Apologies for framing the title as if it were a Toss Up question on ESPN’s Pardon The Interruption, but we digress. On the other hand, Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser could use a bit more WNBA in their lives.
We all understand that it is early in the 2023 WNBA season. A grand total of no one perhaps is talking about championships, except maybe in the context of the Las Vegas Aces given how dominant Becky Hammon’s defending champions has been through the first four games of this season.
As far as the two superteams are concerned, one is undefeated while the other stands at 2-1 as the New York Liberty have managed to right their seafoam, black and copper ship following victories over the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun.
Speaking of those Sun…Stephanie White’s team was so lost in the shuffle given much of the post-free agency conversation revolved around the Aces and Liberty that Connecticut was seen almost as an afterthought. A competing afterthought, but an afterthought nonetheless.
Remember – this is a team that advanced to the WNBA Finals last season, but underwent a bevy of roster and front office turnover this past offseason. Curt Miller, the Sun’s former coach and general manager is now out west as the new coach of the Los Angeles Sparks. Jen Rizzotti, the team’s president tapped former Atlanta Dream assistant coach Darius Taylor to assume a role as its new general manager with Morgan Tuck becoming the No. 2 to Taylor’s No. 1 on the basketball side of things in Connecticut.
The Sun lost former league MVP Jonquel Jones via trade to those very Liberty and Jasmine Thomas to those very Sparks. As of this writing, Connecticut’s mark stands at 3-1 following a season opening victory over the Fever and back-to-back wins in a home-and-home with the Washington Mystics.
Connecticut’s unblemished mark was stopped in its tracks recently at the hands of those very Liberty.
On the day that this piece was penned, the Sun were scheduled for a rematch with those very Fever with the scene shifting to Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the Hoosier State. Also as of this writing, Alyssa Thomas was the leading rebounder in the W. The Engine has hauled in 11.3 boards per contest besting the Fever’s NaLyssa Smith at 11 even per 40 minutes.
The Sun have certainly been a story so far this WNBA season in the early going – but there may be a bigger story unfolding in Mid-America.
On paper, the Chicago Sky looked far removed from its championship euphoria they experienced following the 2021 season. The Sky looked poised to defend its 2021 crown in last season’s Finals before giving up a late lead to the Sun in Game 5 of the 2022 semifinals.
During the offseason, Chicago lost Candace Parker to the Aces as well as Courtney Vandersloot to the Liberty. In addition, Allie Quigley announced that she would be taking the 2022 season off. It appeared as if the Sky were on its way to a rebuild that would not even benefit Chicago in next year’s draft given its 2024 first round draft pick is actually that of the Dallas Wings.
Instead, James Wade, the final combination coach and general manager remaining in the W has used all of the doubt as bulletin board material. The Minnesota Lynx, Phoenix Mercury and those very Wings all have suffered defeat so far this season at the hands of Skytown and the Mystics nearly did as well in Chicago’s home opener. In other words, the Sky are a narrow loss to Washington shy of a 4-0 start themselves to the season ala the Aces.
Courtney Williams is an elite distributor of the basketball and Rebekah Gardner has blossomed into a 3-point specialist for the Sky.
It is certainly a fair question as to if Connecticut or Chicago has been the bigger early season surprise. On the day of this writing, the Sky were slated to travel to Atlanta for a matchup with an Atlanta Dream that came from behind to defeat the Lynx but lost in its home opener via a successful Fever come-from-behind effort.
It is only early this 2023 WNBA season but brightness with the Sky and Sun appear to be a theme so far.
