2021 Chicago Sky season

The 2021 Chicago Sky season was the franchise's 16th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and its third season under head coach James Wade. In the postseason, the Sky won their first WNBA championship.

2021 Chicago Sky season
WNBA champions
Coach	James Wade
Arena	Wintrust Arena
Attendance	3,187 per game
Results
Record	16–16 (.500)
Place	2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	WNBA Champions (Defeated Phoenix Mercury 3–1 in WNBA Finals)
Team Leaders
Points	Kahleah Copper – 14.4 ppg
Rebounds	Candace Parker – 8.4 rpg
Assists	Courtney Vandersloot – 8.6 apg
← 2020 season 2022 season →

The offseason was marked by two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker joining the team. The Sky started the season with two wins but followed with a seven-game losing streak through mid-June. However, they went on a seven-game winning streak that included back-to-back wins over eventual top seed Connecticut. They entered the mid-season Olympic break with a 10–10 record. After the break, they recorded a 4–3 record in August, including back-to-back road wins in Seattle. In September, they began with a road loss and closed out the season with a four game home-stand that they split 2–2, finishing the season 16–16.

The Sky entered the playoffs as the sixth seed. They hosted the Dallas Wings in the First Round, and won in dominating fashion, 81–64. They faced the Minnesota Lynx on the road in the Second Round, winning the game 89–76. Facing the first-seeded Connecticut Sun in a best-of-three semifinals series, they won the Game 1 in double overtime but lost Game 2 on the road. The series returned home to Chicago, where the Sky won both games to win the series 3–1.

The Sky reached the Finals for the first time since 2014. They were only the third team to reach the finals with a record of .500 or below, and the lowest seed to do so since the new playoff format was introduced in 2016. In the WNBA Finals, the Sky defeated the Phoenix Mercury in four games to win their first WNBA championship. Their only loss came in overtime in Game 2.^[1][2]

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2021 WNBA draft

The Sky made the following selections in the 2021 WNBA draft on December 4, 2020.

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	8	Shyla Heal	Australia	Townsville Fire (Australia)
2	16	Natasha Mack	United States	Oklahoma State

Trades and Roster Changes

Date	Trade or Roster Change
January 7, 2021	Waived F Kiah Gillespie[3]
January 9, 2021	Full-Season suspend G Maria Conde[3]
January 13, 2021	Extended Qualifying Offer to F Alexis Prince[3]
February 1, 2021	Signed F Candace Parker[4]
February 9, 2021	Acquired the 16th Pick in the 2021 WNBA draft from Dallas in exchange for Chicago's Second Round Pick in the 2022 WNBA draft.[5]
	Signed G Brittany Boyd-Jones to a training camp contract[6]
February 17, 2021	Signed F Azurá Stevens to a Contract Extension[7]
March 7, 2021	Waived F Stephanie Mavunga[8]
March 8, 2021	Signed F Astou Ndour[9]
April 13, 2021	Signed F Alexis Prince and G Jessica January to Training Camp Contracts[10]
April 17, 2021	Signed G Shyla Heal, G Petra Holešínská, F Natasha Mack, F Sierra Campisano, and G Sparkle Taylor[11]
April 20, 2021	Signed G Lexie Brown[12]
May 6, 2021	Full-Seasons Suspended F Gabby Williams[13]
May 7, 2021	Waived G Petra Holešínská[14]
May 9, 2021	Traded Gabby Williams to Los Angeles in exchange for Stephanie Watts and the rights to Leonie Fiebich[15]
May 10, 2021	Waived G Jessica January, G Sparkle Taylor, and F Sierra Campisano[16]
May 13, 2021	Waived G Brittany Boyd-Jones, G Lexie Brown, F Alexis Prince and F Natasha Mack, and F Kobi Thornton[17]
	Temporarily Suspend G Shyla Heal[18]
May 15, 2021	Signed G Brittany Boyd-Jones to Hardship Contract[19]
May 17, 2021	Temporarily Suspend C Stefanie Dolson[20]
May 18, 2021	Signed F Natasha Mack to Hardship Contract[21]
May 20, 2021	Released G Brittany Boyd from Hardship Contract[22]
May 21, 2021	Activated G Shyla Heal from Temporarily Suspension List[23]
May 22, 2021	Released F Natasha Mack from Hardship Contract[24]
May 23, 2021	Signed F Natasha Mack to Hardship Contract[25]
May 30, 2021	Released F Natasha Mack from Hardship Contract[26]
June 1, 2021	Signed G Lexie Brown to Hardship Contract[27]
June 2, 2021	Traded G Shyla Heal, a 2022 3rd Round Pick, and the option to swap 1st Round Picks in 2022 to the Dallas Wings in exchange for G Dana Evans[28]
	Waived G Stephanie Watts
	Activate C Stefanie Dolson from Temporary Suspension List[29]
	Released G Lexie Brown from Hardship Contract
June 7, 2021	Signed F Sierra Campisano[30]
June 8, 2021	Waived F Sierra Campisano[31]
	Temporarily Suspend F Astou Ndour due to Overseas Commitments
June 9, 2021	Signed F Natasha Mack[32]
June 10, 2021	Waived F Natasha Mack[33]
June 14, 2021	Signed G Lexie Brown[34]
June 30, 2021	Activate F Astou Ndour from Temporary Suspension[35]

