How the Marina Mabrey trade altered the landscape for a WNBA championship

Marina Mabrey was traded to the Connecticut Sun in July. In one playoff game, she’s already shown that move may have changed everything.

UNCASVILLE, CONNECTICUT — Ty Harris collapsed to the floor in pain, clutching her ankle with a panicked look plastered across her face. A hushed silence filled the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Harris, a starting guard for the Connecticut Sun, has established herself this season as a crucial piece in the team’s pursuit of a franchise-first championship.

And just like that — four minutes into the very first game of the postseason — she was done, carried off the floor by her teammates, only to return later with crutches and ice.

The fifth-year guard has averaged a career-best 10.5 points per game in 28.8 minutes this year, while shooting 39.5% from three — the second-highest mark on the team. The former South Carolina standout has solidified herself as a central component of the Sun’s league-best defense, making a tremendous leap from bench player to starter alongside DiJonai Carrington.

For a Sun team that’s ranked near the bottom of the league in three-point shooting all season, the absence of Harris could have been — and will continue to be — a major obstacle.

But, they are one of the league’s most experienced teams, collectively having played in a whopping 222 playoff games. And, perhaps even more importantly, they made a midseason move that may have changed everything.

The Marina Mabrey trade.

Mabrey, the 5 ‘11 sharpshooter, began the season as a member of the rebuilding Chicago Sky, but requested a trade just a few months into the season, confident she was ready to contribute to a championship run. In a flash, Mabrey went from being a starter and one of her team’s primary options to coming off the bench.

From the jump, she made clear she wanted to be in Connecticut, inspired by the idea of playing alongside veterans like Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner, both of whom she loved growing up.

Connecticut’s decision to shake up their roster despite one of the league’s best records was an unusual one — they shipped out veterans Rachel Banham and Moriah Jefferson to bring in the fiery shooter — but so far, it looks like one of the shrewdest moves any team has made this year.

In Game 1 vs the Fever, Mabrey set a WNBA record for most points off the bench in any playoff game in league history, exploding for 27 points — 20 of which came in the deciding second half. She had the upper hand in a third quarter basket-to-basket tradeoff between her and Caitlin Clark, and ultimately helped the Sun more than overcome the absence of one of their crucial players.

It’s exactly the type of performance the front office hoped for when they pulled the trigger, and it’s reflective of the types of contributions she’s provided since landing in Uncasville.

“The opportunity for us to bring her on was one that we took because we thought she would get us over the hump,” Sun head coach Stephanie White said after the 93-69 defeat of the Fever.

“She is a player that we feel will give us the extra edge to compete for a championship this year,” said Sun general manager Darius Taylor in a press release announcing the trade in July.

On Sunday, when Mabrey’s number was called, she stepped up in a historic way. Though Ty Harris was done, there was a weapon sitting on the bench that the team simply didn’t have three months ago — and it allowed them to respond in a way they otherwise might not have.

“It’s not unfamiliar territory for us, losing somebody,” Thomas said postgame. “Of course, you don’t want to see her go down, but [it’s a] next person up mentality, and we still got to get it done out there.”

In 16 regular season games as a Sun, Mabrey averaged 14.9 points and shot 42.4% from downtown. It’s by far the highest percentage of any player on the roster. Her 2.6 threes per game make up nearly half of Connecticut’s game average (the Sun averaged 5.9 threes per game during the regular season). And, it’s not just the offensive contributions — she has seamlessly fit into the team’s defensive schemes, adding a polished offensive threat without sacrificing anything defensively. For much of the second half, she was tasked with guarding Caitlin Clark

“Marina just adds another dynamic to our team,” Alyssa Thomas said after Mabrey’s regular season debut for Connecticut last month. “We need three-point shooting, and that’s her specialty. Three-point shooting is what you need to win a championship and even compete.”

Stephanie White has empowered Mabrey on offense, recognizing just how much attention she commands from the opposing team.

“Every time she shoots a shot, I think it’s going in, and every time she has the ball in her hands, she’s a threat,” White said. “You have to make sure that you have an eye on her. And most of the time, you’re guarding her with two people — and sometimes three when she puts people in rotation. She was huge for us. She’s going to continue to be big for us.”

Postgame, Mabrey was asked if she was motivated to outshine Caitlin Clark, whose jersey was donned by hundreds of fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

“Everybody came out to see number 22 tonight, but clearly, number 5 outshined her – did you take that as a personal challenge?” a reporter asked.

Mabrey deflected, making clear that the desire to shine individually was secondary to the ultimate goal of winning it all.

“Caitlin draws a lot of fans. She’s amazing,” Mabrey said. “They can come see whoever they want to come see, but at the end of the day, we’re trying to win the championship. We came out to win the game, whether they were cheering for the Fever or they were cheering for us.”

The Sun still have a long way to go, starting with a second game against the Fever on Wednesday. A win would advance them to the semi-finals, while a loss would send them to a do-or-die game against the Fever in Indianapolis, where they’d face the winners of the first-round series between the Minnesota Lynx and Phoenix Mercury. After that, they’d likely face the New York Liberty or Las Vegas Aces in the Finals.

Sunday afternoon was just one game. But, it showed how one midseason move may have shaken the WNBA’s championship landscape. Veterans DeWanna Bonner (22 points) and Alyssa Thomas (12-point, 13-assist, 10-rebound triple-double) where their usual reliable selves.

But Marina Mabrey was the X-factor.

“I’ve been waiting all season for the playoffs, and this is what you’re playing for,” Thomas said postgame. “This is just the beginning for us — Game 1, and we’re ready to go. Just excited to see what we brought to the table tonight for my teammates, and we’re all hungry. We’re ready for Game 2.”