# 2022 Chicago Sky season

The 2022 Chicago Sky season was the franchise's 17th season in the Women's National Basketball Association, and their fourth season under head coach James Wade. They were the defending league champions after defeating the Phoenix Mercury in the 2021 WNBA Finals.
Entering the offseason, the Sky only had four players from the previous season under contract. The team re-signed Courtney Vandersloot, Allie Quigley, and Kahleah Copper and added Emma Meesseman via free agency. Free agent Stefanie Dolson departed the team and signed with the New York Liberty. In a sign-and-trade deal, free agent Diamond DeShields was traded to the Phoenix Mercury and the Sky added Julie Allemand.
The defending champions lost the first game of the season, in overtime. However, they recovered and won their next two games. They finished the month winning three of five and with a 5–3 overall record. The Sky started June strongly, winning five of their first six, before losing to Indiana, on June 19. On June 21, the Sky broke the record for largest comeback win in WNBA history in a 104–95 win over the Las Vegas Aces after being down by 28 points. They used that momentum to win their next three games and finish the month with a 9–2 record. In July the team kept the hot streak going, winning six games in a row from July 7 to July 22. Four players were named to the All-Star Game: Candace Parker, Vandersloot, Copper, and Meesseman. They hosted the Commissioner's Cup, but lost to the Aces. The finished the month 9–2 and secured a playoff berth on July 20. After having secured the berth, their momentum slowed and they finished August with a 3–3 record. Their overall record of 26–10 was a franchise-best. They ended as the second seed in the playoffs.
As the second seed in the playoffs, they hosted a First Round series against the New York Liberty. They lost Game One of the series at home 91–98. They followed that up with a dominant 38 point win at home in Game Two. They Sky had to travel to New York for Game Three, and won by eighteen points to advance to the Semifinals. There, they faced off against the third seed Connecticut Sun. As the higher seed, they again had home court advantage in the series. As in the first round, they lost the first game at home. The Sky followed that up with a home win and a road win. They lost Game Four on the road by 24-points and could not finish the series at home in Game Five, losing 63–72 to end their season.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

The Sky do not have any picks in the 2022 WNBA Draft, having traded their second- and third-round picks to the Dallas Wings and their first-round pick to the Indiana Fever.

### Trades and Roster Changes

| Date | Transaction |
| January 2, 2022 | Extended Qualifying Offers to Diamond DeShields and Lexie Brown |
| January 12, 2022 | Extended a Core Qualifying Offer to Kahleah Copper |
| January 25, 2022 | Hired Ann Wauters as assistant coach |
| February 3, 2022 | Traded Diamond DeShields to Phoenix in exchange for Julie Allemand (from Indiana) and 2023 1st round pick (from Phoenix) |
| February 5, 2022 | Signed Crystal Bradford to a one-year deal |
| February 9, 2022 | Signed Kysre Gondrezick and Kamiah Smalls to a training camp contracts |
| February 10, 2022 | Signed Rebekah Gardner to a training camp contract |
| February 17, 2022 | Re-signed Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley to one-year deals |
| February 17, 2022 | Re-signed Kahleah Copper |
| February 18, 2022 | Signed Emma Meesseman |
| February 25, 2022 | Signed Kathleen Doyle and Tina Krajišnik to training-camp contracts |
| March 9, 2022 | Waived Crystal Bradford |
| March 11, 2022 | Signed Anneli Maley to a training-camp contract |
| March 15, 2022 | Signed Kaela Davis and Imani McGee-Stafford to training-camp contracts |
| March 30, 2022 | Traded Lexie Brown to Los Angeles in exchange for the rights to Li Yueru |
| March 30, 2022 | Signed Li Yueru to a rookie-scale contract |
| April 13, 2022 | Signed Lexie Held and Kayla Wells to training-camp contracts |
| April 14, 2022 | Signed Sparkle Taylor and Emmanuelle Tahane to training-camp contracts |
| April 15, 2022 | Signed Masseny Kaba to a training-camp contract |
| April 16, 2022 | Signed Lindsey Pulliam to a training-camp contract |
| April 28, 2022 | Waived Kayla Well and Kamiah Smalls |
| April 29, 2022 | Waived Imani McGee-Stafford and Lexi Held |
| May 2, 2022 | Waived Lindsey Pulliam |
| May 4, 2022 | Waived Kaela Davis, Kysre Gondrezick, Tina Krajišnik, Anneli Maley, and Sparkle Taylor |
| May 5, 2022 | Waived Kathleen Doyle, Masseny Kaba, and Emmanuelle Tahane |
| May 5, 2022 | Temporarily Suspend Julie Allemand, Rebekah Gardner, Kahleah Copper, and Li Yueru due to Overseas Commitments |
| May 6, 2022 | Signed Sparkle Taylor, Anneli Maley, Tina Krajišnik, and Kaela Davis to Hardship Contracts |
| May 9, 2022 | Released Kaela Davis and Anneli Maley from their Hardship Contracts |
| May 9, 2022 | Activated Rebekah Gardner from her Temporary Suspension |
| May 10, 2022 | Signed Anneli Maley to a Hardship Contract |
| May 13, 2022 | Released Sparkle Taylor from the Hardship Contract |
| May 13, 2022 | Exercised the 4th Year Team Option on Ruthy Hebard and Julie Allemand |
| May 20, 2022 | Activated Kahleah Copper from her Temporary Suspension |
| May 20, 2022 | Released Tina Krajišnik from her Hardship Contract |
| May 24, 2022 | Activated Li Yueru from her Temporary Suspension |
| May 24, 2022 | Released Anneli Maley from her Hardship Contract |
| August 24, 2022 | Signed Head coach James Wade to a Contract Extension |

