Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas Earns Olympic Gold Medal with USA Basketball Women’s National Team
Connecticut Sun President Jen Rizzotti, Assistant Coach Abi Olajuwon and 2024 Draft Pick Leila Lacan also find success at 2024 Paris Olympics
The Connecticut Sun organization was well represented at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, headlined by Sun forward Alyssa Thomas who earned gold with the USA Basketball Women’s National Team on Sunday, defeating France, 67-66. Thomas, making her Olympic debut, helped Team USA to their eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal, as the team went 6-0 through group play and the knockout stages. She averaged 3.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 17.4 minutes per contest, seeing action in all six games throughout the tournament. Thomas joins Tina Charles and Asjha Jones as the only three players in franchise history to win gold at the Olympics with Team USA.
Connecticut Sun President Jen Rizzotti led the USA 3×3 Women’s National Team to a bronze medal, serving as the team’s head coach in Paris. After opening Olympic play going 0-3 in pool play, the team won six of their final seven games to secure its second consecutive Olympic medal. The team fell to Spain in the semifinal matchup in overtime, 18-16, but found success in the bronze medal game against Canada, winning 16-13.
Sun Assistant Coach Abi Olajuwon served as an assistant coach with the Nigeria Basketball Women’s National Team at the Olympics. She helped lead the team to the quarterfinal round, where they eventually fell to Team USA, 88-74. Nigeria made history by becoming the first Olympic team from Africa, male or female, to make the quarterfinals at the Olympics.
Leila Lacan, selected No. 10 overall by the Connecticut Sun in the 2024 WNBA Draft, earned a silver medal with the French Women’s National Team in her Olympic debut. She appeared in all six contests for France, averaging 4.2 points and 1.7 assists in 15.8 minutes per game off the bench. Lacan helped earn France its second silver medal finish at the Olympic Games, the first since 2012.
The Sun are back in action on Friday, August 16 at 9:30 ET/8:30 PM CT against the Dallas Wings at the College Park Center in Arlington, TX.
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