On the night of April 15 to 16, Aveyron native Leïla Lacan was selected in 10th position in the first round of the WNBA Draft by the Connecticut Sun.
The least we can say is that the Connecticut Sun speaks to almost no one in Aveyron. This franchise, however, has a very unique history among the range of sports teams in the United States. First created under the name Orlando Miracle in 1999, it was sold four years later to the Mohegan Native American tribe, which thus became the first to hold a professional sports franchise, and was relocated to Uncasville, in Connecticut. A small town of less than 19,000 inhabitants, which has the particularity of housing one of the largest casinos in the United States, also owned by Mohegan, within which the basketball hall is also located.
“The team that won the most in the play-offs, without winning a title”
Since its acquisition, the Connecticut Sun has managed to make a name for itself in the WNBA, as evidenced by its 15 appearances in the play-offs in 21 seasons. Including four finals… lost. “We are the team that has won the most matches in the play-offs without winning a title,” says, not without some self-deprecation, Antoine Gaven, owner of the French-speaking fan account “ConnecticutFr” on X (formerly Twitter). Last year, the team was eliminated in the semi-finals by the New York Liberty of Blue star Marine Johannès.
The supporter, based in Martinique, explains the choice of the franchise coached by Stéphanie White to draft Leïla Lacan in the first round with a squad already complete for next season and therefore not necessarily immediate needs: “There must be two or three seasons left window to win a title with this team Afterwards, we will go into reconstruction and Leïla could have, why not, a role to play. I think the franchise is counting on her in the medium term. “In the future, I hope she will one day come and wear our jersey.”
2024-04-16 18:28:56
#Basketball #Connecticut #Sun #Ruthenian #Leïla #Lacan
