Chicago Sky
The Chicago Sky is a professional women's basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, that competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Founded in 2005, the team played its inaugural season in 2006 and has since become notable for its independent operation, being one of the few WNBA franchises without a direct affiliation to an NBA team. The Sky achieved a significant milestone by winning their first WNBA championship in October 2021, defeating the Phoenix Mercury in the Finals, following a season marked by competitive playoff performances.
Home games are held at the Wintrust Arena, a venue that also serves DePaul University's basketball teams. The team's colors include white, black, and sky blue, with uniform designs that pay homage to Chicago's rich sports history. Over the years, the Sky has had several standout players, including Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles, and Elena Delle Donne, all of whom are recognized among the greatest in WNBA history. The team has experienced various ups and downs since its inception, with notable coaching changes, including James Wade, who led them to their championship victory. The Chicago Sky continues to be an essential part of the WNBA landscape, striving for further success and recognition in women's basketball.
Chicago Sky
Team information
Inaugural season: 2006
Home stadium: Wintrust Arena
Owner: Michael Alter
Team colors: White, black, blue
Overview
Founded in 2005 and playing their inaugural season in 2006, the Chicago Sky are a professional basketball franchise in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team plays in the league’s Eastern Conference and claimed its first WNBA championship in October 2021 after defeating the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA Finals.
Businessperson Michael J. Alter has been the team’s principal owner since its inception. Alter is president of the Alter Group, a consortium of companies that operates across various real estate investment and management verticals. Under his ownership, the Sky became only the second franchise in WNBA history to be owned and operated independently of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The Sky unveiled new uniforms ahead of the 2021 WNBA season, adopting a white, black, and sky-blue color scheme. WNBA teams use three different official uniforms during games, including a home jersey, a road jersey, and an alternate third jersey. Both Chicago’s white and black jerseys feature pinstripes, which designers characterized as a nod to the city’s other iconic professional sports franchises including the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Chicago Bulls.
The Chicago Sky play their home games at the ten-thousand-seat Wintrust Arena, a flagship event venue in the city’s McCormick Square. The WNBA team shares the stadium with DePaul University’s men’s and women’s varsity basketball teams.
History
In February 2005, then-NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that the city of Chicago had been awarded a WNBA expansion franchise. Stern also revealed that Alter was the team’s principal owner. Alter was joined by a group of local investors who served as minority partners in the team’s ownership structure. Notably, the Sky was only the second WNBA franchise to operate in the league without a formal affiliation to an NBA club. The league’s first unaffiliated team, the Connecticut Sun, began play in 2003.
The Sky played their inaugural season in 2006, with the Credit Union 1 Arena (then known as the UIC Pavilion) serving as the club’s first home stadium. That year, the Sky struggled to a record of 5 wins and 29 losses under head coach Dave Cowens. Cowens was replaced by Bo Overton in 2007, who improved the team to 14–20 before ceding the coaching job to Steven Key for three seasons. Key’s best season with the club came in 2009, when the Sky finished with a 16–18 record including a 12–5 mark at their home court, generating buzz as the club appeared ready to move beyond the early struggles typically experienced by expansion franchises. However, the Sky regressed in 2010 after moving to a new home court at Allstate Arena, posting a 14–20 record. Head coach Pokey Chatman replaced Key in 2011, but the Sky once again finished out of the playoffs at 14–20. Star center Sylvia Fowles was a bright spot for the team in 2010 and 2011, breaking through to establish herself as one of the league’s top forwards while posting record-setting offensive numbers.
In 2013, the Sky made a major turnaround, shaking off their third consecutive 14–20 finish and surging to a 24–10 record. The improvement was buoyed by the emergence of Elena Delle Donne, whom the Sky selected second overall in the 2013 WNBA Draft. Delle Donne made an immediate impact, helping the Sky reach the WNBA Playoffs for the first time in club history. The following season, the Sky corrected course from a lackluster regular season to author a brilliant playoff run, which culminated in a trip to the WNBA Finals. In the championship series, the Sky lost to the Phoenix Mercury in a three-game sweep.
Two further playoff appearances followed in 2015 and 2016, with the Sky bowing out in the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2015 and losing in the semifinals in 2016. In 2017 and 2018, the Sky regressed, posting losing records in both seasons and missing the playoffs under head coach and general manager Amber Stocks. Stocks was released by the team prior to the 2019 season and was replaced with new head coach James Wade.
The Sky blossomed under Wade, immediately improving their 13–21 record from 2018 to go 20–14 in Wade’s first season as coach. After losing in the second round of the 2019 WNBA Playoffs, the Sky battled to a 12–10 record in the 2020 season, which was interrupted and shortened by the COVID-19 global pandemic. The Sky exited the 2020 WNBA Playoffs in the first round.
