UNCASVILLE — There are few players in the world who can contain reigning WNBA Finals MVP Jonquel Jones when she steps in the paint, and the five-time All-Star is often the picture of consistency for the New York Liberty averaging less than two turnovers per game in 2025.
But Jones wasn’t expecting 21-year-old Connecticut Sun guard Leila Lacan, who stepped on the court with no fear in Friday’s matchup against the defending league champions. When Sun forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa got caught out of position on a play in the first quarter, the 5-foot-11 rookie stepped into the lane and planted her feet with arms straight up to force New York’s 6-6 center into a traveling violation.
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The stop came on the heels of Lacan’s first field goal of the game, a pull-up midrange jump shot that ended a three-minute field goal drought for the Sun. After she forced the travel, star guard Marina Mabrey found Lacan for another open look from almost the same spot, and the rookie sank it with ease. Lacan also intercepted a bad pass off of Jones later in the half, helping Connecticut force a season-high five turnovers against her.
“When Leila comes out there, I know exactly what to expect,” Mabrey said. “She’s going to pressure the ball, she’s going to get up all over everybody, she’s going to be in passing lanes rotating, she’s going to get us into offense. … She brings a lot of poise that a lot of young players don’t have, so she’s easy to trust. I think that she’s only scratched the surface of what she can be in this league.”
Lacan’s impact shined throughout the Sun’s 78-62 upset of the Liberty, the team’s first home win over the defending WNBA champions since 2022. She was Connecticut’s No. 2 scorer with 16 points plus four rebounds, a steal and an assist, and she shot 6-for-8 from the field including a pair of 3-point makes. The first time the Sun faced New York this season without Lacan on June 1, they suffered the second-largest loss in the history of the WNBA.
The Sun originally selected Lacan No. 10 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft, though she didn’t report to the team last season. She spent the first two months of the 2025 WNBA calendar overseas completing her professional season in France, then playing with the French national team in the EuroBasket tournament that ran through the end of June. But despite her late arrival to Connecticut, the typical rookie adjustment period was almost non-existent for the young guard.
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“I love her. I think she was on our draft board as well,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said Friday. “She brings a lot of speed, and she’s got that ability to get downhill and create for herself and also for the others. I like her confidence, especially for an international player that’s so young to come in and be aggressive, I think obviously she has a really bright future.”
There has been an explosion of international talent around the WNBA in recent years, and 40 international players from six different continents have appeared in at least one game in 2025. Out of 153 players on active rosters, nearly a quarter are international, and 14 rookies from overseas have made their debuts this season. When commissioner Cathy Engelbert took over the league in 2019, she said the percentage of WNBA players born outside of the U.S. was less than 10%.
“While the U.S. has been kind of the power in women’s basketball winning eight consecutive (Olympic) gold medals, I think the rest of the world is getting a lot better,” Engelbert said. “I’ve admired what the NBA has done — I think they’re 32% now players born outside the U.S., and the last bunch of MVPs have been international players, so I think we’ll see that grow as the women’s game grows around the world … We’re getting more players from Asia, and I think longer-term as Africa develops their youth basketball programs … I think we’ll see more African players come.”
France has seen a particularly significant spike in its WNBA presence following a silver-medal finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Lacan is one of seven members of France’s Olympic team competing in the league this season, four of whom are rookies, and nearly all have been impact players for their respective teams. Rookie forward Janelle Salaun is one of the Golden State Valkyries’ leading scorers averaging 10.1 points plus 4.8 rebounds per game, and 19-year-old center Dominique Malonga is hitting her stride with the Seattle Storm after becoming the highest-drafted French player in WNBA history at No. 2 overall in 2025.
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“It’s just the way that they develop their youth (in France)” said Storm forward Gabby Williams, who grew up in the U.S. and attended UConn but represents France in international competition. “They start playing pro or at least with pro players from the time they’re like 15 or 16 because of the feeder programs. The problem is, they haven’t been coming to the States to see competition outside of Europe, but now they are, so it just gives me a new hope for the future of French basketball.”
Lacan is the latest example, leading the Sun in defensive rating and averaging 9.3 points shooting 48.5% from the field on top of 2.6 assists and 1.8 steals. The rookie has only been with Connecticut for nine games, but her seamless transition into the WNBA hasn’t been a surprise to those familiar with her overseas game. Like most players who grow up in the French system, Lacan began playing professionally in 2020 at age 16, and she has battled against the top players around the globe since 2023 when she first joined France’s senior national team.
“I already played the final at the Olympics against the best team in the world,” Lacan said. “It’s helped me to not be scared, because I’ve already done it.”
Though some of the Sun’s improvement can be attributed to expected growth over the course of a season, it’s undeniable how drastically Lacan’s presence changed the dynamic of the team. Three of Connecticut’s five wins have come with the French rookie on the roster, and its six losses have been by an average margin of 12.5 points compared to a -20.8 average deficit in 15 losses before she joined the team. The Sun had the worst defensive rating in the league by a wide margin in the first half of the season, but they rank above the Dallas Wings, Chicago Sky and Los Angeles Sparks in nine games with Lacan. She has also unlocked a new dimension in the Sun’s offense, helping the team average 81.7 points per game compared to 71.1 before she arrived
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“Leila brings toughness and energy that we really needed,” Mabrey said. “She’s locking up on defense, making people frustrated, getting steals, putting pressure on the rim consistently … She draws a lot of attention offensively and always sees that extra pass and is very unselfish, so she’s easy to play with, and defensively she’s really helped our team step up.”