Roster

2021 Chicago Sky roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs G 7 Brown, Lexie 5' 9" (1.75m) 162 lb (73kg) 1994-10-27 Duke 3 G/F 2 Copper, Kahleah 6' 1" (1.85m) 165 lb (75kg) 1994-08-28 Rutgers 5 G 1 DeShields, Diamond 6' 1" (1.85m) 172 lb (78kg) 1995-03-05 Tennessee 3 C 31 Dolson, Stefanie 6' 5" (1.96m) 235 lb (107kg) 1992-01-08 Connecticut 7 G 11 Evans, Dana 5' 6" (1.68m) 145 lb (66kg) 1998-08-01 Louisville R F 24 Hebard, Ruthy 6' 4" (1.93m) 190 lb (86kg) 1998-04-28 Oregon 1 F/C 45 Ndour, Astou 6' 5" (1.96m) 162 lb (73kg) 1994-08-22 Spain 5 F/C 3 Parker, Candace 6' 4" (1.93m) 184 lb (83kg) 1986-04-19 Tennessee 12 G 14 Quigley, Allie 5' 10" (1.78m) 142 lb (64kg) 1986-06-20 DePaul 12 F/C 30 Stevens, Azurá 6' 6" (1.98m) 180 lb (82kg) 1996-02-01 Connecticut 3 G 22 Vandersloot, Courtney 5' 8" (1.73m) 137 lb (62kg) 1989-02-08 Gonzaga 10	Head coach James Wade (Kennesaw State) Assistant coaches Tonya Edwards (Tennessee) Olaf Lange 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

