The Connecticut Sun acquired Marina Mabrey from the Chicago Sky for Rachel Banham, Moriah Jefferson, and the team’s 2025 first-round pick.
The Connecticut Sun made an aggressive move to take over the WNBA Eastern Conference.
Connecticut acquired Marina Mabrey from the Chicago Sky for Rachel Banham, Moriah Jefferson, and the team’s 2025 first-round pick this week.
The move gives the Sun more scoring punch, with
Mabrey averaging 14 points in 24 starts this season. She is also averaging 4.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Mabrey is shooting 34.8 percent on 6.7 3-point attempts per game.
The Sun is in second place in the
standings, 2.5 games behind the New York Liberty at the Olympic break that began on July 17 and runs through Aug. 15.
“We are extremely excited to welcome Marina Mabrey to the Connecticut Sun. She is a player that we feel will give us the extra edge to compete for a championship this year,” Sun General Manager Darius Taylor said in a
statement following the trade. “She brings a competitive spirit and scorer’s mentality along with an ability to make big plays. I believe Stephanie and her staff will be able to utilize Marina in many ways as we start the second half of our season and continue our quest for our first title.”
The Sun has one of the
WNBA’s best records at 18-6. Connecticut leans heavily on its defense, ranked second in the league with a
93.8 rating. The Sun also ranks first in opponent’s
turnover percentage at 21.3. Connecticut also struggled against some of the league’s elite teams but has picked up key wins against the Minnesota Lynx, which is in first place in the Western Conference.
The addition of Mabrey will help them match the scoring potential of teams such as the Liberty in the Eastern Conference and perhaps a championship matchup against the likes of other high-powered teams, such as the Lynx, Seattle Storm, and Las Vegas Aces. Mabrey is shooting 34.8 percent on 6.7 three-point attempts per game.
Mabrey was the 19th overall pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. She appeared in 31 games as a rookie and
averaged four points, one assist, and 1.2 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per game. She was traded to the Dallas Wings in 2020, where she
averaged 12.4 points over three seasons. On Feb. 11, 2023, Mabrey was traded to the Chicago Sky in a four-team trade involving the New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury, Dallas Wings, and Chicago Sky. Last season, she
scored 14.5 points per game in Chicago.
She has also had a solid international career, earning a gold medal as a member of the 2014 USA Basketball Under-18 National Team at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship. She also helped the 2014 USA U18 squad to a 5-0 record at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship, averaging 7.8 points and 3.6 assists per game with a 3.6 assist/turnover ratio and a .417 three-point shooting percentage.
Mabrey also had a stellar
career at Notre Dame, where she averaged 12.8 points and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc during her senior season. She helped lead the Fighting Irish to back-to-back NCAA championship games during her junior and senior years. Mabrey scored at least 20 points in 22 games during her career.
The deal also gives the Sky some experienced players to go along with the team’s youth. Chicago has struggled this season, going 10-14, and sits in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Banham, who was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft, is a nine-year WNBA veteran who has spent time with Connecticut and Minnesota. She holds career
averages of 5.2 points and 1.4 assists in 243 career games. Banham also has a career three-point percentage of 36.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Banham is
averaging 4.8 points and 1.2 rebounds over 21 games this season. She has scored in double figures three times this season, including a season-high 24 points against the Phoenix Mercury on July 14.
Banham played
collegiately for five seasons at Minnesota, averaging 21.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.7 steals in 144 games. She was the 2015–16 Big Ten Player of the Year, a one-time AP All-American, and a three-time All-Big Ten Team member.
Jefferson was selected No. 2 overall by the San Antonio Stars in the 2016 WNBA Draft. She has
played in seven WNBA seasons for Las Vegas, Minnesota, Dallas, and Phoenix. In 2023, with the Mercury, she
averaged 10.5 points, 3.6 assists and 2 rebounds. In her rookie season in San Antonio, she had 13.9 points, 4.2 assists, and 1.6 steals and was named to the 2016 WNBA All-Rookie Team.
In 188
career games, Jefferson is averaging 9.1 points, 2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals. She’s a career 39.6 percent three-point shooter and has shot over 45 percent from three in two of her last four seasons.
Jefferson won a national title in all four years of her
collegiate career with Connecticut. She won AAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2015–16, is a two-time NCAA All-Tournament Team member, a two-time AP All-American, and a three-time All-AAC Team member.
“We are very excited to welcome Rachel and Moriah to the Sky and we know that both will bring a ton of value to this roster this season,” Sky General Manager Jeff Pagliocca said in a
statement following the trade. “Adding another essential first-round draft pick in 2025 will strengthen our draft capital next year.”
