# 2024 Chicago Sky season

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

| Date | Transaction |
| October 31, 2023 | Hired Jeff Pagliocca as General Manager |
| January 17, 2024 | Extended Qualifying Offers to Robyn Parks, Rebekah Gardner, and Morgan Bertsch |
| February 1. 2024 | Signed Lindsay Allen |
| February 2, 2024 | Renounced the rights to Astou Ndour-Fall |
| February 5, 2024 | Signed Diamond DeShields |
| February 6, 2024 | Acquired Brianna Turner and Michaela Onyenwere, the third overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, Chicago's own 2025 second round pick, Phoenix's 2026 first round draft pick, and the right to swap 2026 second round picks in exchange for Kahleah Copper and the rights to Morgan Bertsch. |
| February 8, 2024 | Signed Taya Reimer to a Training Camp Contract |
| February 8, 2024 | Signed Kysre Gondrezick to a Training Camp Contract |
| February 9, 2024 | Signed Chennedy Carter to a Training Camp Contract |
| February 15, 2024 | Renounced the rights to Kseniya Malashka |
| February 19, 2024 | Acquired the 8th pick in the 2024 Draft in exchange for Julie Allemand and the rights to Li Yueru |
| March 14, 2024 | Acquired the New York Liberty's 2025 and 2026 second round picks in exchange for the rights to Rebekah Gardner |
| April 14, 2024 | Acquired the Minnesota Lynx 7th pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft and the rights to Nikolina Milić in exchange for Sika Koné, the 8th pick, the Sky's 2025 second round pick, and the rights to swap first round picks in the 2026 draft. |
| April 19, 2024 | Signed Kamilla Cardoso, Angel Reese, and Brynna Maxwell to Rookie Contracts |
| April 19, 2024 | Renounced the rights to Robyn Parks |
| May 10, 2024 | Waived Taya Reimer |
| May 13, 2024 | Waived Brynna Maxwell |
| June 28, 2024 | Waived Kysre Gondrezick |
| July 17, 2024 | Traded Marina Mabrey and the team's second round pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft to 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 |
| September 11, 2024 | Signed Kaela Davis to 7-day contract |
| September 18, 2024 | Released Kaela Davis and signed to rest-of-season contract |
| September 19, 2024 | Signed Elizabeth Williams to an extension through 2025 |

### Roster changes
## Roster
### 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

2024 game log Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1) :
May: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 3
@ Minnesota
L 81–92
Lindsay Allen (17)
Angel Reese (9)
Lindsay Allen (3)
Target Center 7,010
0–1
2
May 7
New York
W 101–52
Marina Mabrey (20)
Brianna Turner (8)
Dana Evans (7)
Wintrust Arena 3,132
1–1 :
2024 season schedule :