## Roster
### Depth

| Pos. | Starter | Bench |
| C | Candace Parker | Ruthy Hebard Li Yueru |
| PF | Emma Meesseman | Azurá Stevens |
| SF | Kahleah Copper | Rebekah Gardner |
| SG | Allie Quigley | Dana Evans |
| PG | Courtney Vandersloot | Julie Allemand |

## Schedule
### Preseason

2022 pre-season game log :
April: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
April 25
Dallas
L 77–92
Emma Meesseman (24)
Maley Meesseman (5)
Dana Evans (7)
Wintrust Arena N/A
0–1
2
April 30
@ Indiana
L 75–79
Emma Meesseman (13)
Emma Meesseman (8)
Evans/Taylor (3)
Gainbridge Fieldhouse N/A
0–2 :
2022 pre-season schedule :

### Regular Season

2022 game log Total: 26–10 (Home: 14–4; Road: 12–6) :
May: 5–3 (Home: 3–2; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 6
Los Angeles
L 91–98 OT
Dana Evans (24)
Emma Meesseman (8)
Courtney Vandersloot (8)
Wintrust Arena 8,111
0–1
2
May 11
New York
W 83–50
Dana Evans (15)
Meesseman Vandersloot (6)
Courtney Vandersloot (6)
Wintrust Arena 4,935
1–1
3
May 14
@ Minnesota
W 82–78
Emma Meesseman (17)
Emma Meesseman (7)
Courtney Vandersloot (11)
Target Center 6,503
2–1
4
May 18
@ Seattle
L 71–74
Azurá Stevens (18)
Candace Parker (9)
Courtney Vandersloot (12)
Climate Pledge Arena 7,450
2–2
5
May 22
@ Washington
W 82–73
Candace Parker (16)
Candace Parker (13)
Candace Parker (10)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
3–2
6
May 24
Indiana
W 95–90
Candace Parker (16)
Azurá Stevens (7)
Parker Vandersloot (7)
Wintrust Arena 7,741
4–2
7
May 28
Las Vegas
L 76–83
Copper Vandersloot (12)
Candace Parker (11)
Parker Vandersloot (3)
Wintrust Arena 6,812
4–3
8
May 31
Phoenix
W 73–70
Courtney Vandersloot (18)
Candace Parker (11)
Courtney Vandersloot (6)
Wintrust Arena 5,133
5–3 :
June
: 9–2 (Home: 4–0; Road: 5–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
9
June 3
@ Atlanta
W 73–65
Kahleah Copper (21)
Kahleah Copper (8)
Courtney Vandersloot (6)
Gateway Center Arena 3,138
6–3
10
June 5
Washington
W 91–82
Kahleah Copper (15)
Candace Parker (13)
Meesseman Parker Vandersloot (6)
Wintrust Arena 6,228
7–3
11
June 8
@ Washington
L 82–84
Candace Parker (16)
Candace Parker (9)
Courtney Vandersloot (5)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 2,984
7–4
12
June 10
@ Connecticut
W 83–79
Emma Meesseman (26)
Kahleah Copper Gardner Meesseman (5)
Courtney Vandersloot (8)
Mohegan Sun Arena 4,816
8–4
13
June 12
@ New York
W 88–86
Meesseman Vandersloot (20)
Emma Meesseman (11)
Courtney Vandersloot (10)
Barclays Center 4,810
9–4
14
June 17
Atlanta
W 106–100 (OT)
Kahleah Copper (23)
Emma Meesseman (12)
Allemand Gardner (5)
Wintrust Arena 7,435
10–4
15
June 19
@ Indiana
L 87–89
Kahleah Copper (28)
Emma Meesseman (8)
Courtney Vandersloot (7)
Indiana Farmers Coliseum 1,706
10–5
16
June 21
@ Las Vegas
W 104–95
Courtney Vandersloot (25)
Candace Parker (10)
