3 Lingering questions for the Chicago Sky for the second-half of the season

With All-Star weekend concluding, the Chicago Sky have officially reached the halfway mark of the 2025 WNBA season. Currently, the Sky are the 11th seed with a 7-15 record, gearing up for the second half of the season.

Despite an underwhelming first half, there has been a noticeable progression with the Sky leading into the break — primarily because everyone is becoming more acclimated in their roles and Angel Reese is taking the next step in her game. 

Can Chicago turn their season around? Before we get the result, there are legitimate questions surrounding the Sky, and we’ll do our best to answer the questions that we can! 

Here are three questions surrounding the Sky in the second half of the season.

Yes, the Sky have had an underwhelming season. Despite the rough start, the Sky are not totally out of the playoff race. The Sky are four games behind the Las Vegas Aces (11-11) for the eighth and final playoff spot. 

A positive sign of growth is that the Sky is 4-6 in their last 10 games, which is a step forward from the way they were playing early in the season. However, things get tougher from here, as Chicago has the third-toughest schedule remaining. 

And unfortunately, the Sky has to face this challenge without franchise legend — Courtney Vandersloot — losing her earlier in the season (torn ACL). Chicago has done everything, according to their current team personnel, to fill that void.

While this roster has dealt with injuries, personal leave, and the implementation of a new system under a new coach, continuing to develop their core young pieces by making a competitive playoff push would be a step in the right direction for this group.

This past offseason, Chicago went through a roster overhaul with the offseason acquisitions of Ariel Atkins, Courtney Vandersloot, Kia Nurse, Rebecca Allen, Hailey Van Lith, and Maddy Westbeld, to complement Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. 

Chicago may only be 11th in the standings at 7-15, but Reese continues to capture the majority of the headlines, as she has taken a leap and was named an All-Star in consecutive seasons. 

In Reese’s last nine games, leading into the All-Star break, she’s averaging 18.1 points, 14.9 rebounds, and 4.1 assists to 4.1 turnovers, on 50.4% from the floor and 81.6% from the free-throw line on 5.4 attempts.

On the other hand, consistency remains an issue for Cardoso, particularly in terms of her aggression from game to game. When she scores double digits — the Sky are 4-5. In comparison to 3-6, when she fails to score in double digits. 

For the Sky to be the best versions of themselves — Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso click and continue to grow together.

This has been a recurring question. So let’s answer this question and update our fans.

The Sky does not own their pick in 2026, as they previously traded with the Minnesota Lynx to move up from 8th to 7th to acquire Angel Reese with the 7th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. Resulting in Minnesota owning the Sky’s 2026 first-round pick.

However, Chicago has the swap rights to the Connecticut Sun’s 2026 first-round pick. The Sky acquired this right when they traded Marina Mabrey to Connecticut for Rachel Banham, Moriah Jefferson, a 2025 first-round pick, and the 2026 first-round pick swap. 

The Sky also owns the Phoenix Mercury’s 2026 first-round pick and the rights to swap their 2026 second-round picks, and acquired forward Brianna Turner and forward Michaela Onyenwere when they traded away Kahleah Copper. 

Let’s dive in even further. Chicago made a win-now move and sacrificed their draft capital by trading for two-time All-Star Ariel Atkins. The Sky sent the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft, along with the swap rights to its 2027 first-round pick and its 2027 second-round pick.

Here’s where the Sky pays, as Chicago currently does not have any picks in a loaded 2027 draft, especially at the guard position, due to trading away its 2027 first-round pick and second-round pick swap rights to the Washington Mystics in exchange for Ariel Atkins and the right to swap first-round picks in 2027.

For these reasons, it will be fascinating to see how the remainder of the season plays out for the Sky!