2019 Chicago Sky season

The 2019 Chicago Sky season was the franchise's 14th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The regular season tipped off on May 25 and concluded on September 8.^[1] On August 22, the team clinched a playoff berth for the first time in three seasons.^[2]

2019 Chicago Sky season
Coach	James Wade
Arena	Wintrust Arena
Attendance	6,749 per game
Results
Record	20–14 (.588)
Place	3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	5th Seed; Lost in 2nd Round to Las Vegas
Team Leaders
Points	Diamond DeShields – 16.2 ppg
Rebounds	Jantel Lavender – 6.9 rpg
Assists	Courtney Vandersloot – 9.1 apg
Media
Television	WMEU-CD (The U Too) ESPN ESPN2 NBA TV
← 2018 season 2020 season →

During the offseason, Amber Stocks was dismissed by the team as general manager and head coach.^[3] In November, James Wade was announced as the team's new head coach. Wade was previously an assistant with UMMC Ekaterinburg and the Minnesota Lynx.^[4][5]

Three Sky players, all guards, were named as reserves to the 2019 WNBA All-Star Game: veterans Allie Quigley and Courtney Vandersloot, and second-year player Diamond DeShields.^[6][7] The Sky finished the season second in points per game, but second-to-last in points allowed.^[8] DeShields was the team's leading scorer with 16.2 points per game, and Vandersloot broke her own all-time record with 9.1 assists per game.^[9] Vandersloot and DeShields were named to the first and second All-WNBA Teams respectively.^[10]

In the first round of the 2019 WNBA Playoffs, fifth-seeded Sky hosted the eighth-seeded Phoenix Mercury, whom they defeated 105–76 in a single-elimination game.^[11] They lost their second-round single-elimination game on the road to the Las Vegas Aces by a score of 93–92 in the final seconds.^[12]

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2019 WNBA draft

The Sky made the following selections in the 2019 WNBA draft:

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	4	Katie Lou Samuelson	United States	Connecticut Huskies
2	15	Chloe Jackson	United States	Baylor Lady Bears
3	27	María Conde	Spain	Wisła Can-Pack Kraków (Poland)

Trades and Roster Changes

Date	Trade
February 1, 2018	Re-signed F Cheyenne Parker[13][14]
February 2, 2019	Re-Signed G Allie Quigley[15][16]
February 14, 2019	Signed F Evelyn Akhator to Training Camp Contract[17][18]
	Re-Signed G Jamierra Faulkner[19][18]
February 18, 2019	Re-Signed G Linnae Harper[20]
February 19, 2019	Signed C Victoria Macaulay to Training Camp Contract[21]
February 27, 2019	Re-Sign C Astou Ndour[22][23]
March 19, 2019	Signed G Hind Ben Abdelkader[24]
April 30, 2019	Signed F Leslie Robinson to Training Camp Contract[25]
May 7, 2019	Waived F Leslie Robinson and F Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah[26]
May 20, 2019	Traded their second round pick in the 2020 WNBA draft to Los Angeles in exchange for C Jantel Lavender[27]
May 21, 2019	Traded C Alaina Coates to Minnesota in exchange for Minnesota's third round pick in the 2020 WNBA draft[28]
August 22, 2019	Waived G Chloe Jackson and signed C Kayla Alexander[29]

Additions

Player	Date	Former Team
Jantel Lavender	May 20, 2019	Los Angeles Sparks
Kayla Alexander	August 22, 2019	Free agent

Subtractions

Player	Date	New Team
Alaina Coates	May 21, 2019	Minnesota Lynx
Chloe Jackson	August 22, 2019	Free agent

