The Connecticut Sun star Marina Mabrey will be playing against her former team the Chicago Sky on Friday for the first time since her trade. Mabrey, after her trade to the Sun in July this year, marked a rare in-season transfer, which came across as unusual for fans. And when Mabrey came forward to opine that now she wasn’t expecting much from the Sun, it was adding only fuel to the fire.

A video surfaced online in which Chicago team members can be seen entering the court. While they share a hug or shake hands with everyone from the Sun’s team, athletes don’t take notice of Mabrey who is busy talking to a guy. Meanwhile, Mabrey too, keeps her back to them as an awkward situation develops. While Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese can be seen having a good time with their opponents, the same cannot be said of Mabrey.

This comes after Mabrey had stated that one thing she learned in Chicago was not to have expectations since it “leads to a letdown,” and hence, she “won’t be going into Connecticut with any expectations,” as per Chicago Sun-Times. Mabrey was traded to the Chicago Sky in February 2023 to become a core player of the team. But unfortunately, a change in the head coach position prompted Mabrey to abruptly end her time with the Sky.

When Mabrey became a part of the Chicago Sky, she was being developed as a core shooter for the team under the wing of the then-head coach James Wade. The Sky earned themselves a spot in the playoffs propelled by Mabrey’s exceptional skills. She averaged 15 points with 3.7 rebounds per game, shooting 41.1% field goals.

Coming into this season under the leadership of Teresa Weatherspoon, Mabrey’s role somewhat diminished. She was prompted to play the role of a facilitator which impacted her game. In her last 10 games with the Sky, Mabrey averaged 12.4 points per game with 32.4% from the three-pointer line, which did not go down well with Mabrey, hampering her expectations.

Hence, when Mabrey was traded to the Sun along with a 2025 2nd-round pick in exchange for Rachel Banham and Moriah Jefferson, a first-round pick from the 2025 WNBA draft and the opportunity to swap 2026 first-round picks opened up. However, much like how she had quite a turnaround with the Sky, the Sun too surprised her.

Marina Mabrey surprised with her new role

The Sun is in pursuit of its first championship title with a 20-7 tally, occupying the second place in the eastern conference division. Since Mabrey’s acceptance into the team after the Olympic break, the Sun has won two of the three games it has played, with Mabrey playing crucial roles in all those matchups. This came as an unexpected boon since Mabrey thought that a relocation mid-season might end her hopes of being an important player for another franchise, but the case is different with the Sun.

During the game against the Dallas Wings on Saturday, Mabrey scored 17 points with 4 rebounds and an equal number of assists. And in the next game against the Atlanta Dream, Mabrey hit 11 points with 6 rebounds. All this led to Mabrey expressing her satisfaction with the Sun team, before their Wednesday clash against the Los Angeles Sparks, stating, “…being part of a team like this that is so disciplined with a championship mindset, I haven’t been part of that yet.” Now, we don’t know if that’s a dig on her previous teams.

But, Mabrey certainly seems to be enjoying her team. Therefore, now that she ignored her ex-teammates who also didn’t pay much heed to her, it might translate on the court when Mabrey takes on the Sky on Friday night in the much-anticipated clash.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.