Courtney Vandersloot (8)
Michelob Ultra Arena 4,951
11–5
17
June 23
@ Los Angeles
W 82–59
Stevens Vandersloot (15)
Candace Parker (14)
Candace Parker (10)
Crypto.com Arena 5,627
12–5
18
June 26
Minnesota
W 88–85
Courtney Vandersloot (18)
Candace Parker (8)
Allie Quigley (8)
Wintrust Arena 7,022
13–5
19
June 29
Connecticut
W 91–83
Candace Parker (25)
Candace Parker (11)
Candace Parker (7)
Wintrust Arena 6,709
14–5 :
July
: 9–2 (Home: 5–0; Road: 4–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
20
July 2
Phoenix
W 91–75
Allie Quigley (19)
Candace Parker (8)
Candace Parker (7)
Wintrust Arena 8,028
15–5
21
July 6
@ Minnesota
L 78–81
Kahleah Copper (20)
Candace Parker (10)
Candace Parker (6)
Target Center 11,103
15–6
22
July 7
@ Indiana
W 93–84
Emma Meesseman (20)
Candace Parker (9)
Courtney Vandersloot (6)
Indiana Farmers Coliseum 1,839
16–6
23
July 12
Atlanta
W 90–75
Candace Parker (31)
Candace Parker (11)
Emma Meesseman (8)
Wintrust Arena 7,074
17–6
24
July 14
@ Los Angeles
W 80–68
Rebekah Gardner (18)
Candace Parker (11)
Allemand Gardner Ca. Parker Vandersloot (4)
Crypto.com Arena 5,856
18–6
25
July 16
@ Dallas
W 89–81
Copper Meesseman (23)
Kahleah Copper (14)
Julie Allemand (8)
College Park Center 5,126
19–6
26
July 20
Seattle
W 78–74
Allie Quigley (18)
Emma Meesseman (10)
Emma Meesseman (6)
Wintrust Arena 8,893
20–6
27
July 22
Dallas
W 89–83
Kahleah Copper (19)
Candace Parker (10)
Emma Meesseman (9)
Wintrust Arena 7,014
21–6
28
July 23
@ New York
L 80–83
Candace Parker (21)
Candace Parker (11)
Gardner Ca. Parker (3)
Barclays Center 6,926
21–7
CC Final
July 26
Las Vegas
L 83–93
Candace Parker (20)
Candace Parker (14)
Julie Allemand (6)
Wintrust Arena 8,922
N/A
29
July 29
New York
W 89–81
Courtney Vandersloot (23)
Kahleah Copper (11)
Courtney Vandersloot (9)
Wintrust Arena 6,924
22–7
30
July 31
@ Connecticut
W 95–92 (OT)
Kahleah Copper (27)
Azurá Stevens (10)
Courtney Vandersloot (12)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,254
23–7 :
August
: 3–3 (Home: 2–2; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
31
August 2
Dallas
L 78–84
Kahleah Copper (19)
Kahleah Copper (11)
Courtney Vandersloot (8)
Wintrust Arena 5,602
23–8
32
August 5
Washington
W 93–83
Kahleah Copper (19)
Azurá Stevens (6)
Courtney Vandersloot (7)
Wintrust Arena 8,042
24–8
33
August 7
Connecticut
W 94–91
Courtney Vandersloot (20)
Candace Parker (12)
Meesseman Ca. Parker Vandersloot (5)
Wintrust Arena 8,224
25–8
34
August 9
Seattle
L 100–111
Courtney Vandersloot (28)
Candace Parker (7)
Courtney Vandersloot (7)
Wintrust Arena 9,314
25–9
35
August 11
@ Las Vegas
L 78–89
Kahleah Copper (28)
Candace Parker (12)
Ca. Parker Vandersloot (6)
Michelob Ultra Arena 6,055
25–10
36
August 14
@ Phoenix
W 82–67
Azurá Stevens (17)
Candace Parker (6)
Julie Allemand (6)
Footprint Center 12,383
26–10 :
2022 season schedule :