Roster

2019 Chicago Sky roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs C 40 Alexander, Kayla 6' 4" (1.93m) 195 lb (88kg) (1991-01-05)January 5, 1991 Syracuse 6 G/F 2 Copper, Kahleah 6' 1" (1.85m) 155 lb (70kg) (1994-08-28)August 28, 1994 Rutgers 3 G 1 DeShields, Diamond 6' 1" (1.85m) 163 lb (74kg) (1995-03-05)March 5, 1995 Tennessee 1 C 31 Dolson, Stefanie 6' 5" (1.96m) 231 lb (105kg) (1992-01-08)January 8, 1992 Connecticut 5 G 21 Faulkner, Jamierra 5' 6" (1.68m) 138 lb (63kg) (1992-03-09)March 9, 1992 Southern Miss 4 F/C 7 Lavender, Jantel 6' 4" (1.93m) 185 lb (84kg) (1988-11-12)November 12, 1988 Ohio State 8 C 45 Ndour, Astou 6' 5" (1.96m) 150 lb (68kg) (1994-08-22)August 22, 1994 Spain 3 F 32 Parker, Cheyenne 6' 4" (1.93m) 193 lb (88kg) (1992-08-22)August 22, 1992 Middle Tennessee 4 G 14 Quigley, Allie 5' 10" (1.78m) 140 lb (64kg) (1986-06-20)June 20, 1986 DePaul 10 G 33 Samuelson, Katie Lou 6' 3" (1.91m) 169 lb (77kg) (1997-06-13)June 13, 1997 Connecticut R G 22 Vandersloot, Courtney 5' 8" (1.73m) 145 lb (66kg) (1989-02-08)February 8, 1989 Gonzaga 8 F 15 Williams, Gabby 5' 11" (1.8m) 172 lb (78kg) (1996-09-09)September 9, 1996 Connecticut 1	Head coach James Wade (Kennesaw State) Assistant coaches Carla Morrow (Tulsa) Bridget Pettis (Florida) Player development Emre Vatansever Athletic trainer Meghan Lockerby Strength and conditioning coach Ann Crosby (Western Michigan) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Season overview

Prior to the start of the season, new head coach James Wade prioritized improving defense as a key goal for the Sky this season.^[30] In the previous season, the Sky had recorded the league's worst defensive rating.^[31]

The Sky lost their opening game against the Lynx on May 25, 2019, but won their home opener a week later against the Storm. After a road loss to the Mystics, the Sky proceeded to win four straight games. After a home loss to the Fever, the Sky faced the league-leading Sun, and surprised their opponents with a blowout 93–75 win.^[32] With a loss at home to the Mystics on June 26, Chicago held a 6–4 record ten games into the season.

On a three-game road trip from June 28 to July 2, the Sky lost three games against the Storm, Sparks, and Aces, dropping to a 6–7 record.^[33] The Sky won 5 out of their next 6 games, however, and improved to an 11–8 record before the All-Star break. The only game they lost during this period was a July 10 home game against the Lynx, which they lost by one point. The stretch also included a one-point win against the Dream on July 17.^[34]

Three Sky players—Diamond DeShields, Allie Quigley, and Courtney Vandersloot—were named as reserves in the 2019 WNBA All-Star Game on July 27. Most of the team (all but three players) made the trip to Las Vegas for All-Star Weekend to support their teammates.^[35] DeShields won the Skills Challenge during All-Star Weekend, but Quigley failed to repeat as Three-Point Contest champion.

On July 30, on a road trip to face the league-leading Sun, the Sky faced problems with canceled and delayed flights and did not arrive in their hotel until 4:45am on the day of the game.^{[nb 1][36]} They rebounded with a win in their next road game against the Dream and improved to a 12–9 record.

During a 101–92 comeback victory against the New York Liberty on August 7, the Chicago Sky scored 42 points in the fourth quarter, the highest of any WNBA team since the league moved to a four-quarter format in 2006.^[37] Allie Quigley scored 22 points in the game, and Jantel Lavender double-doubled with 20 points and 10 rebounds.^[37][38] With this win, the Sky matched their previous season's win total of 13.

Over their next four games, the Sky faced the two teams directly above them in the standings—the Las Vegas Aces and the Los Angeles Sparks—twice each. They split the series evenly with both teams, achieving a 15–11 record. Their home game against the Aces was marked by officiating controversies and a conflict between Liz Cambage and Cheyenne Parker, which resulted in technical fouls for both players.^[39]

In their remaining five games in August, the Sky went 3–2, for an overall record of 18–13. This stretch included both a convincing home 85–78 win over the top-seeded Washington Mystics and a surprise home loss to the low-seeded Dallas Wings.^[40][41][42] In September, the Sky scored 100 points in two straight games with wins over the playoff-bound Phoenix Mercury and Connecticut Sun, before losing their last regular season game on the road to the Mystics. Finishing the season with a 20–14 record, they finished the season as the fifth-seeded team.^[43]

