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The 2024 Chicago Sky season was the franchise's 19th season in the Women's National Basketball Association, and their first season under head coach Teresa Weatherspoon.

The offseason was marked by major coaching and roster changes. In October 2023, the team hired Weatherspoon as head coach, replacing interim head coach Emre Vatansever. The team also hired Jeff Pagliocca as general manager, separating this role from the head coaching position for the first time. Several starting players from previous seasons including Kahleah Copper, Alanna Smith, Courtney Williams, Astou Ndour-Fall, and Julie Allemand departed in free agency and trades. The Sky signed their own former first-round draft pick Diamond DeShields. Acquiring the 3rd and 7th picks in the 2024 WNBA draft through trades, they drafted high-profile college stars Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese.

The season tipped-off on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, against the Dallas Wings in Dallas. Despite preseason predictions that they would be among the league's worst teams, the Sky had a promising start to the season with a 3–3 record in May, including a stunning win, 90–81, over the New York Liberty. In the 9th game of the season, a 79–71 win over the Washington Mystics, starter Elizabeth Williams suffered a season-ending knee injury. Cardoso, who herself had suffered a shoulder injury during the preseason and missed the first six games of the season, was slotted into the starting lineup to play alongside another rookie, Reese. In the first half of June, the Sky consistently struggled with bad starts to games. After the 12th game of the season, an 81–83 loss at Washington, their third loss in a row, Lindsay Allen and Chennedy Carter replaced Dana Evans and Diamond DeShields in the starting lineup. The Sky's performances improved with the new lineup and it stayed intact until the WNBA break for the 2024 Paris Olympics. In the last game before the break, Chicago scored another surprising win, 93–85, against the reigning champions Las Vegas Aces, and entered the Olympic break in eighth place with a 10–14 record. The following day, Chicago traded Marina Mabrey and the team's second round pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Rachel Banham, Moriah Jefferson, the Sun's first-round 2025 draft pick, and the rights to swap 2026 first-round draft picks.

After the break, Michaela Onyenwere entered the starting lineup in Mabrey's place. However, the Sky struggled with poor form and the unavailability of key players, posting a 3–13 record in August and September. Their top scorer, Carter, missed several games due to illness, and later due to a foot injury. Other injuries to Reese (broken wrist), DeShields (sprained ankle), and Cardoso (shoulder pain) forced significant changes in the rotation. The Sky were still in running for the last playoff spot until the final day of the season; however, they finished with a five-game losing streak and ultimately missed the playoffs, finishing in 10th place with a 13–27 record. Nonetheless, Chicago set a franchise record for average attendance, drawing 8,757 fans per game.

After the season, Chicago fired Weatherspoon.

Transactions

WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	3	Kamilla Cardoso	Brazil	South Carolina
1	7	Angel Reese	United States	LSU
2	13	Brynna Maxwell	United States	Gonzaga

Transactions

Roster changes

Roster

2024 Chicago Sky roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs G 15 Allen, Lindsay 5' 8" (1.73m) 145 lb (66kg) 03-20-1995 Notre Dame 6 G 24 Banham, Rachel 5' 9" (1.75m) 175 lb (79kg) 1993-07-15 Minnesota 8 C 10 Cardoso, Kamilla  6' 7" (2.01m) 215 lb (98kg) 04-30-2001 South Carolina R G 7 Carter, Chennedy  5' 9" (1.75m) 143 lb (65kg) 10-14-1998 Texas A&M 3 G 33 Davis, Kaela 6' 2" (1.88m) 180 lb (82kg) 03-15-1995 South Carolina 5 G 0 DeShields, Diamond  6' 1" (1.85m) 172 lb (78kg) 03-05-1995 Tennessee 5 G 11 Evans, Dana 5' 6" (1.68m) 145 lb (66kg) 08-01-1998 Louisville 3 F 20 Harrison, Isabelle 6' 3" (1.91m) 183 lb (83kg) 1993-09-27 Tennessee 6 G 4 Jefferson, Moriah 5' 6" (1.68m) 123 lb (56kg) 1994-03-08 Connecticut 7 F 12 Onyenwere, Michaela 6' 0" (1.83m) 178 lb (81kg) 1999-08-10 UCLA 3 F 5 Reese, Angel  6' 3" (1.91m) 165 lb (75kg) 05-06-2002 LSU R F 21 Turner, Brianna 6' 3" (1.91m) 170 lb (77kg) 1996-07-05 Notre Dame 5 C 1 Williams, Elizabeth  6' 3" (1.91m) 200 lb (91kg) 1993-06-23 Duke 9	Head coach Teresa Weatherspoon (Louisiana Tech) Assistant coaches Crystal Robinson (SE Oklahoma State) Sydney Johnson (Princeton) Tamera Young (James Madison) Athletic trainer Meghan Lockerby Strength and conditioning coach Ann Crosby (Western Michigan) Legend (C) Team captain (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench
PG	Lindsay Allen	Moriah Jefferson
SG	Chennedy Carter	Rachel Banham Dana Evans
SF	Diamond DeShields	Michaela Onyenwere
PF	Angel Reese	Isabelle Harrison Brianna Turner
C	Elizabeth Williams	Kamilla Cardoso

