The Chicago Sky are entering an exciting organizational phase ahead of the 2024 WNBA season. Chicago drafted highly-touted South Carolina product Kamilla Cardoso and former LSU star Angel Reese in one of the most talented draft classes in league history. Moreover, Teresa Weatherspoon is beginning her first year as the squad's head coach. The Sky have a lot of work to do, but their combination of new stardom and veteran leadership headline why they will shock the world during the upcoming season.
Chicago finished the 2023 WNBA season with an 18-22 record, which ranked them fourth in the Eastern Conference standings. The Sky made the WNBA Playoffs as an eighth seed and took on the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces. Chicago fought hard but was swept 2-0. Their showing was slightly surprising considering their previous impressive runs in 2021 and 2022.
The Sky won the 2021 WNBA Championship under the leadership of Candace Parker, Kahleah Copper, and Courtney Vandersloot. They followed their incredible feat with a 26-10 regular season campaign in 2022, which saw them earn the second seed in the playoffs. Chicago advanced to the semifinals but lost 3-2 to a talented Connecticut Sun team.
Many changes have happened since Chicago's last run. Most notably, former head coach James Wade (who led Chicago to their first franchise title) stepped down to become an assistant with the Toronto Raptors. In addition, All-Star guards Courtney Vandersloot and Kahleah Copper are no longer on the team. Vandersloot departed for the New York Liberty, and the Sky traded Copper to the Phoenix Mercury.
The Copper trade allowed Chicago to acquire the third overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. This pick turned into NCAA champion center Kamilla Cardoso. Cardoso looks to usher in a new era of Sky basketball alongside Angel Reese and a mixture of veterans and young talent.
With that, here is the first reason the Sky will shock the world during the 2024 WNBA season.
Sky possess some of the best young talent in the WNBA
Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese headline Chicago's young talent. The two bigs are winners and have Sky-high ceilings (pun intended).
Cardoso helped lead South Carolina to an unbelievable 38-0 record and a national championship during the 2023-24 NCAA season. The 6-foot-7 center averaged 14.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks in 25.4 minutes per game during the regular season. Cardoso was huge in South Carolina's 87-75 title victory over Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes. She finished the game with a commanding 15-point-17-rebound double-double.
Cardoso's two-way interior attack is a force to be reckoned with, and her size and abilities should allow her to impact the Sky immediately. Her new frontcourt partner should be just as useful to the team.
Like Cardoso, Angel Reese is an NCAA champion. She was vital in LSU's 102-83 2023 national championship victory over Iowa. The 6-foot-3 forward averaged a double-double throughout the entire March Madness run.
Things did not end how Reese envisioned in 2024, but she remained highly productive. She amassed 18.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game during the regular season. The seventh overall pick in the 2024 Draft, Reese is a double-double machine and will provide Chicago's roster a much-needed boost.
Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso are not the only ones looking to help elevate the Sky.
Chicago used their second-round pick to pick up former Gonzaga guard Brynna Maxwell. Maxwell is a bonafide scorer who can light it up from deep range. She averaged 14.2 points and shot a blazing 44.0 percent on three-pointers during the 2023-24 season. Maxwell can be an offensive threat and the perfect complement to Chicago's roster. Speaking of the roster, the Sky have a great cast of supportive pieces.
Chicago has a sound supporting cast
The 2024 Sky roster is drastically different from the previous year. The only returning players from 2023 are rising fourth-year guard Dana Evans, sixth-year guard Marina Mabrey, and 10th-year veteran center Elizabeth Williams. Nevertheless, all three will be vital to Chicago's plan of attack.
Evans and Mabrey are coming off career years in 2023. After averaging 4.3 points and 0.3 steals in 11.5 minutes per game in 2022, Evans leapt to 9.0 points and 0.7 steals in 21.5 minutes of action. Similarly, Mabrey increased her scoring mark from 13.6 to 15.0 points and shot a career-high 39 percent on three-pointers.
For the frontcourt, Williams looks to continue to be a steady presence for Chicago. She averaged 9.9 points, 5.8 boards, and blocked 1.5 shots per game, the last of which was her most since 2021. Williams will be a great mentor to Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso and provide serviceable depth.
One of the biggest concerns for the Sky going into the 2024 WNBA season is their playmaking. Courtney Williams previously led Chicago with 6.6 assists per game, but she departed the team for the Minnesota Lynx during the offseason. Perhaps Mabrey, who was second on the team with 3.6 assists per contest, can pick up more of the playmaking duties.
All in all, things look promising for the 2024 Chicago Sky squad. It will be interesting to see how Coach Weatherspoon melds the talent on the roster during her first year. Weatherspoon has extensive experience as a player and a coach. She is a Hall of Famer, five-time WNBA All-Star, college national champion, and has over a decade of coaching experience across college and the NBA.
Weatherspoon was a two-player development coach with the New Orleans Pelicans before joining the Sky in 2023. She looks to help Chicago reach their potential in a league stacked with more talent than ever.
The Sky are on a mission to bounce back and make the postseason. With the right execution and development, there is no doubt they can shock the WNBA world with success.
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