Game log

Preseason

2021 pre-season game log
May: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 9 @ Indiana L 65–82 Kahleah Copper (14) Boyd-Jones Mack (6) Brittany Boyd-Jones (3) Bankers Life Fieldhouse No Fans 0–1 2 May 11 Indiana W 83–70 Astou Ndour-Fall (13) Candace Parker (6) Brittany Boyd-Jones (5) Wintrust Arena No Fans 1–1
2021 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2021 game log Total: 16–16 (Home: 6–10; Road: 10–6)
May: 2–4 (Home: 0–4; Road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 15 @ Washington W 70–56 Kahleah Copper (19) Parker Copper (8) Diamond DeShields (5) Entertainment and Sports Arena 1,050 1–0 2 May 19 @ Atlanta W 85–77 Kahleah Copper (23) Astou Ndour-Fall (11) Courtney Vandersloot (8) Gateway Center Arena 689 2–0 3 May 23 New York L 85–93 Diamond DeShields (22) Ruthy Hebard (10) Courtney Vandersloot (16) Wintrust Arena 1,332 2–1 4 May 25 Atlanta L 83–90 Kahleah Copper (21) DeShields Ndour-Fall (9) Courtney Vandersloot (6) Wintrust Arena 1,004 2–2 5 May 28 Los Angeles L 61–76 Diamond DeShields (14) Astou Ndour-Fall (9) Courtney Vandersloot (6) Wintrust Arena 1,124 2–3 6 May 30 Los Angeles L 79–82 Courtney Vandersloot (28) Astou Ndour-Fall (12) Courtney Vandersloot (7) Wintrust Arena 1,124 2–4
June : 8–4 (Home: 3–1; Road: 5–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 7 June 1 Phoenix L 83–84 Diamond DeShields (26) Ruthy Hebard (9) Courtney Vandersloot (10) Wintrust Arena 1,217 2–5 8 June 3 @ Phoenix L 74–77 Kahleah Copper (14) Kahleah Copper (8) Courtney Vandersloot (9) Phoenix Suns Arena 3,819 2–6 9 June 5 @ Los Angeles L 63–68 Kahleah Copper (15) Ruthy Hebard (10) Courtney Vandersloot (5) Los Angeles Convention Center 430 2–7 10 June 9 Indiana W 92–76 Courtney Vandersloot (17) Ruthy Hebard (9) Courtney Vandersloot (9) Wintrust Arena 1,090 3–7 11 June 12 @ Indiana W 83–79 Candace Parker (20) Candace Parker (14) Courtney Vandersloot (5) Indiana Farmers Coliseum No Fans 4–7 12 June 15 @ Minnesota W 105–89 Allie Quigley (23) Candace Parker (7) Courtney Vandersloot (13) Target Center 2,024 5–7 13 June 17 Connecticut W 81–75 Kahleah Copper (18) Copper Parker (8) Courtney Vandersloot (10) Wintrust Arena 1,293 6–7 14 June 19 Connecticut W 91–81 Courtney Vandersloot (18) Kahleah Copper (9) Courtney Vandersloot (11) Wintrust Arena 1,293 7–7 15 June 22 @ New York W 92–72 Candace Parker (23) Candace Parker (12) Courtney Vandersloot (10) Barclays Center 1,419 8–7 16 June 24 @ New York W 91–68 Copper DeShields (18) Candace Parker (11) Courtney Vandersloot (9) Barclays Center 2,148 9–7 17 June 27 @ Connecticut L 58–74 Copper Quigley (11) DeShields Dolson (6) Courtney Vandersloot (7) Mohegan Sun Arena 2,014 9–8 18 June 30 @ Dallas W 91–81 Kahleah Copper (17) Candace Parker (10) Courtney Vandersloot (12) College Park Center 1,778 10–8
July : 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 19 July 2 @ Dallas L 91–100 Candace Parker (22) Candace Parker (7) Courtney Vandersloot (9) College Park Center 2,187 10–9 20 July 10 Washington L 85–89 (OT) Stefanie Dolson (20) Candace Parker (13) Courtney Vandersloot (15) Wintrust Arena 8,331 10–10
August : 4–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 3–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 21 August 15 Seattle W 87–85 Kahleah Copper (19) Candace Parker (9) Courtney Vandersloot (11) Wintrust Arena 6,231 11–10 22 August 17 Dallas L 76–80 Allie Quigley (27) Dolson Parker (6) Courtney Vandersloot (12) Wintrust Arena 3,902 11–11 23 August 21 Minnesota L 95–101 Quigley Vandersloot (27) Allie Quigley (5) Courtney Vandersloot (8) Wintrust Arena 5,036 11–12 24 August 24 @ Atlanta W 86–79 Allie Quigley (21) Candace Parker (9) Courtney Vandersloot (10) Gateway Center Arena 1,292 12–12 25 August 27 @ Seattle W 73–69 Kahleah Copper (26) Azurá Stevens (10) Courtney Vandersloot (8) Angel of the Winds Arena 3,650 13–12 26 August 29 @ Seattle W 107–75 Candace Parker (25) Parker Stevens (9) Courtney Vandersloot (10) Angel of the Winds Arena 3,750 14–12 27 August 31 @ Phoenix L 83–103 Kahleah Copper (18) Azurá Stevens (9) Parker Vandersloot (4) Phoenix Suns Arena 5,838 14–13
September : 2–3 (Home: 2–2; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 28 September 2 @ Las Vegas L 83–90 Candace Parker (30) Candace Parker (14) Courtney Vandersloot (8) Michelob Ultra Arena 5,150 14–14 29 September 5 Las Vegas W 92–84 Allie Quigley (22) Candace Parker (13) Candace Parker (8) Wintrust Arena 5,210 15–14 30 September 12 Washington L 71–79 Azurá Stevens (18) Candace Parker (11) Courtney Vandersloot (6) Wintrust Arena 4,707 15–15 31 September 17 Las Vegas L 70–103 Candace Parker (20) Azurá Stevens (6) Courtney Vandersloot (6) Wintrust Arena 4,911 15–16 32 September 19 Indiana W 98–87 Diamond DeShields (30) Allie Quigley (8) Diamond DeShields (6) Wintrust Arena N/A 16–16
2021 season schedule

Playoffs

2021 playoff game log Total: 8–2
First Round Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 September 23 Dallas W 81–64 Kahleah Copper (23) Candace Parker (15) Candace Parker (7) Wintrust Arena 4,672 1–0
Second Round Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 September 26 @ Minnesota W 89–76 Courtney Vandersloot (19) Kahleah Copper (10) Courtney Vandersloot (5) Target Center 4,334 1–0
Semifinals Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 September 28 @ Connecticut W 101–95 (2OT) Candace Parker (22) Courtney Vandersloot (10) Courtney Vandersloot (18) Mohegan Sun Arena 4,720 1–0 2 September 30 @ Connecticut L 68–79 Kahleah Copper (13) Candace Parker (7) Courtney Vandersloot (6) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,088 1–1 3 October 3 Connecticut W 86–83 Kahleah Copper (26) Azurá Stevens (11) Courtney Vandersloot (13) Wintrust Arena 7,421 2–1 4 October 6 Connecticut W 79–69 Courtney Vandersloot (19) Candace Parker (9) Candace Parker (7) Wintrust Arena 3-1
Finals Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 October 10 @ Phoenix W 91–77 Kahleah Copper (21) Kahleah Copper (10) Courtney Vandersloot (11) Footprint Center 10,191 1–0 2 October 13 @ Phoenix L 86–91 (OT) Courtney Vandersloot (20) Copper Parker Stevens (9) Courtney Vandersloot (14) Footprint Center 13,685 1–1 3 October 15 Phoenix W 86–50 Kahleah Copper (22) Azurá Stevens (6) Courtney Vandersloot (10) Wintrust Arena 10,378 2–1 4 October 17 Phoenix W 80–74 Allie Quigley (26) Candace Parker (13) Courtney Vandersloot (15) Wintrust Arena 10,378 3–1
2021 playoff schedule