Game log

2019 pre-season game log
May: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 14 Indiana Fever L 58–69 Parker (11) Samuelson (7) Vandersloot (6) Wintrust Arena 4,033 0–1 2 May 16 @ Indiana Fever L 65–76 Parker (16) Samuelson (6) Jackson (5) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 3,794 0–2
2019 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2019 game log Total: 20–14 (Home: 12–5; Road: 8–9)
May: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 25 @ Minnesota Lynx L 71–89 Tied (11) Dolson (7) Vandersloot (8) Target Center 8,524 0–1
June : 6–5 (Home: 4–2; Road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 2 June 1 Seattle Storm W 83–79 Quigley (25) Vandersloot (8) Vandersloot (11) Wintrust Arena 7,063 1–1 3 June 5 @ Washington Mystics L 85–103 DeShields (24) 4 tied (5) Vandersloot (8) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 2,347 1–2 4 June 9 Seattle Storm W 78–71 Parker (18) Parker (11) Vandersloot (7) Wintrust Arena 5,032 2–2 5 June 11 Phoenix Mercury W 82–75 DeShields (25) Parker (10) Vandersloot (8) Wintrust Arena 4,212 3–2 6 June 15 @ Indiana Fever W 70–64 Quigley (18) Parker (10) Vandersloot (8) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 4,715 4–2 7 June 19 @ New York Liberty W 91–83 Vandersloot (25) Tied (8) Vandersloot (6) Westchester County Center 1,585 5–2 8 June 21 Indiana Fever L 69–76 DeShields (19) Lavender (7) Vandersloot (8) Wintrust Arena 4,945 5–3 9 June 23 Connecticut Sun W 93–75 Parker (22) Lavender (13) Vandersloot (7) Wintrust Arena 5,607 6–3 10 June 26 Washington Mystics L 74–81 Quigley (21) DeShields (9) Vandersloot (8) Wintrust Arena 8,914 6–4 11 June 28 @ Seattle Storm L 76–79 DeShields (19) Lavender (10) Vandersloot (6) Alaska Airlines Arena 7,915 6–5 12 June 30 @ Los Angeles Sparks L 69–94 DeShields (23) Parker (11) Vandersloot (7) Staples Center 11,067 6–6
July : 5–3 (Home: 4–1; Road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 13 July 2 @ Las Vegas Aces L 82–90 Quigley (18) 3 tied (6) Vandersloot (12) Mandalay Bay Events Center 3,516 6–7 14 July 7 Dallas Wings W 78–66 Lavender (20) Lavender (10) Vandersloot (11) Wintrust Arena 6,102 7–7 15 July 10 Minnesota Lynx L 72–73 Quigley (24) DeShields (9) Williams (5) Wintrust Arena 8,508 7–8 16 July 12 New York Liberty W 99–83 Tied (17) Dolson (9) Vandersloot (12) Wintrust Arena 7,221 8–8 17 July 14 @ Dallas Wings W 89–79 DeShields (26) Tied (7) Vandersloot (8) College Park Center 4,261 9–8 18 July 17 Atlanta Dream W 77–76 DeShields (22) Parker (10) Vandersloot (9) Wintrust Arena 10,143 10–8 29 July 21 Indiana Fever W 78–70 Tied (19) Lavender (11) Vandersloot (14) Wintrust Arena 6,614 11–8 20 July 30 @ Connecticut Sun L 94–100 Quigley (24) Dolson (10) Vandersloot (11) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,358 11–9
August : 7–4 (Home: 3–2; Road: 4–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 21 August 3 @ Atlanta Dream W 87–75 Dolson (16) DeShields (12) Vandersloot (9) State Farm Arena 5,427 12–9 22 August 7 New York Liberty W 101–92 Quigley (22) Lavender (10) Vandersloot (8) Wintrust Arena 5,797 13–9 23 August 9 @ Las Vegas Aces W 87–84 3 tied (16) DeShields (7) Vandersloot (13) Mandalay Bay Events Center 4,200 14–9 24 August 11 @ Los Angeles Sparks L 81–84 Quigley (20) Tied (7) Williams (6) Staples Center 9,244 14–10 25 August 16 Los Angeles Sparks W 91–81 Quigley (26) Ndour (9) Vandersloot (9) Wintrust Arena 7,907 15–10 26 August 18 Las Vegas Aces L 85–100 DeShields (28) Ndour (10) Vandersloot (9) Wintrust Arena 6,072 15–11 27 August 20 @Atlanta Dream W 87–83 DeShields (17) Ndour (10) Vandersloot (10) State Farm Arena 4,662 16–11 28 August 23 Washington Mystics W 85–78 DeShields (22) Vandersloot (8) Vandersloot (9) Wintrust Arena 6,131 17–11 29 August 25 @ Phoenix Mercury W 94–86 Quigley (24) Parker (12) Vandersloot (13) Talking Stick Resort Arena 12,054 18–11 30 August 27 @ Minnesota Lynx L 85–93 Parker (22) Parker (8) Vandersloot (10) Target Center 8,092 18–12 31 August 29 Dallas Wings L 83–88 Vandersloot (19) Dolson (11) Vandersloot (7) Wintrust Arena 5,614 18–13
September : 2–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 32 September 1 Phoenix Mercury W 105–78 Tied (18) Parker (8) Vandersloot (13) Wintrust Arena 8,845 19–13 33 September 6 @ Connecticut Sun W 109–104 DeShields (30) Dolson (9) Vandersloot (11) Mohegan Sun Arena 8,077 20–13 34 September 8 @ Washington Mystics L 86–100 DeShields (16) Parker (6) Vandersloot (6) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200 20–14
2019 season schedule

