From European glory to Connecticut chaos: Rachid Meziane’s turbulent WNBA baptism

The Frenchman became the first European-born coach in the league when he joined the Sun. Now he finds himself in a tough rebuild

After achieving three of his biggest career accomplishments in eight months, Rachid Meziane crossed the Atlantic to make personal history.

The native of southern France joined the WNBA's Connecticut Sun in December as the league's first European-born head coach. Four months earlier, Meziane guided Belgium to their best finish ever in Olympic women's basketball: fourth place at the Paris Games. Four months before that, he led French club ESB-Villeneuve d'Ascq to their first national women's championship since 2017 and their first EuroLeague final ever.