The Connecticut Sun has had to adjust to a new reality this season after many years of WNBA championship contention. Amid swirling rumors about a potential relocation to Boston, the Sun has entered a full rebuild around young players, just three years after stars like DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas helped Connecticut reach the WNBA Finals.
Though the Sun has the league's worst record at 5-26, some of Connecticut's young players are starting to spread their wings. Guard Leïla Lacan, drafted in 2024, is averaging better than two steals per game while shooting better than 45 percent from the floor. Aneesah Morrow, the seventh overall pick in the 2025 draft, posted her third double-double with a season-high 14 rebounds in a loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Monday.
But Saniya Rivers, picked just behind Morrow, is making up for what the Sun lost by trading DiJonai Carrington. She may well be the best rookie from Connecticut's 2025 class.
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Rivers leads the 2025 rookie class with 25 blocked shots, and her 47 steals are tied with Paige Bueckers for the most among The W's rookies. In fact, Rivers is one of just three players in the WNBA this season with at least 45 steals and 25 blocks.
The others? Las Vegas' A'ja Wilson and Minnesota's Napheesa Collier, players who have combined to win three Defensive Player of the Year awards and three Most Valuable Player awards.
Though Rivers has more developing to do, the former North Carolina State guard already is demonstrating elite defensive instincts that could make her pivotal to the Sun's future.
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