In 2021, the Sky authored their most memorable season to date. During the regular season, the team finished with a 16–16 record, which propelled it to a second-place finish in the Eastern Conference and a playoff berth as the league’s sixth seed. In their first-round single-elimination game, the Sky toppled the Dallas Wings by a convincing margin of 81–64, setting up a second-round single-elimination game against the Minnesota Lynx. The Sky prevailed again, besting Minnesota by a score of 89–76.
Chicago met the top-seeded Connecticut Sun in the best-of-five 2021 semifinals, winning the first game in double overtime before ceding the second game to the Sun. The Sky prevailed in a closely battled third game, winning 86–83 before securing their place in the 2021 WNBA Finals by winning the decisive fourth game 79–69.
The Sky met the Phoenix Mercury in the 2021 WNBA Finals. The Mercury entered the playoffs as the league’s fifth seed, eking out a one-point win in their first-round single-elimination match before escaping the second round on the strength of an overtime victory over the Seattle Storm. In the semifinal round, the Mercury posted a surprise win over the favored Las Vegas Aces, with their best-of-five series going the distance. In the championship series, the Sky emerged victorious in convincing fashion, taking the series in four games and capturing the title on their home court in front of a sellout crowd.
The 2022 season was the team's best, with an overall record of 26-10. They finished the season as the second seed in the playoffs. They advanced to the semifinals but lost. During the 2023 season, head coach James Wade stepped down and was replaced by Emre Vatansever. The Sky once again made it to the playoffs but was eliminated.
Notable players
The ESPN sports network unveiled its picks for the twenty-five greatest players in WNBA history in September 2021, with four Chicago Sky members earning mention: Candace Parker finished in ninth place, followed by Sylvia Fowles in 10th, Elena Delle Donne in 11th, and Cappie Pondexter in 21st.
Parker, a center/forward, rose to distinction as a member of the Los Angeles Sparks. She starred for the Sparks from 2008–2020, winning the league’s Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards in her first WNBA season. Parker has since become one of the league’s highest-profile and most recognizable players. In 2021, she became the first female professional basketball player in history to be featured on the cover of the NBA 2K video game. Parker left the Sparks to join the Sky for their 2021 championship season, starting twenty-three games for the Sky and posting a points-per-game (PPG) average of 13.3 for the year.
Fowles starred for the Chicago Sky from 2008–2014 before joining the Minnesota Lynx. As a member of the Sky, Fowles established herself as one of the league’s top forwards. Her finest season with the team came in 2011, when she posted a PPG average of 20.0. In 2014, Fowles’ final season with the team, she averaged 13.4 PPG and played a key role in the team’s surprise run to the WNBA Finals.
Elene Delle Donne played four seasons with the Sky from 2013–2016, exploding onto the scene in her rookie campaign with an 18.1 PPG average. Known for her tall frame and accurate shooting, Delle Donne’s time with the Sky peaked in 2015, when she posted a PPG average of 23.4 en route to winning the league’s MVP award. She left the Sky prior to the 2017 season to join the Washington Mystics, where she claimed her second WNBA MVP award to go with a league championship in 2019.
Cappie Pondexter burst onto the WNBA scene in 2006 as a member of the Phoenix Mercury, posting a brilliant rookie campaign before winning championships with the Mercury in 2007 and 2009. Pondexter joined the Sky in 2015 after a five-year stint with the New York Liberty. The California native played three seasons with Chicago, with her finest campaign as a member of the Sky coming in 2015 when she averaged 15.0 PPG. She departed to join the Los Angeles Sparks after the Sky struggled to a 12–22 finish in 2017.
Bibliography
“Chicago Sky.” Basketball Reference, 2024, www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/teams/CHI/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.
“Chicago Sky Unveils New Uniforms Ahead of 2021 WNBA Season.” Chicago Sky, 8 Apr. 2021, sky.wnba.com/news/chicago-sky-unveils-new-uniforms-ahead-of-2021-wnba-season/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.
“Sky History.” Chicago Sky, 2023, sky.wnba.com/sky-history/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.
Stremplewski, Stephanie. “Sky Win First WNBA Title in Franchise History.” NBC Sports, 17 Oct. 2021, www.nbcsports.com/chicago/sky/chicago-sky-win-first-wnba-title-franchise-history. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.
“WNBA’s Greatest Players of All Time: Ranking the 25 Best in League History.” ESPN, 21 Sep. 2021, www.espn.com/wnba/story/‗/id/32210623/wnba-greatest-players-all-ranking-25-best-league-history. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.