Standings

#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Conf.	Home	Road	Cup
1	x – Connecticut Sun	26	6	.813	–	12–3	15–1	11–5	9–1
2	x – Las Vegas Aces	24	8	.750	2	11–4	13–3	11–5	6–4
3	x – Minnesota Lynx	22	10	.688	4	10–5	13–3	9–7	7–3
4	x – Seattle Storm	21	11	.656	5	9–6	11–5	10–6	8–2
5	x – Phoenix Mercury	19	13	.594	7	6–9	7–9	12–4	5–5
6	x – Chicago Sky	16	16	.500	10	10–5	6–10	10–6	6–4
7	x – Dallas Wings	14	18	.438	12	7–8	7–9	7–9	3–7
8	x – New York Liberty	12	20	.375	14	6–9	7–9	5–11	5–5
9	e – Washington Mystics	12	20	.375	14	7–8	8–8	4–12	4–6
10	e – Los Angeles Sparks	12	20	.375	14	2–13	8–8	4–12	1–9
11	e – Atlanta Dream	8	24	.250	18	6–9	4–12	4–12	4–6
12	e – Indiana Fever	6	26	.188	20	4–11	4–12	2–14	2–8

• v
• t
• e

Notes

(#) – League Standing

x – Clinched playoff berth

e – Eliminated from playoff contention

Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

Playoffs

	First round Sept. 23					Second round Sept. 26					Semifinals Sept. 28 – Oct. 8									WNBA Finals Oct. 10 – Oct. 17
											2	Las Vegas Aces	96	91	60	93	84
						4	Seattle Storm	80			5	Phoenix Mercury	90	117	87	76	87
	5	Phoenix Mercury	83			5	Phoenix Mercury	85OT												5	Phoenix Mercury	77	91OT	50	74	–
	8	New York Liberty	82																	6	Chicago Sky	91	86	86	80	–
											1	Connecticut Sun	95	79	83	69	–
						3	Minnesota Lynx	76			6	Chicago Sky	1012OT	68	86	79	–
	6	Chicago Sky	81			6	Chicago Sky	89
	7	Dallas Wings	64

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

Source:^[36]

Regular Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Kahleah Copper	32	32	30.8	45.9	30.6	81.8	4.2	1.8	0.9	0.3	14.4
Candace Parker	23	23	26.7	45.8	32.9	79.4	8.4	4.0	0.7	1.2	13.3
Allie Quigley	26	11	24.4	44.8	45.4	95.9	2.7	2.3	0.5	0.3	13.2
Diamond DeShields	32	22	26.9	39.3	30.0	82.0	3.5	2.3	1.2	0.4	11.3
Courtney Vandersloot	32	32	30.5	43.3	34.6	85.7	3.4	8.6	1.7	0.4	10.5
Stefanie Dolson	24	15	20.0	48.6	40.4	94.7	3.5	1.3	0.3	0.8	7.5
Azurá Stevens	30	11	19.6	50.0	33.3	81.3	4.6	0.8	0.8	0.7	7.4
Astou Ndour-Fall	20	8	17.1	39.7	23.5	94.1	4.8	0.4	0.4	0.8	6.6
Ruthy Hebard	30	6	16.8	52.9	0.0	79.4	4.4	0.8	0.7	0.7	5.8
Dana Evans	23	0	8.6	35.6	40.5	87.5	0.5	1.2	0.2	0.0	3.9
Lexie Brown	17	0	9.5	26.3	24.2	0.0	0.7	1.1	0.4	0.0	1.6

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Courtney Vandersloot	Eastern Conference Player of the Week	June 21	[37]
Kahleah Copper	WNBA All-Star Selection	June 30	[38]
Courtney Vandersloot
Candace Parker
James Wade	Coach of the Month – June	July 1	[39]
Courtney Vandersloot	Peak Performer: Assists	September 20	[40]
Dana Evans	WNBA All-Rookie Team	October 5	[41]
Courtney Vandersloot	All-WNBA Second Team	October 15	[42]
Kahleah Copper	WNBA Finals MVP	October 17	[43]