Losing an All-Star to free agency is never easy.
The Connecticut Sun turned over nearly its entire roster in the offseason, with Olivia Nelson-Odada being the only returning member from last year.
While the departures of former Sun’s All-Stars, DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones, among others have certainly weakened the team, the absence of Alyssa Thomas will be heartfelt throughout the upcoming season.
The eleventh-year veteran’s resume during her time in Connecticut is littered with accolades, highlighted by her runner-up finish for the MVP Award in 2023, back-to-back runner-up finishes for the Defensive Player of the Year Award (2022, 2023) and her two All-WNBA First Team selections (2023, 2024).
As unfair as it may seem to expect any rookie to fill the void left behind by ‘The Engine’, Aneesah Morrow has proven throughout her career that if anyone in this draft class could walk in the footsteps of the franchise’s all-time leader in points, rebounds, assists and steals, it would be Morrow.
Morrow split her four years in college between DePaul and LSU, averaging over 20 points, 12 rebounds, two steals and one block per game in nearly 140 games played. She finished as the second all-time leader in career double-doubles (104) and third all-time in rebounds (1,714) in Division I women’s college basketball.
Morrow led LSU this past season in scoring with 18.7 ppg and led all of Division I in rebounding with 13.5 rpg, earning herself the Katrina McClain Award as the best power forward in women’s college basketball.
The former Tiger noted the similarities in their game and personality during her introductory press conference with local media on Tuesday.
“(Thomas is) undersized, and so am I, but she holds her own in the inside and that’s something—that grit, that determination is what I try to mold my game around,” Morrow said. “I know that when you’re undersized, people might look at that as a disadvantage, but I don’t. I feel like I play a lot bigger than my size, and I’m able to hold my own against people that’s 6′6″, 6′8″ that I’ve played against this year as well.
“AT is not somebody to be played with, and that’s how I want to be looked at as a player.”
Morrow will have another legendary figure from the record books alongside her—Tina Charles—to help ease the transition and demonstrate what it takes to be great in the W. The WNBA’s all-time leader in rebounds and double-doubles returned to Connecticut this year as she prepares for her 15th season in the league.
“Watching the W last year and knowing that we’ll be able to play with Tina Charles, the double-double machine, (as well as) Marina Mabrey—these are GOATs," Morrow said. “Being able to come in here and be a sponge and learn from them is (going to) be very powerful.”
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