e
Notes
    x – Clinched playoff berth
    e – Eliminated from playoffs
    Home and Away records not shown, as all games played at a neutral location.
    Updated to include results from September 13, 2020
    Source

## Playoffs

| First round: Single elimination (September 15) | First round: Single elimination (September 15) | First round: Single elimination (September 15) | Second round: Single elimination (September 17) | Second round: Single elimination (September 17) | Second round: Single elimination (September 17) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (October 2–11) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (October 2–11) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (October 2–11) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (October 2–11) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (October 2–11) |
| | | | | | | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 62 | 83 | 68 | 84 | 66 | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Minnesota Lynx | 80 | 7 | Connecticut Sun | 87 | 75 | 77 | 75 | 63 | | | | | |
| 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 85 | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 79 | | | | | | | | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 80 | 91 | 59 |
| 8 | Washington Mystics | 84 | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Seattle Storm | 93 | 104 | 92 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Seattle Storm | Seattle Storm | Seattle Storm | 88 | 89 | 92 | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | Los Angeles Sparks | 59 | 4 | Minnesota Lynx | Minnesota Lynx | Minnesota Lynx | 86 | 79 | 71 | | | | | |
| 6 | Chicago Sky | 81 | 7 | Connecticut Sun | 73 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Connecticut Sun | 94 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

## Statistics
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | 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 |
| DeWanna Bonner | WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week | August 17, 2020 |
| Alyssa Thomas | WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week | August 31, 2020 |
| DeWanna Bonner | WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week | September 8, 2020 |
| Alyssa Thomas | 1st Team All-Defense | September 29, 2020 |
| DeWanna Bonner | All-WNBA Second Team | October 4, 2020 |