Jonquel Jones is off to Europe.
The Connecticut Sun announced Sunday that Jones will be away competing for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the FIBA European women’s basketball championship. One of the leading candidates for WNBA MVP, she is averaging a double-double so far this season, leading the league in rebounding (10.4 RPG) and ranking fifth in points per game (21.6).
The Eurobasket tournament runs June 17-27, meaning that Jones will be away for most of the month.
It’s a tough hit for the forward’s chances, as other MVP favorites will continue to make their case while she’s absent.
She leaves the Sun as they sit atop the WNBA standings in a virtual tie with Seattle, with nearly one-third of the regular season already complete. The Sun have a particularly tough schedule coming up and will have to try to fill the role Jones has played so far this season, leading the team in both scoring and rebounding.
They’ll play Seattle on Sunday, June 13 followed by back-to-back games against Chicago. It’s possible Jones could be back for the Sun’s game on June 27 against Chicago, but it depends on how far Bosnia and Herzegovina advances in the FIBA tournament.