### Playoffs

2022 playoff game log :
First Round vs. New York Liberty Won Series: 2–1
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
August 17
New York
L 91–98
Kahleah Copper (21)
Candace Parker (10)
Courtney Vandersloot (10)
Wintrust Arena 7,524
0–1
2
August 20
New York
W 100–62
Kahleah Copper (20)
Candace Parker (12)
Allie Quigley (8)
Wintrust Arena 7,732
1–1
3
August 23
@ New York
W 90–72
Copper Quigley (15)
Candace Parker (13)
Courtney Vandersloot (10)
Barclays Center 7,837
2–1 :
Semifinals vs. Connecticut Sun Lost Series: 2–3
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
August 28
Connecticut
L 63–68
Candace Parker (19)
Candace Parker (18)
Emma Meesseman (7)
Wintrust Arena 8,955
0–1
2
August 31
Connecticut
W 85–77
Candace Parker (22)
Emma Meesseman (7)
Courtney Vandersloot (8)
Wintrust Arena 8,311
1–1
3
September 4
@ Connecticut
W 76–72
Candace Parker (16)
Candace Parker (11)
Emma Meesseman (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 9,142
2–1
4
September 6
@ Connecticut
L 80–104
Kahleah Copper (16)
Candace Parker (9)
Emma Meesseman (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 5,868
2–2
5
September 8
Connecticut
L 63–72
Kahleah Copper (22)
Candace Parker (9)
Allie Quigley (7)
Wintrust Arena 8,014
2–3 :
2022 playoff schedule :

## Standings

| # | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
| 1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 13–5 | 13–5 | 9–1 |
| 2 | x – Chicago Sky | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 14–4 | 12–6 | 9–1 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 25 | 11 | .694 | 1.0 | 11–7 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 5–5 |
| 4 | x – Seattle Storm | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–4 |
| 5 | x – Washington Mystics | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 6 | x – Dallas Wings | 18 | 18 | .500 | 8.0 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
| 7 | x – New York Liberty | 16 | 20 | .444 | 10.0 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–4 |
| 8 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 15 | 21 | .417 | 11.0 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 3–7 |
| 9 | e – Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 4–6 |
| 10 | e – Atlanta Dream | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 11 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 13 | 23 | .361 | 13.0 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
| 12 | e – Indiana Fever | 5 | 31 | .139 | 21.0 | 2–16 | 3–15 | 2–16 | 2–8 |
Notes
    (#) – League Standing
    x – Clinched playoff berth
    e – Eliminated from playoff contention
    Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

