The Chicago Sky were not a factor in the WNBA for their first seven seasons in the league, failing to make the playoffs in any season and topping out at 16 wins as the best win total in a single year. However, it only takes one superior talent in basketball to change the entire franchise. That happened in 2013 when the Sky struck gold with Elena Delle Donne as the second overall pick.
Delle Donne won Rookie of the Year and would go on to lead the Sky to the WNBA Finals in 2014, where they lost 3-0 to the Phoenix Mercury. The Sky were a consistent playoff team with Delle Donne but that era ended abruptly when star was traded ahead of her free agency. The Sky spent two years rebuilding the roster, adding players like Allie Quigley, Courtney Vandersloot and Kahleah Copper. Even though Chicago was rounding into becoming a playoff team, it wasn’t going far. There was still one more missing piece, and it arrived in the form of hometown hero Candace Parker.
Parker immediately delivered a championship in her first season, and the Sky brutally fell at the hands of the Connecticut Sun in 2022 in Game 5 in the conference semifinals. The belief was they could continue to re-tool around Parker, who was in the last stage of her playing career and was likely to stay in the area.
However, Parker pulled the plug in free agency by going to the Las Vegas Aces. Vandersloot also departed for the New York Liberty and Quigley decided to sit out the 2023 season. Head coach James Wade, who had been at the helm for four seasons, left at just past the halfway mark to be an assistant coach with the Raptors. Even though Copper averaged 18.7 points per game, the Sky fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Aces. Copper would be traded to the Mercury, putting a close on another strong era of Sky basketball.
The Sky are now armed with two first-round picks, including the No. 3 selection, in the 2024 WNBA Draft. Although they have no chance of getting Iowa Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark, they’ll still be able to land two impact players to set the stage for the next window of contention. Here’s how Chicago should approach the draft.
No. 3 pick – Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina
According to ESPN’s latest mock draft, the Los Angeles Sparks are probably going to go between Cardoso and Stanford’s Cameron Brink at No. 2. Hopefully for the Sky, the reigning Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four is available at No. 3. You can’t teach size, and Cardoso is a force at 6-7. She’ll have to improve her post skills but her scoring and defense on the interior is a great way to anchor any rebuilding team. Plus, she’s a national champion and performed extremely well in several pressure games. That’s going to help the rest of the group out.
No. 7 pick – Alissa Pili, Utah
ESPN has the Sky taking Angel Reese out of LSU and if she’s available, that’s a no-brainer selection as well. Getting two national champions in the frontcourt will set up the Sky to dominate defensively for a while. However, I don’t think Reese falls to No. 7 and that creates a bit of an issue for Chicago. Marina Mabrey performed well last season and returns as the point guard, with her Notre Dame teammate Brianna Turner probably slotting in the frontcourt if the Sky don’t get to pair Reese with Cardoso. Australia’s Isobel Borlase has potential due to her age, but she might not come over from the WNBL yet. That leaves Ohio State’s Jacy Sheldon and Utah’s Alissa Pili as potential options. Pili is the better overall scorer, rebounder and three-point shooter, plus she’s got decent size at 6-2. She’d be the best fit if Reese is not on the board.
Sky outlook for 2024
Don’t expect an immediate turnaround for Chicago this upcoming season. The Sky will be bad, but that’s part of the plan. The goal for this season under first-year head coach Teresa Weatherspoon will be to establish chemistry and team identity. Wins and losses will be largely ignored. As long as Mabrey, Turner, former first-round pick Diamond DeShields and the newcomers can mesh with each other, the season will be a success. And it’ll be important for the Sky to be somewhat low in the standings when looking at the 2025 draft class.
Paige Bueckers, Kiki Iriafen, and Chicago native Aneesah Morrow are all likely to be among the top selections in the 2025 draft. They could all be the next game-changing type of talent for Chicago to take the Sky into the next window of contention. The 2024 season will be about laying a solid foundation, and both first-round picks will have a big hand in doing that.