### Regular season

2024 game log Total: 13–27 (Home: 6–14; Road: 7–13) :
May: 3–3 (Home: 1–2; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 15
@ Dallas
L 79–87
Marina Mabrey (19)
Marina Mabrey (9)
Dana Evans (6)
College Park Center 6,251
0–1
2
May 18
@ Dallas
W 83–74
Diamond DeShields (16)
Elizabeth Williams (10)
Marina Mabrey (8)
College Park Center 6,251
1–1
3
May 23
@ New York
W 90–81
Marina Mabrey (21)
Angel Reese (9)
Marina Mabrey (7)
Barclays Center 12,049
2–1
4
May 25
Connecticut
L 82–82
Marina Mabrey (23)
Mabrey, Reese, Williams (5)
Diamond DeShields (5)
Wintrust Arena 9,025
2–2
5
May 28
Seattle
L 68–77
Dana Evans (13)
Angel Reese (12)
Allen, Evans (4)
Wintrust Arena 7,807
2–3
6
May 30
Los Angeles
W 83–73
Marina Mabrey (20)
Elizabeth Williams (11)
Marina Mabrey (7)
Wintrust Arena 7,911
3–3 :
June
: 3–8 (Home: 2–5; Road: 1–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
7
June 1
@ Indiana
L 70–71
Chennedy Carter (19)
Angel Reese (13)
Chennedy Carter (6)
Gainbridge Fieldhouse 17,274
3–4
8
June 4
New York
L 75–88
Chennedy Carter (16)
Angel Reese (10)
Marina Mabrey (5)
Wintrust Arena 8,277
3–5
9
June 6
@ Washington
W 79–71
Chennedy Carter (25)
Angel Reese (11)
Dana Evans (4)
Capital One Arena 10,000
4–5
10
June 8
Atlanta
L 80–89
Cardoso, Evans, Reese (13)
Angel Reese (13)
Dana Evans (5)
Wintrust Arena 8,804
4–6
11
June 12
Connecticut
L 75–83
Angel Reese (20)
Angel Reese (10)
Evans, Mabrey (5)
Wintrust Arena 7,815
4–7
12
June 14
@ Washington
L 81–83
Chennedy Carter (16)
Angel Reese (14)
Allen, Mabrey (3)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
4–8
13
June 16
@ Indiana
L 83–91
Marina Mabrey (22)
Angel Reese (13)
Angel Reese (5)
Gainbridge Fieldhouse 17,274
4–9
14
June 20
Dallas
W 83–72
Carter, Mabrey (19)
Angel Reese (18)
Allen, Evans, Mabrey (4)
Wintrust Arena 9,025
5–9
15
June 23
Indiana
W 88–87
Angel Reese (25)
Angel Reese (16)
Lindsay Allen (7)
Wintrust Arena 9,872
6–9
16
June 27
Las Vegas
L 83–95
Marina Mabrey (21)
Angel Reese (11)
Lindsay Allen (5)
Wintrust Arena 9,025
6–10
17
June 30
Minnesota
L 62–70
Chennedy Carter (15)
Angel Reese (16)
Lindsay Allen (7)
6–11 :
July
: 4–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 3–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
18
July 2
@ Atlanta
W 85–77
Chennedy Carter (26)
Angel Reese (19)
Carter, Mabrey (4)
Gateway Center Arena 3,260
7–11
19
July 5
@ Seattle
W 88–84
Chennedy Carter (33)
Angel Reese (10)
Marina Mabrey (7)
Climate Pledge Arena 10,725
8–11
20
July 7
@ Seattle
L 71–84
Chennedy Carter (21)
Angel Reese (14)
Allen, Mabrey (6)
Climate Pledge Arena 11,283
8–12
21
July 10
Atlanta
W 78–69
Chennedy Carter (19)
Angel Reese (13)
Carter, Mabrey (5)
Wintrust Arena 9,025
9–12
22
July 11
@ New York
L 76–91
Chennedy Carter (22)
Isabelle Harrison (12)
Lindsay Allen (7)
Barclays Center 17,758
9–13
23
July 13
New York
L 67–81
Marina Mabrey (21)
Angel Reese (16)
Marina Mabrey (7)
Wintrust Arena 9,025
9–14
24
July 16
@ Las Vegas
W 93–85
Chennedy Carter (34)
Angel Reese (10)
Allen, Mabrey (4)
Michelob Ultra Arena 10,396
10–14 :
August
: 1–6 (Home: 0–4; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
25
August 15
Phoenix
L 65–85
Dana Evans (14)
Angel Reese (15)
Lindsay Allen (6)
Wintrust Arena 9,025
10–15
26
August 17
@ Los Angeles
W 90–86
Lindsay Allen (16)
Kamilla Cardoso (14)
Lindsay Allen (6)
Crypto.com Arena 16,551
11–15
27
August 18
@ Phoenix
L 68–86
Angel Reese (19)
Angel Reese (20)
Chennedy Carter (6)
Footprint Center 14,267
11–16
28
August 23
@ Connecticut
L 80–82
Chennedy Carter (19)
Lindsay Allen (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 8,910
11–17
29
August 25
Las Vegas
L 75–77
Chennedy Carter (25)
Angel Reese (22)
Lindsay Allen (5)
Wintrust Arena 9,025
11–18
30
August 28
Washington
L 70–74
Michaela Onyenwere (15)
Angel Reese (14)
Kamilla Cardoso (6)
Wintrust Arena 8,763
11–19
31
August 30
Indiana
L 81–100
Michaela Onyenwere (20)
Angel Reese (11)
Lindsay Allen (6)
Wintrust Arena 9,445
11–20 :
September
: 2–7 (Home: 2–2; Road: 0–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
32
September 1
@ Minnesota
L 74–79
Kamilla Cardoso (22)
Angel Reese (19)
Lindsay Allen (6)
Target Center 8,421
11–21
33
September 3
@ Las Vegas
L 71–90
Michaela Onyenwere (15)
Angel Reese (16)
3 players (3)
T-Mobile Arena 18,394
11–22
34
September 6
Los Angeles
W 92–78
Angel Reese (24)
Angel Reese (12)
Chennedy Carter (7)
Wintrust Arena 9,025
12–22
35
September 8
Dallas
W 92–77
Chennedy Carter (28)
Kamilla Cardoso (11)
Chennedy Carter (6)
Wintrust Arena 8,704
13–22
36
September 11
Washington
L 58–89
Chennedy Carter (16)
Cardoso, Harrison (8)
Lindsay Allen (5)
Wintrust Arena 7,948
13–23
37
September 13
@ Minnesota
L 66–83
Chennedy Carter (17)
Kamilla Cardoso (10)
Allen, Carter (5)
Target Center 8,810
13–24
38
September 15
Phoenix
L 88–93
Chennedy Carter (20)
Michaela Onyenwere (9)
Allen, Banham (7)
Wintrust Arena 8,577
13–25
39
September 17
@ Atlanta
L 70–86
Rachel Banham (22)
Isabelle Harrison (11)
Lindsay Allen (4)
Gateway Center Arena 3,335
13–26
40
September 19
@ Connecticut
L 54–87
Isabelle Harrison (13)
Lindsay Allen (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 8,092
13–27 :
2024 season schedule :

