Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images
Speaking with the media for the first time since the Olympic break, the Sun’s star forward expressed how sharpshooter Marina Mabrey could provide a much-needed offensive lift to Connecticut as they pursue a WNBA championship.
The Sun have been one of the WNBA’s worst three-point shooting teams all year, but that could soon change, thanks to a midseason trade that sent Marina Mabrey from Chicago to Connecticut.
Speaking to the press for the first time since returning home from the Paris Olympics, Alyssa Thomas expressed how much Mabrey’s offensive skillset could benefit the Sun, who currently rank 10th overall in the WNBA in both three-pointers made (5.5 per game) and three-point percentage (31.4%).
Mabrey, meanwhile, has shot 35.8% from three-point range throughout her six-year career, and has hit at least two threes per game in four of her last five seasons. No Connecticut player averages more than 1.7 threes per game.
“In the first half of the season, you saw that that three point shooting was a problem for us,” Thomas said. “Now, you got somebody like her that is not afraid to take shots — and has been doing it on multiple teams.”
Photo by Evan Yu/NBAE via Getty Images
This season, Marina Mabrey is averaging 14 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.2 steals as the second-leading scorer on the Chicago Sky. Her three-point percentage is down from last year’s (she shot 39% in 2023 and is now shooting 34.8%), but some of that is the result of a shortage of playmakers on a rebuilding Chicago roster.
In Connecticut, the hope is that players like Alyssa Thomas, Tyasha Harris, and DeWanna Bonner can continue to be offensive focal points, while Mabrey can space the floor and get more catch-and-shoot jumpers.
“With the offense, the way that we have, we’re very interchangeable with positions and things like that.. her bringing up the ball, but also having her space in the floor and allowing myself or Ty [Harris] to create for her and hit open shots,” Thomas said. “In seasons past, when you’ve played against them or watched her, she hasn’t had that. Hopefully, we can take her game to another level as well.”
In order to acquire Mabrey, the Sun sent Rachel Banham, Moriah Jefferson, a 2025 first-round pick, and a 2026 first-round pick swap to the Chicago Sky. They also got a 2024 second-round pick in return. And while Banham and Jefferson were both key locker room pieces, neither were high volume scorers, which is what the Sun sorely lacked.
A major midseason trade is not a commonplace occurrence in the WNBA, but there appeared to be at least a slight gap between the Sun and the other championship contenders. Over the past two seasons, they’re 2-13 against the Liberty and Aces, both of last year’s Finals teams.
So, while defensively, Connecticut has been elite — they allow the fewest points per game of any team — heading into the postseason, it became clear that the three-point shooting had to be addressed and that an additional scorer was needed.
DeWanna Bonner typically shoulders a heavy bulk of the offensive load, averaging a team-high 13.9 shot attempts per game, but there’s been plenty of moments this season when the offense has bogged down and a lack of additional shot creators has hampered Connecticut. For the Sky, Mabrey was responsible for 51.1% of three-point makes.
“Adding a piece like her just takes us to another level, and especially at the guard spot where now you don’t have to run DB [DeWanna Bonner] to death with running all the plays,” Thomas said. “Hopefully this is just going to balance our offense more and take us to another level.”
In a press release soon after the trade, Sun general manager Darius Taylor said that Mabrey brings a competitive spirit and scorer’s mentality.
“She is a player that we feel will give us the extra edge to compete for a championship this year,” he said.
That competitive edge will come as no surprise to the Sun — Mabrey and her now-teammate DiJonai Carrington have famously gotten after it plenty of times over the year as competitors..
That fiery streak could make Marina Mabrey a perfect fit in Connecticut.
“She’s a dawg,” Alyssa Thomas said. “She wants to win.”
