The post Fatal flaw Sun must fix before WNBA playoffs appeared first on ClutchPoints.
The Connecticut Sun are no strangers to playoff battles, but 2025 marked a season unlike any in their proud history. Once a model of consistency in the Eastern Conference, the Sun stumbled to the league’s cellar. They had to endure frustration both on and off the court. A franchise that once embodied grit and championship ambition now faces hard questions about its identity, its home, and its path forward. The biggest of those questions, however, has nothing to do with relocation or ownership. It’s whether the Sun can fix an offense that sank their season and left them far from playoff contention.
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The Sun’s 2025 season so far
© David Butler II-Imagn Images
The Sun are facing uncertainty both on and off the court. After a proposed sale of the franchise collapsed, speculation about relocating the team has intensified. Other markets have even shown interest. In response, the state of Connecticut has submitted its own bid to keep the Sun in place. This has left fans wondering whether the storied franchise will remain in the Constitution State or begin a new chapter elsewhere. For now, that looming question feels bigger than anything happening between the lines.
On the hardwood, however, the 2025 season was nothing short of disastrous. The Sun have stumbled to an 11-31 record. That’s the worst in franchise history and one of the lowest winning percentages in the league. It has marked a dramatic fall for a perennial playoff contender. Their downfall stemmed from a glaring weakness: a lack of offensive firepower and scoring efficiency. Unless Connecticut can solve its offensive woes, the team risks remaining outside the postseason picture, regardless of where it calls home.
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Here we will look at and discuss the fatal flaw that the Connecticut Sun must fix before the 2025 WNBA playoffs.
Fatal flaw: Offensive struggles define the Sun’s collapse
The numbers reveal the depth of the problem. Connecticut has averaged just 76.3 points per game, second-to-the-last in the league. Their shooting efficiency mirrored the struggles, with a field goal percentage of 41.4 percent and a three-point percentage just over 30 percent. In today’s WNBA, such inefficiency is unsustainable.
Veteran Tina Charles has provided leadership and scoring stability. He is currently averaging 16.6 points per game, but the support behind her has been thin. Marina Mabrey and rookie Aneesah Morrow have shown flashes of ability. However, neither has emerged as a consistent second option. Without reliable secondary scoring, defenses have keyed on Charles, daring others to step up. Too often, no one did. The result has been a season filled with stagnant possessions, wasted opportunities, and scoring droughts that buried the Sun in close contests.
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Why offensive firepower is a critical offseason priority
In modern WNBA competition, offensive versatility is a necessity. Teams like Las Vegas and New York have redefined what it takes to win by fielding lineups where multiple players can score at will, from deep or in the paint. The Sun, in contrast, have lacked the creativity and balance needed to match up.
Scoring droughts have become their undoing. Poor shot selection and over-reliance on Charles have allowed defenses to anticipate and dictate the flow of games. Even when the Sun managed to defend well, their inability to score consistently meant they could not capitalize on stops. Without addressing this fundamental flaw, playoff dreams in 2026 will remain out of reach.
Key areas of focus for the 2026 offseason rebuild
The offseason must be a turning point for Connecticut. A comprehensive approach to rebuilding the offense is essential if the Sun want to reclaim relevance.
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First, the Sun must expand their scoring leadership. Charles cannot shoulder the load alone. The front office must identify or acquire one or two high-volume scorers capable of producing in tight, contested situations.
Second, perimeter shooting has to improve. Shooting under 30 percent from three severely limited spacing and predictability. Adding reliable sharpshooters will open driving lanes, stretch defenses, and give the Sun a chance to modernize their offense.
Third, the Sun need to develop offensive versatility. Encouraging players to become multi-positional threats will make them less predictable and more difficult to defend. Having multiple options who can create off the dribble, shoot from range, and finish inside will keep defenses on edge.
Finally, bench depth must be addressed. Too often, Connecticut’s offense ground to a halt when starters rested. Strengthening the second unit with scorers who can maintain pressure will be critical in avoiding the lulls that plagued them all year.
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A franchise at the crossroads
The Sun face a pivotal offseason where they must define their future identity. The looming uncertainty of relocation hangs over the franchise. However, the bigger issue is ensuring that fans, whether in Connecticut or elsewhere, see a team capable of competing. That begins and ends with fixing the offense.
With veteran leadership, flashes of young talent, and an offseason to reset, the Sun are not doomed to remain at the bottom. Unless they transform their offensive attack, though, they will remain stuck in neutral while the rest of the league races ahead.
Offense is the key to a brighter future
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For the Sun, 2025 was a season to forget. The once-formidable franchise finished with its worst record ever, undone by an offense that ranked last in the league. Yet the solution is clear: if Connecticut can develop scoring depth, improve efficiency, and modernize its approach, they can begin the climb back to playoff relevance.
The road will not be easy, but it is possible. Fix the offense, and the Sun could once again rise among the league’s contenders. Ignore it, and the franchise may find itself not only outside the playoffs but perhaps outside Connecticut altogether.
Related: Why Tina Charles is thanking Sun fans at end of ‘rough season’