## Standings

| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
| 1 | yx – New York Liberty | 32 | 8 | .800 | — | 16–4 | 16–4 | 16–4 | 5–0 |
| 2 | cx – Minnesota Lynx | 30 | 10 | .750 | 2 | 14–6 | 16–4 | 14–6 | 4–1 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 28 | 12 | .700 | 4 | 14–6 | 14–6 | 14–6 | 4–1 |
| 4 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 27 | 13 | .675 | 5 | 12–8 | 13–7 | 14–6 | 2–3 |
| 5 | x – Seattle Storm | 25 | 15 | .625 | 7 | 13–7 | 14–6 | 11–9 | 4–1 |
| 6 | x – Indiana Fever | 20 | 20 | .500 | 12 | 11–9 | 12–8 | 8–12 | 3–2 |
| 7 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 19 | 21 | .475 | 13 | 10–10 | 10–10 | 9–11 | 3–2 |
| 8 | x – Atlanta Dream | 15 | 25 | .375 | 17 | 7–13 | 8–12 | 7–13 | 1–4 |
| 9 | e – Washington Mystics | 14 | 26 | .350 | 18 | 7–13 | 5–15 | 9–11 | 1–4 |
| 10 | e – Chicago Sky | 13 | 27 | .325 | 19 | 5–15 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 1–4 |
| 11 | e – Dallas Wings | 9 | 31 | .225 | 23 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 2–18 | 0–5 |
| 12 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 8 | 32 | .200 | 24 | 5–15 | 5–15 | 3–17 | 2–3 |
* 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

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PF | PPG |
| Chennedy Carter | 33 | 20 | 26.0 | .487 | .290 | .730 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 3.2 | 17.5 |
| Marina Mabrey $^†$ | 24 | 24 | 33.2 | .381 | .350 | .723 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 14.0 |
| Angel Reese | 34 | 34 | 32.5 | .391 | .188 | .736 | 13.1 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 13.6 |
| Elizabeth Williams | 9 | 9 | 27.7 | .487 | — | .667 | 7.0 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 10.0 |
| Kamilla Cardoso | 32 | 29 | 27.4 | .521 | — | .726 | 7.9 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 9.8 |
| Dana Evans | 39 | 12 | 19.1 | .377 | .376 | .960 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 7.2 |
| Rachel Banham $^≠$ | 16 | 9 | 19.8 | .346 | .382 | .700 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 6.9 |
| Lindsay Allen | 40 | 28 | 23.8 | .466 | .292 | .808 | 2.0 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 6.6 |
| Michaela Onyenwere | 34 | 18 | 18.7 | .415 | .368 | .610 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 6.6 |
| Isabelle Harrison | 36 | 5 | 16.3 | .399 | .167 | .820 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 6.5 |
| Diamond DeShields | 32 | 10 | 13.8 | .348 | .173 | .611 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 4.5 |
| Kaela Davis $^≠$ | 4 | 0 | 13.0 | .333 | 1.000 | .500 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 3.0 |
| Brianna Turner | 27 | 2 | 9.4 | .615 | — | .500 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 1.2 |
| Kysre Gondrezick $^‡$ | 5 | 0 | 3.2 | .286 | .167 | — | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.0 |
| Moriah Jefferson $^≠$ | 14 | 0 | 8.9 | .115 | .100 | .833 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.9 |
$^‡$Waived/Released during the season $^†$Traded during the season $^≠$Acquired during the season

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded |
| Angel Reese | WNBA Rookie of the Month – June | July 2, 2024 |
| Angel Reese | WNBA All-Star | July 2, 2024 |
| Angel Reese | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | July 9, 2024 |
| Angel Reese | Peak Performer: Rebounds | September 20, 2024 |
| Angel Reese | AP All-Rookie Team | September 22, 2024 |
| Angel Reese | WNBA All-Rookie Team | October 3, 2024 |
| Kamilla Cardoso | AP All-Rookie Team | September 22, 2024 |
| Kamilla Cardoso | WNBA All-Rookie Team | October 3, 2024 |