## Playoffs

| Round One: Best-of-3 | Round One: Best-of-3 | Round One: Best-of-3 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 |
| 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 2 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Seattle Storm | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Seattle Storm | 2 | 4 | Seattle Storm | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Washington Mystics | 0 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Washington Mystics | 0 | | | | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 1 |
| 2 | Chicago Sky | 2 | | | | | | | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 1 |
| 7 | New York Liberty | 1 | | | | | | |
| 7 | New York Liberty | 1 | 2 | Chicago Sky | 2 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 3 | | | |
| 3 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 3 | | | |
| 6 | Dallas Wings | 1 | | | | | | |
Bold Series winner

## Statistics
### Regular Season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Kahleah Copper | 31 | 31 | 28.7 | .481 | .356 | .775 | 5.7 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 15.7 |
| Candace Parker | 32 | 32 | 28.3 | .468 | .311 | .816 | 8.6 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 13.2 |
| Emma Meesseman | 36 | 36 | 28.6 | .571 | .342 | .887 | 5.5 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 12.4 |
| Courtney Vandersloot | 32 | 32 | 26.5 | .481 | .367 | .765 | 3.9 | 6.5 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 11.8 |
| Allie Quigley | 34 | 34 | 26.3 | .428 | .355 | .950 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 11.4 |
| Azurá Stevens | 35 | 8 | 21.9 | .472 | .362 | .744 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 10.6 |
| Rebekah Gardner | 35 | 2 | 21.7 | .542 | .357 | .800 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 8.4 |
| Sparkle Taylor$^‡$ | 2 | 0 | 12.5 | .833 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.5 |
| Dana Evans | 33 | 1 | 11.5 | .377 | .328 | .880 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 4.3 |
| Julie Allemand | 25 | 4 | 16.1 | .417 | .290 | .833 | 1.6 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 3.0 |
| Ruthy Hebard | 24 | 0 | 9.7 | .510 | .000 | .750 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2.3 |
| Anneli Maley$^‡$ | 4 | 0 | 11.0 | .500 | .667 | .000 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 2.0 |
| Li Yueru$^≠$ | 16 | 0 | 5.1 | .444 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.8 |
| Kaela Davis$^‡$ | 1 | 0 | 10.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Tina Krajišnik$^‡$ | 2 | 0 | 2.5 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
$^‡$Waived/Released during the season $^†$Traded during the season $^≠$Acquired during the season

### Playoffs

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Kahleah Copper | 8 | 8 | 30.5 | .452 | .346 | .795 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 16.8 |
| Candace Parker | 8 | 8 | 29.4 | .438 | .333 | .759 | 10.8 | 4.6 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 14.8 |
| Courtney Vandersloot | 8 | 8 | 28.3 | .481 | .261 | .800 | 3.9 | 5.6 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 11.5 |
| Emma Meesseman | 8 | 8 | 29.6 | .470 | .300 | .833 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 11.1 |
| Allie Quigley | 8 | 8 | 29.0 | .338 | .319 | .714 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 9.6 |
| Azura Stevens | 8 | 0 | 18.8 | .472 | .188 | .667 | 3.8 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 7.4 |
| Rebekah Gardner | 8 | 0 | 17.9 | .389 | .000 | .857 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 5.0 |
| Dana Evans | 4 | 0 | 5.8 | .600 | .600 | 1.000 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 4.3 |
| Julie Allemand | 8 | 0 | 11.5 | .500 | .300 | .500 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2.5 |
| Ruthy Hebard | 4 | 0 | 4.3 | .200 | .000 | .000 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 |

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded |
| Kahleah Copper | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | June 21 |
| Kahleah Copper | WNBA All-Star Selection | June 28 |
| Candace Parker | WNBA All-Star Starter | June 22 |
| Candace Parker | All-WNBA First Team | September 15 |
| Courtney Vandersloot | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | June 27 |
| Courtney Vandersloot | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | August 1 |
| Courtney Vandersloot | WNBA All-Star Selection | June 28 |
| Emma Meesseman | WNBA All-Star Selection | June 28 |
| James Wade | WNBA Coach of the Month - June | July 5 |
| James Wade | WNBA Coach of the Month - July | August 2 |
| James Wade | WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year | August 22 |
| Rebekah Gardner | WNBA All-Rookie Team | August 25 |