At long last, the Connecticut Sun have returned to the center of the WNBA universe.
Connecticut will visit the Washington Mystics on Sunday afternoon at Entertainment & Sports Arena in Game 1 of the 2019 WNBA Finals. The best-of-five series pits the teams that had the best records in the 2019 season and double-byes to the WNBA playoffs semifinals against one another.
The Sun are making their first appearance in the WNBA finals since 2005. They reached this point primarily through continuity — they have used the same starting five throughout the regular season and playoffs. They swept the Los Angeles Sparks in three games in the semifinals by an average margin of 19 points.
The Mystics lost to the Seattle Storm in a sweep in last season’s WNBA Finals. After going 26-8 in the regular season, Washington defeated the Los Angeles Aces 3-1 in the semifinals.
The Sun will begin the series as underdogs, but series aren’t won and lost on paper. It happens on the court.
Connecticut Sun (0-0) at Washington Mystics (0-0)
Sunday, Sept. 29, at 3 p.m. ET
Entertainment & Sports Arena, Washington, D.C.
TV: ESPN
Online: WatchESPN
Recent meetings
The Sun beat the Mystics twice this season, on May 25 and June 11 at Mohegan Sun Arena, and lost once, on June 29 Entertainment and Sports Arena. The Sun must overcome the Mystics’ home-court advantage if they are to reign as WNBA champions.
Players to watch
Coutney Williams is averaging a team-high 19 points per game in the playoffs.
Connecticut must find a way to contain newly minted WNBA MVP in Elena Delle Donne. She averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game this season.
