The Chicago Sky should have an obvious priority this offseason
By Elaine Blum
Just three years after winning a WNBA championship in 2021, the Chicago Sky are rebuilding. In the 2024 WNBA Draft, they landed Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese and will get another high lottery pick in 2025.
Reese’s and Cardoso’s rookie season did not necessarily go smoothly. Both missed time with injuries, the team traded Marina Mabrey before the trade deadline, Dana Evans wanted to leave Chicago, and the Sky missed the playoffs. Not making the playoffs with a team led by two rookies is not the end of the world. In fact, it is normal.
Nevertheless, the Sky will soon be under extreme pressure to build a successful team around Cardoso and Reese and put the two in the position to be their best selves. The organization already made a risky move when it fired Teresa Weatherspoon, a head coach who had great relationships with Reese and Chennedy Carter among others. The coaching issue seems to be solved, but the Sky still have plenty of work to do this offseason, and the organization should have a clear priority.
The Sky need much improved shooting around Cardoso and Reese
Cardoso and Reese both have consistent All-Star potential and form a strong frontcourt, but in modern basketball, it is difficult to play two bigs together when neither is a great 3-point shooter. Cardoso didn’t shoot any threes during her rookie season, and Reese attempted only 0.5 per game, converting 18.8 percent of those shots.
While it is not impossible that at least one of the two still develops a serviceable 3-point shot, it will take time. So, the best way to put Cardoso and Reese, the two current cornerstones of the franchise, in a position to play their best basketball is to surround them with good 3-point shooters.
That is something the Sky did not have in the 2024 season. Chicago took the fewest threes in the league and was also one of the worst 3-point shooting teams percentage-wise. Throughout the season, the Sky had two volume shooters on the roster: Marina Mabrey and Rachel Banham. Mabrey is not in Chicago anymore, leaving the Sky with very few capable 3-point shooters.
To make the matter even more difficult, Dana Evans and Michaela Onyenwere—the only other players who shot more than 36 percent on at least two threes per game—are both restricted agents. Onyenwere should be back in Chicago next season, but Evans will likely suit up for a new team.
So, the one quality the Sky should primarily look for in players during the offseason is a solid 3-point shot. It doesn’t matter if the Sky find more 3-point shooting in free agency, the WNBA Draft, or on the trade market. They desperately need it. Better 3-point shooting is not only the key to developing Cardoso and Reese but also to putting the Sky in a better position to win.