The WNBA has become the hardest professional sports league to break into, and perhaps nobody knows that better than Chicago Sky rookie Robyn Parks.

With only 12 teams in the league each allowed a maximum of 12 players on the roster, there are only up to 144 roster spots at any given time in the WNBA. Complicating matters further is the fact that due to salary cap restraints, a majority of teams only carry 11 players under contract.

Robyn Parks finished up her college career at Virginia Commonwealth in 2014, but she went undrafted and was not on a WNBA roster until this season when she signed a training camp contract with the Sky. It had gotten to the point where Parks felt like she wasn't ever going to make it to the WNBA, but a call from former Sky head coach James Wade changed everything.

“Before that, I figured I was older and the WNBA was. . .I mean I didn't think I would ever get a chance,” Parks told ClutchPoints. “So I just figured I'd just stay overseas and just try to continue to build my resume over there at the highest level over there which is EuroLeague. That was my goal, but this kind of fell on my lap by the grace of God.”

Parks came to camp on a non-guaranteed contract and had to make the final roster. She ended up surviving the final Sky roster cuts and found herself on a WNBA roster for the first time in her career. She got her first minutes during the Sky's opening night game against the Phoenix Mercury, a win in which she finished with a steal and a block in a little over seven minutes of play.

Since then, Robyn Parks has been a steady mainstay in the Sky rotation. She's played 36 of the Sky's games so far as the regular season winds down. She spent most of the first half of the season on the bench and seeing limited minutes here and there, but the second half of the season has seen her become more of a fixture on the court.

As a rookie, Parks has been averaging 3.9 points per game and 1.6 rebounds in about 13 minutes of play. But post All-Star break, her numbers have jumped up to 5.4 points per game and 35 percent shooting from the three-point line. She's scored in double-figures in two of the last three games off the bench. And she's still just trying to adjust to the WNBA.

“It's definitely a huge adjustment. I think the biggest adjustment is going from having a major, major role overseas and then coming here and just being a role player. It's a very different role,” Parks said. “I think that's the biggest adjustment for me. But I feel like I'm trying to adapt the best way that I can and do whatever my team needs me to do.”

And sometimes that role changes on a nightly basis. There's games such as the Sky's win against the Mercury back on July 30 when Parks dropped a career-high 14 points to lead the second unit. There's games when the Sky have needed her to be someone who spaces the floor and knocks down open three-point shots. There's games they've needed her to bring the energy.

She's a versatile player in that she can play multiple positions. She can be a wing on the perimeter or she can play the power forward position in small-ball lineups and space the floor or play in the post. In any case, she knows that doing all the little things is crucial to seeing minutes on the court.

“I just try to bring the energy to the team defensively, hit open shots, play defense and rebound,” Parks said. “It's been all the little things basically, the little tings to help the team win.”

Although Robyn Parks is still learning and adjusting to the WNBA game, she's been able to make a solid transition due to her experience playing overseas. Most WNBA players head overseas during the offseason and so Parks has already played against many of these players despite being a rookie in the league.

From 2014-2022, Robyn Parks played professionally in Spain, Angola, Mexico and Italy. She was a focal point on those teams and was used to having the ball in her hands. During her most recent overseas season in Italy, Parks averaged 19.8 points per game. She credits her time overseas as helping prepare her for the rigors of the WNBA.

“Honestly, it's a lot of mental toughness because you're away, far away from everybody and everything you're so accustomed to,” Parks said. “So the mental toughness aspect, and then playing against pros. I feel like that's helped me elevate my game. Also working with my trainers and things like that. But I think just playing at a professional level has just prepared me for the biggest stage.”

With the 2023 WNBA regular season coming to a close, the Sky have clinched a playoff berth. They needed one win in their final two games to make the playoffs and they secured that by beating the Minnesota Lynx on the road this past Friday to grab the eighth and final playoff spot.

While Parks is certainly soaking up all she can as a rookie in the WNBA, what would make a fulfilling season for her is quite simple.

“Going as far as we possibly can in obviously in the postseason,” Parks said. “Just building it up from there, advancing in each round of the playoffs.”