Connecticut isn’t seeing a happy ending to its time as a WNBA city. The Sun have already suffered seven losses in 2026 and currently hold the worst record in the league. After a 97-70 defeat to the Golden State Valkyries, head coach Rachid Meziane urged patience, citing missing players as a reason behind the team’s struggles.

“I need more time…,” Meziane said in a press conference. “I need more time because right now, without Leila, without BG [Britney Garner]. Liv is coming back tonight, so yeah, I do think that they need more time to just establish my starting five.

“And I need to see more from my players to assess more of my players, you know, to see who I can rely on. So yeah, I do not have like a deadline, a timeline in my head. I’m just using each game to assess my team.” 

The Sun is currently without two players who were supposed to be their cornerstones this season — center Brittney Griner (rib injury) and point guard Leila Lecan (basketball obligation with France). Olivia Nelson-Ododo, who had injured her ankle, only recently returned to the rotation against the Valkyries, scoring 7 points in 12 minutes. 

Choosing starting lineups has been a big challenge for Meziane, who joined the Sun in 2025. They lost the opening five games of the season before winning in Seattle with Diamond Miller, Kennedy Burke, Aaliyah Edwards, Gianna Kneepkens, and Charlisse Leger-Walker starting. The HC decided to opt for the same formula against the Valkyries, but it didn’t work. 

Now, Meziane will begin pondering over what his best combination is all over again. 

This is definitely not a good look for the Connecticut Sun. Changing the starting lineup for every other game makes it difficult for any team to gel on the court. It also impacts the mentality of these players.  And these consistent “trial-and-error” games with his players haven’t brought them success either.

The Connecticut Sun are 7th in the Eastern Conference standings, bringing back memories of their 2025 season. The team went just 2-6 in its first eight games, eventually failing to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2018.

And this season, Meziane’s team seems to be drifting in the same direction. The team hasn’t shown much improvement, either in results or team stats. In terms of scoring, the Sun rank last with just 76.4 points per game. In fact, they are the only team in the league averaging below 80 points this season. 

Rookie Leger-Walker, who scored 9 points against the Valkyries, spoke about the need to quickly find a solution to turn the team’s season around. 

“As a team, we need to figure out what’s holding us back and just continue to regroup collectively,” she said. “I think we show glimpses of being really great, and we can be really great.”

Not all of the blame can be directed toward Rachid Meziane. But the fact that he still hasn’t found a winning combination could be a big reason behind this.

Even the Phoenix Mercury, who have lost five of their seven games this season, has maintained a consistent starting lineup with Alyssa Thomas, Kahleah Copper, and DeWanna Bonner. The results haven’t gone their way, but they are still averaging 87.3 points per game, meaning they look much better offensively.

Rachid Meziane Pinpoints the Connecticut Sun’s Offensive Struggles in the Season

Offensively, the Sun had a torrid time at Chase Center on May 25 against Golden State. They shot just 39% from the field, with a disappointing 33% three-point percentage. Against it, they gave away 47% and 39% in three-pointers, respectively.

The Sun couldn’t move the ball efficiently, recording just 13 assists. The frequent turnovers (18) made things worse for them, resulting in 24 points given away. 

“I do think we can create more opportunities with like a playmaker,” Meziane said in the post-game press conference. “So, we’ll have to wait and see how they create these opportunities for some of our shooters.

We have some of them, but we just need to find them, and right now, we are not working at that position to create those opportunities.”

The team could see improvement with a veteran like Griner returning to the rotation. Before the Valkyries’ game, injury reports showed that Griner was probable to play. But she unfortunately did not participate. Reports, however, state that Deyscha Smith and Leïla Lacan will also return to the rotation this weekend when the Sun take on the LA Sparks.

These are good signs for the Connecticut Sun moving forward, and they will surely look to end their stint in the state on a high. Starting in 2027, the franchise will relocate to Houston, where it will be rebranded as the “Houston Comets.“