# 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.
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.

## Transactions
### 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 |
| January 9, 2021 | Full-Season suspend G Maria Conde |
| January 13, 2021 | Extended Qualifying Offer to F Alexis Prince |
| February 1, 2021 | Signed F Candace Parker |
| 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. |
| February 9, 2021 | Signed G Brittany Boyd-Jones to a training camp contract |
| February 17, 2021 | Signed F Azurá Stevens to a Contract Extension |
| March 7, 2021 | Waived F Stephanie Mavunga |
| March 8, 2021 | Signed F Astou Ndour |
| April 13, 2021 | Signed F Alexis Prince and G Jessica January to Training Camp Contracts |
| April 17, 2021 | Signed G Shyla Heal, G Petra Holešínská, F Natasha Mack, F Sierra Campisano, and G Sparkle Taylor |
| April 20, 2021 | Signed G Lexie Brown |
| May 6, 2021 | Full-Seasons Suspended F Gabby Williams |
| May 7, 2021 | Waived G Petra Holešínská |
| May 9, 2021 | Traded Gabby Williams to Los Angeles in exchange for Stephanie Watts and the rights to Leonie Fiebich |
| May 10, 2021 | Waived G Jessica January, G Sparkle Taylor, and F Sierra Campisano |
| May 13, 2021 | Waived G Brittany Boyd-Jones, G Lexie Brown, F Alexis Prince and F Natasha Mack, and F Kobi Thornton |
| May 13, 2021 | Temporarily Suspend G Shyla Heal |
| May 15, 2021 | Signed G Brittany Boyd-Jones to Hardship Contract |
| May 17, 2021 | Temporarily Suspend C Stefanie Dolson |
| May 18, 2021 | Signed F Natasha Mack to Hardship Contract |
| May 20, 2021 | Released G Brittany Boyd from Hardship Contract |
| May 21, 2021 | Activated G Shyla Heal from Temporarily Suspension List |
| May 22, 2021 | Released F Natasha Mack from Hardship Contract |
| May 23, 2021 | Signed F Natasha Mack to Hardship Contract |
| May 30, 2021 | Released F Natasha Mack from Hardship Contract |
| June 1, 2021 | Signed G Lexie Brown to Hardship Contract |
| 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 |
| June 2, 2021 | Waived G Stephanie Watts |
| June 2, 2021 | Activate C Stefanie Dolson from Temporary Suspension List |
| June 2, 2021 | Released G Lexie Brown from Hardship Contract |
| June 7, 2021 | Signed F Sierra Campisano |
| June 8, 2021 | Waived F Sierra Campisano |
| June 8, 2021 | Temporarily Suspend F Astou Ndour due to Overseas Commitments |
| June 9, 2021 | Signed F Natasha Mack |
| June 10, 2021 | Waived F Natasha Mack |
| June 14, 2021 | Signed G Lexie Brown |
| June 30, 2021 | Activate F Astou Ndour from Temporary Suspension |

## Game log
### Preseason

2021 pre-season game log :
May: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 23
Dallas
W 81–64
Kahleah Copper (23)
Candace Parker (15)
Candace Parker (7)
Wintrust Arena 4,672
1–0 :
Second Round
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 26
@ Minnesota
W 89–76
Courtney Vandersloot (19)
Kahleah Copper (10)
Courtney Vandersloot (5)
Target Center 4,334
1–0 :
Semifinals
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
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
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
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 | First round Sept. 23 | First round Sept. 23 | Second round Sept. 26 | Second round Sept. 26 | Second round Sept. 26 | Semifinals Sept. 28 – Oct. 8 | Semifinals Sept. 28 – Oct. 8 | Semifinals Sept. 28 – Oct. 8 | Semifinals Sept. 28 – Oct. 8 | Semifinals Sept. 28 – Oct. 8 | Semifinals Sept. 28 – Oct. 8 | Semifinals Sept. 28 – Oct. 8 | WNBA Finals Oct. 10 – Oct. 17 | WNBA Finals Oct. 10 – Oct. 17 | WNBA Finals Oct. 10 – Oct. 17 | WNBA Finals Oct. 10 – Oct. 17 | WNBA Finals Oct. 10 – Oct. 17 | WNBA Finals Oct. 10 – Oct. 17 | 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 | 85$^{OT}$ | | | | | | | | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 77 | 91$^{OT}$ | 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 | 101$^{2OT}$ | 68 | 86 | 79 | – | Third place | Third place | Third place | Third place | Third place | Third place | Third place |
| 6 | Chicago Sky | 81 | 6 | Chicago Sky | 89 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Dallas Wings | 64 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

## Statistics

Source:

### 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 |
| Courtney Vandersloot | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | June 21 |
| Kahleah Copper | WNBA All-Star Selection | June 30 |
| Courtney Vandersloot | WNBA All-Star Selection | June 30 |
| Candace Parker | WNBA All-Star Selection | June 30 |
| James Wade | Coach of the Month – June | July 1 |
| Courtney Vandersloot | Peak Performer: Assists | September 20 |
| Dana Evans | WNBA All-Rookie Team | October 5 |
| Courtney Vandersloot | All-WNBA Second Team | October 15 |
| Kahleah Copper | WNBA Finals MVP | October 17 |