UNCASVILLE — When star center Brionna Jones began the 2024 WNBA season on a minutes restriction, her Connecticut Sun teammates hated seeing her on the bench almost as much as she hated being there.
“That wasn’t an option,” DeWanna Bonner joked after an 80-67 win over the Atlanta Dream on Sunday. “We were all mad when she wasn’t playing more minutes.”
Jones has been on an impressive` trajectory since earning her first All-Star selection in 2021. She was also voted the league’s Most Improved Player that season, and she went on to earn Sixth Player of the Year Award plus her second All-Star honors in 2022. But her meteoric rise was interrupted last year when she suffered a season-ending Achilles rupture on June 20, and staring down a nearly year-long recovery process was intimidating for the veteran center.
But despite averaging less than 25 minutes across the first ten games of the season, Jones picked up exactly where she left off when she returned to the court. She was named a WNBA All-Star for the third time on July 2 after averaging 12.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game through 21 games, and she ranks top 5 in the league in field goal percentage shooting 53.9%.
“I knew that coming back in, it wasn’t going to be easy trying to get back in shape, but it was easier when I had my teammates behind me with their support and staying in my ear. They were like ‘Bri, you’ve got to take these shots. We need you to do this.’ And I always want to do whatever I can for my team. But to be able to be back and playing at this level, it’s unbelievable almost.”
BREAKING: We’re sending more heat to the Valley!
Congrats to our 2024 @WNBA All-Stars! We’ll see you in a few weeks! pic.twitter.com/w68fO1hZAs
— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) July 3, 2024
Jones put up a season-high 22 points in Connecticut’s May 31 win over the Dallas Wings, the first game in which she played more than 30 minutes. She has scored in double figures in nine of 13 games since, and she currently has the highest net offensive and defensive rating in the league among starting forwards.
“We were really intentional early about her minutes and minutes restrictions, and our athletic training staff and doctors have done a really good job of communicating with us as coaches transparently and telling us exactly what she can and cannot do,” Sun coach Stephanie White said. “We were disciplined with that early in the season so that we could get to the point where she was not just comfortable from from a conditioning standpoint, but with rhythm, timing, building endurance. All of those things were really important.”
Jones went through most of her recovery at her alma mater, the University of Maryland, while serving as an assistant coach for the women’s basketball program under two-time AP Coach of the Year Brenda Frese. Working with the Terrapins helped Jones feel a part of a team atmosphere while she was away from the Sun, and she also had the university’s top-tier medical and athletic training staff at her disposal.
“I’m really proud of her, because that injury is not easy to come back from, and she was always — from day one — ahead of schedule,” White said. “She positioned herself well being at Maryland and being around a support system, and a staff medically and personally, that could help continue to push her and be a support system for her … As someone who’s played in this league and who has been injured and had surgeries, that is not easy. It’s very, very lonely. So not only has she positioned herself to just be ready to play, but she’s an All-Star … It’s a tribute to her hard work and her dedication, and her ability to stay true to the process.”
Having the WNBA veteran back on campus was also a huge asset for Maryland. Jones was a first-team All-American in her senior season at Maryland in 2017 and a three-time All-Big Ten selection, helping the Terrapins to three Sweet 16 appearances and two Final Fours in four years. Frese, who is entering her 23rd season at Maryland, said her players got a unique experience witnessing Jones’s recovery process while benefitting from her wisdom on the court.
“They would see her on the front or back end of practice progressing into her own game, working out with one of our coaches or going through her own workout, so it’s pretty cool that they got to kind of see through the time she would spend in the training room and then on the floor,” Frese said. “She was burning the candle at both ends between making sure she wasn’t going to miss anything from rehab and getting herself ready to return to play, but then also pouring into her coaching position in the season to be a part of our team. Like she does with everything she tackles, she just did it with a tremendously high work ethic.”
Jones will compete for Team WNBA in the All-Star game on July 20 alongside Bonner, who was selected for the sixth time in her 15-year career. The pair will go head-to-head with the Sun’s other superstar Alyssa Thomas as she prepares to compete in her first Olympic Games with Team USA. Jones was also a member of the player pool for USA Basketball after winning gold with the team at the 2022 FIBA World Cup, and she is reportedly among the top options should Team USA need an alternate forward at the Paris Games.
“It’s big, certainly for AT being represented there but with USA Basketball, and for DB just consistency building off of a year ago, and what she’s been able to keep doing. She’s been outstanding,” White said. “And for Breezy, just her ability to come back and not just be effective and efficient, but to just seem like she wasn’t injured at all. I’m proud of all of them. They deserve it. They’ve earned it, and just looking forward to their opportunity to represent.”