Schedule

Pre-season

Regular season

Standings

• v
• t
• e

Notes

(#) – League Standing

c – Commissioner's Cup winners

y – Regular Season Champion

x – Clinched playoff berth

e – Eliminated from playoff contention

Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

Statistics

Regular season

Waived/Released during the season
Traded during the season
Acquired during the season

Awards and honors

References

1. "James Wade leaving Chicago Sky as head coach, accepts assistant coach position with Raptors". cbsnews.com. July 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
2. "Chicago Sky Hire Teresa Weatherspoon as Head Coach". sky.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
3. Philippou, Alexa (2023-10-31). "Sky chief: Pagliocca named new GM in Chicago". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
4. "2024 Schedule - Chicago Sky". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
5. "WNBA preseason Power Rankings: Aces back on top, Storm climbing". ESPN.com. 2024-05-06. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
6. Axson, Scooby. "WNBA preseason power rankings: Reigning champion Aces on top, but several teams made gains". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
7. "Balanced Sky win second straight on road, hand Liberty first loss of season". Chicago Sun-Times. 2024-05-24. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
8. "Sky's Williams out for season after knee surgery". ESPN.com. 2024-06-27. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
9. "Kamilla Cardoso injury update: Sky star sets date for WNBA debut as shoulder recovery timeline becomes clear". CBSSports.com. 2024-05-22. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
10. "Sky head into break with momentum after beating Aces 93-85". Chicago Sun-Times. 2024-07-17. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
11. ^ "Connecticut Sun Acquires Veteran Guard Marina Mabrey". WNBA. July 17, 2024. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
12. "Sky fail to make playoffs after dropping regular-season finale to Sun". Chicago Sun-Times. 2024-09-20. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
13. Draves, Zachary (2024-09-27). "2024 Season Review: The Chicago Sky showed potential, but more progress is needed". Swish Appeal. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
14. "WNBA Attendance - Across the Timeline". www.acrossthetimeline.com. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
15. "Sky fire coach Teresa Weatherspoon after one season". Chicago Sun-Times. 2024-09-27. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
16. "Chicago Sky Name Jeff Pagliocca as General Manager". sky.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
17. ^ "WNBA Transactions". acrossthetimeline.com. Across The Timeline. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
18. "Chicago Sky Signs Lindsay Allen". sky.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
19. "Chicago Sky Welcomes Back WNBA Champion, All-Star Diamond DeShields". sky.wnba.com. WNBA. February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
20. Philippou, Alexa (February 6, 2024). "Sky trades Kahleah Copper to Mercury for WNBA draft picks, players". ESPN. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
21. "Chicago Sky Signs Taya Reimer to Training Camp Contract". sky.wnba.com. WNBA. February 8, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
22. "Chicago Sky Signs Kysre Gondrezick to Training Camp Contract". sky.wnba.com. WNBA. February 8, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
23. "Chicago Sky Signs Chennedy Carter to Training Camp Contract". sky.wnba.com. WNBA. February 9, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
24. Michael Voepel (February 19, 2024). "Sky land No. 8 pick in 2024 WNBA draft in trade with Sparks". ESPN. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
25. Costabile, Annie (March 14, 2024). "Sky acquire two future second-round draft picks from Liberty for rights to Rebekah Gardner". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
26. "Sky swap 2024 WNBA draft picks, prospects with Lynx in trade". ESPN. Field Level Media. April 14, 2024. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
27. @chicagosky (May 10, 2024). "The Chicago Sky announced today that the team has waived Taya Reimer" (Tweet). Retrieved May 11, 2024 – via Twitter.
28. @chicagosky (May 13, 2024). "The Chicago Sky announced today that the team has waived Brynna Maxwell" (Tweet). Retrieved May 13, 2024 – via Twitter.
29. @chicagosky (June 28, 2024). "The Chicago Sky announced today that the team has waived Kysre Gondrezick" (Tweet). Retrieved June 28, 2024 – via Twitter.
30. Schutte, Dustin (July 2, 2024). "WNBA Announces Eastern, Western Conference Players of the Month for June". Sports Illustrated.
31. "Rosters Set for AT&T WNBA All-Star 2024 on July 20". WNBA (Press release). July 2, 2024.
32. @WNBA (July 9, 2024). "🏀 Week 7 Players of the Week 🏀 Eastern Conference: @Reese10angel @chicagosky 16.8 PPG, 14.0 RPG and 1.2 APG Western Conference: @_ajawilson22 @lvaces 25.2 PPG, 9.2 RPG and 3.0 APG #WelcometotheW" (Tweet). Retrieved July 9, 2024 – via Twitter.
33. Ostrow, Spencer (September 20, 2024). "WNBA Announces Major Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, A'ja Wilson News". Athlon Sports. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
34. ^ Feinberg, Doug (September 22, 2024). "A'ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark are unanimous choices for WNBA AP Player and Rookie of the Year". Associated Press. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
35. ^ Zucker, Joseph (October 3, 2024). "Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso Headline 2024 WNBA All-Rookie Team". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 3, 2024.

External links

• The Official Site of the Chicago Sky

• 2024 WNBA season
• Chicago Sky seasons
• 2024 in sports in Illinois
• 2024 in Chicago