5 questions for ex-UConn players heading into offseason
Two more former UConn women’s basketball players are WNBA title winners.
Chicago’s Stefanie Dolson (UConn 2010-14) and Azurá Stevens (2017-18) became WNBA champions with the Sky’s 80-74 title-clinching win over Phoenix in Game 4 on Sunday night. The victory marked the first WNBA championship won by a No. 6 seed in the league’s playoffs.
With under two minutes to play, Dolson’s back-to-back layups broke a tie with the No. 5 Mercury to push the Sky ahead for good. Dolson came off the bench for eight points, two rebounds, three assists and one steal in 19 minutes. Stevens started for Chicago and had eight points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal in 21 minutes.
The Mercury loss was the first time UConn legend Diana Taurasi lost in the WNBA Finals. Taurasi, who played with a broken bone in her foot during the series, had 16 points, two rebounds, two assists and one block after receiving a technical and three personal fouls in the first half.
Phoenix was without fellow UConn alumna Kia Nurse during the finals after she tore her ACL during the team’s semifinal matchup against No. 2-seeded Las Vegas. While Megan Walker did not play in Sunday’s Game 4, Bria Hartley recorded one rebound, one assist and scored four points in six minutes.
With the WNBA season officially over, here are some key questions surrounding ex-UConn greats heading into the offseason:
WILL BIRD, TAURASI RETIRE OR COME BACK?
All-time UConn legends Sue Bird and Taurasi shared a touching moment following Phoenix’s second-round playoff win over the Storm. As two former college teammates swapped jerseys, the crowd behind them chanted , “one more year,” hoping to convince Bird to postpone retirement just a little bit longer.
While neither has officially stated her plan for next season, Bird, 41, seems the more likely of the two to retire after confirming the Tokyo Sum
mer Games would be her final Olympics with Team USA. She was noncommittal about her WNBA future after her season ended.
Meanwhile, Taurasi, 39, still has one year left on her two-year contract with Phoenix and it wouldn’t seem she would want her career to end with a loss. Yet, after battling ongoing injuries throughout the entirety of this season and recently welcoming her second child into the world, she could also want a break from the sport in the near future.
HOW DOES FREE AGENCY LOOK FOR STEWART, CHARLES?
Breanna Stewart’s current contract extension with Seattle ends in 2022. While she could test the waters and look to join another team, the 27-year-old started laying down roots in Seattle this season by welcoming her first child with wife Marta Xargay in August. If she chose to stay with the Storm, it’s likely the franchise would look at her to become the face of the team even more with the possibility of Bird retiring.
Tina Charles of Washington may be UConn’s most talented alumni without a WNBA title. Since being
drafted in 2010, Charles has continuously impacted the league as a five-time AllStar, the 2012 MVP and a five-time first-team AllWNBA honoree. After sitting out the 2020 season, Charles joined the Mystics (her third team in 11 seasons) last year on a one-year contract.
However, Washington finished just outside of the playoffs and once again left Charles without the chance to earn her first WNBA ring. It’s clear she wants to be on a winning team, and with Washington ending the season with a 12-20 record, it’s possible she’ll look elsewhere to better her chances at a championship run.
HOW WILL MONTGOMERY NAVIGATE OWNERSHIP STAKE IN DREAM?
After 11 years in the WNBA, Renee Montgomery retired from her playing career in February. Less than a month later, she became the league’s first former player to become both an owner and an executive of a WNBA team.
The Atlanta Dream finished with an 8-24 record before parting ways with a pair of veterans — Courtney Williams and Crystal Bradford — due to their involvement in a fight that took place in May. In order to turn the program around, Montgomery will need to not
only help rebuilding the roster but upgrading the team culture after the franchise’s third straight losing season.
Montgomery has become a social justice and community activist over the course of her career. When she retired in February, UConn coach Geno Auriemma praised her as both a player and person.
“Renee’s been Renee,” he said. “She hasn’t changed much since her freshman year. She owns the room every time she walks in, and she owns all of it, not some of it.”
WILL WE SEE MOORE RETURN?
After stepping away from basketball in 2019 to focus on social injustice, Maya Moore has yet to say when she’d return to the sport. On “Good Morning America” in March, Moore said she would be sitting out the 2021 season but did not comment on any future seasons.
The Minnesota Lynx star helped the franchise win four WNBA championships after being drafted out of UConn in 2011. Moore, 32, received the 2021 Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYs and remains one the great players in the history of the sport.