This season, the Chicago Sky have been one of those borderline teams. They could very easily be a playoff team and they could very easily be a lottery team. They were dealt a shocking blow halfway through the season when head coach James Wade announced that he would be stepping down from his position to join the Toronto Raptors in the NBA. They have a star in Kahleah Copper and a pretty decent roster. One of the intriguing young prospects the Sky have is Sika Kone from Mali. Kone has been having a solid rookie season, but they will be without her for a while. The Sky have temporarily suspended Sika Kone's contract as she has reported to the Mali national team to compete at FIBA Afrobasket.

FIBA Afrobasket is being held in Rwanda and runs from July 28 to August 5. Sika Kone will be back with the Sky by the end of the week. Kone was originally drafted by the New York Liberty with the No. 29 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft. She did immediately come to the Liberty, opting to stay overseas for a year.

Kone joined the Liberty for training camp this season, but they ended up cutting her as one of the final roster cuts in training camp before the start of the regular season. She wasn't without a team for long though as the Sky signed her right before their season opener. Kone has appeared in 13 games for the Sky this season averaging 3.2 points per game and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field and 83.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.