The Connecticut Sun walked off the floor of Michelob Ultra Arena down 1-0 to start the best of five WNBA Finals series, an eerily similar start to the 2019 Finals series they competed in against the Washington Mystics.

But, even with many of the same faces on the roster and an analogous first game in the Finals, this is a different team. Before and after the game, players and coaches alike have issued sentiments of growth over the past three years and even over the past few series.

As soon as the last second ticked off the clock, the Sun gathered by their bench and were vocal, uplifting one another and staying connected. They walked off the court disappointed, to be certain, but confident in who they were with a resolve to play their game regardless of opposition and circumstance.

“It’s the playoffs. Nothing (from the regular season) matters anymore, which we proved last series,” said Alyssa Thomas post-game.

“There’s a game two, and we will watch the video and be prepared for the next game. After this game, we have to have a lot of confidence. This is a three-point game, and we had a chance to tie. We know that all you need is one, and then there’s two games at our place.”

Comparing this presser with the one after Game One in 2019, that additional confidence comes from experience is palpable. 

Courtney Williams brought a physical embodiment of this team to Game One in Las Vegas.

Williams told me pregame that she took a shot to the eye in Game Five of the Semi-Finals series with the Sky, leading to the shiner we saw in Game One yesterday.

It sounds cliché, but nothing has come easy for the Sun this season. They’ve been bruised up all season long. They take their lumps, at times self-inflicted. 

Aces head coach Becky Hammon repeatedly called the Sun relentless and rough before and after the game. 

The air with which she mentions their playstyle and grit is almost with an annoyance borne out of admiration; they play a near polar opposite style of the Aces and really any team in the league. When they drag you in the mud, it’s frustrating, but it’s difficult not to appreciate their commitment to mucking it up.

This team found something against Chicago. They shed the tension that’s plagued them in some of their most significant moments, particularly early on in that series.

Through their constant grit, they’ve found a way to play looser, have more fun, and enjoy the process, something Sun coach Curt Miller attributed heavily to DeWanna Bonner at the close of the Semifinals.

This team has looked to find a balance in their preparation, commitment to detail, and discipline, alongside their ability to enjoy the game and be more hands-off, something Miller spoke to before the game.

“It’s my 20th season as a head coach, and you’re continually learning, constantly learning flaws about you, X’s and O’s wise, personality-wise.”

As a head coach in college, first at Bowling Green and then at Indiana, Miller was hands-on to the max. Management and controlling the controllable led Bowling Green to their first and only Sweet 16 appearance in school history.

Finding ways to take the hands off the wheel and “knowing when not to coach” has helped propel the Sun further in the postseason.

“I’ve probably coached less this year than (any of) my 20 years, but I have a veteran group. I’m fortunate that I don’t have to overcoach. Preparation is our pillar, our key piece to what we believe in, and we believe that we’re prepared. Now I’m going to manage them and just support our players,” said Miller before the game.

He also mentioned how pivotal the coaching staff has been, that they sometimes run things at large, and he just manages personalities more than he used to.

“I have tremendous players to lean on and the elite assistant coaches.”

Even after the loss, the team didn’t feel they were tight or played tense. Their offense sometimes struggled, especially once the Aces employed more zone in the second half. Vegas dragged the Sun into multiple late clock scenarios, and they had gaffs in clock awareness. I can’t remember the last time I watched a game with that many tie-ups and shot clock violations all-around.

Ultimately, Connecticut felt good about its process, however. 

“I don’t think it ever felt tight,” said Jonquel Jones after the game.

“I’m happy with the game that we played, and we gave ourselves a good opportunity to come out with a win, and it just didn’t go our way. We’re excited about Game 2.”

Down to start a series is never ideal; since the league shifted to a best of five series in the Finals in 2005, only four teams have won the championship after losing the first game. 

Yet, this is how things have gone for the Sun in the playoffs. They were up against the wall in the first round after a drubbing in game two that was much further apart than the final score indicated. They promptly beat Dallas by 15 in Dallas to close the series. Against the Sky, they looked like a fighter out on their feet, and game three felt disastrous. They made it to the Finals anyway. 

While the Sun may not win this series, please make no mistake, they are a different team than they were three years ago. They’re a different team than they were three weeks ago, and a different team than they were three games ago when they went down 2-1.

WNBA reporter Mark Schindler writes a column on WNBA.com throughout the season and can be reached on Twitter at @MG_Schindler. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.