Playoffs

2019 playoff game log Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
First Round: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 September 11 Phoenix Mercury W 105–76 DeShields (25) Ndour (9) Vandersloot (11) Wintrust Arena 6,042 1–0
Second Round: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 September 15 Las Vegas Aces L 92–93 DeShields (23) Ndour (8) Vandersloot (12) Thomas & Mack Center 7,981 0–1
2019 playoff schedule

Standings

#	Eastern Conference v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
1	Washington Mystics (1)	26	8	.765	–	14–3	12–5	13–3
2	Connecticut Sun (2)	23	11	.676	3	15–2	8–9	11–5
3	Chicago Sky (5)	20	14	.588	6	12–5	8–9	11–5
4	e –Indiana Fever	13	21	.382	13	7–10	6–11	7–9
5	e –New York Liberty	10	24	.294	16	4–13	6–11	3–13
6	e –Atlanta Dream	8	26	.235	18	5–12	3–14	3–13

Notes

(#) – Conference Standing, Playoff Seeds shown to the right of team name

e – Eliminated from playoffs

Playoffs

Main article: 2019 WNBA Playoffs

	First round: Single elimination (Sept. 11)					Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 15)					Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24)								WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10)
											1	Washington Mystics	97	103	75	94
						4	Las Vegas Aces	93			4	Las Vegas Aces	95	91	92	90
	5	Chicago Sky	105			5	Chicago Sky	92											1	Washington Mystics	95	87	94	86	89
	8	Phoenix Mercury	76																2	Connecticut Sun	86	99	81	90	78
											2	Connecticut Sun		84	94	78
						3	Los Angeles Sparks	92			3	Los Angeles Sparks		75	68	56
	6	Seattle Storm	84			6	Seattle Storm	69
	7	Minnesota Lynx	74

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

Statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage	TO	Turnovers per game
PF	Fouls per game		Team leader		League leader

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Diamond DeShields	34	34	30.2	39.9	31.6	83.6	5.5	2.4	1.3	0.4	16.2
Allie Quigley	34	34	28.6	49.3	44.2	87.0	3.0	2.5	0.8	0.2	13.8
Courtney Vandersloot	33	33	30.0	45.2	29.0	85.0	4.3	9.1	1.4	0.5	11.2
Jantel Lavender	23	22	26.9	49.0	22.2	90.5	6.9	1.1	0.3	0.6	10.0
Stefanie Dolson	34	34	25.0	51.9	36.1	89.8	5.6	2.2	0.6	1.0	9.3
Cheyenne Parker	34	0	19.7	45.9	27.8	84.2	5.8	0.9	0.7	1.2	8.8
Astou Ndour	21	11	17.5	49.2	42.4	72.2	4.2	0.7	0.5	0.7	6.8
Kahleah Copper	34	0	14.8	38.7	30.6	77.1	1.9	0.9	0.4	0.1	6.7
Gabby Williams	33	2	16.0	41.4	17.1	72.5	2.2	2.1	0.7	0.2	5.6
Kayla Alexander	3	0	6.7	75.0	0	75.0	2.3	0.3	0	0	3.0
Katie Lou Samuelson	20	0	7.7	31.6	27.6	80.0	0.9	0.4	0.3	0.1	2.4
Jamierra Faulkner	13	0	5.5	33.3	11.1	50.0	0.3	0.8	0.2	0	1.3

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Allie Quigley	WNBA All-Star Selection	July 15, 2019	[6]
Diamond DeShields	WNBA All-Star Selection	July 15, 2019	[6]
	WNBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge Champion	July 26, 2019	[44]
	All-WNBA Second Team	October 6, 2019	[10]
Courtney Vandersloot	WNBA All-Star Selection	July 15, 2019	[6]
	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week	August 26, 2019	[45]
	Peak Performer: Assists	September 9, 2019	[46]
	All-WNBA First Team	October 6, 2019	[10]
James Wade	Coach of the Year	September 11, 2019	[47]

Notes

1. The WNBA's collective bargaining agreement requires players to fly on commercial flights, rather than chartered private flights. As such, they are subject to cancellations and delays on commercial airlines.