UNCASVILLE, Conn. _ The Connecticut Sun have a chip on their shoulder, and they don't care who knows it.
Saturday morning, three days before the Sun kick off their playoff run, the team's Twitter account posted a video compilation of fan, journalist, and pundit commentary that questioned the team's ability to win the WNBA title, or even withstand the challenges of their upcoming semifinal series.
The Sun know they are young. They know they struggled on the road earlier this season. They know they don't have a ton of experience deep in the postseason.
But what the Sun do have is something no other playoff team can boast: A core group of players that, over the last three seasons, has played together more than any other lineup in the entire league.
In early 2016, head coach Curt Miller and the Sun front office committed to keeping together a group of relatively young players, hoping that, if they could develop on and off the court, they could turn the franchise around.
Since the 2016 season, the Sun have managed to keep seven players _ including all five current starters. And the results are speaking for themselves. In the last three seasons, the Sun are the only team each year to finish in the top four of the WNBA standings _ consistent success that, the team says, is a direct product of maintaining a consistent core.
Now, Miller is hoping that prioritizing roster continuity and team chemistry can make up for his team's relative youth and playoff inexperience as it seeks to achieve its biggest goal yet: a WNBA championship.
"Chemistry is a big part of team sports and the locker room, and this team has become a family," Miller said. "Everything isn't harmony 100% of the time, but the one thing when you do become a true family and care for each other on and off the floor is that you work through those things. Ultimately, we're all after the same goal: We want to bring the first championship to Connecticut."
