It felt like yesterday that Angel Reese was drafted by the Sky. Essentially... it kinda was. Now with the Atlanta Dream, she said thank you to Chicago and the fans as both her and the Sky begin their next chapters. More from me and @juliapoe.bsky.social ⬇️ www.chicagotribune.com/2026/04/29/c...

Fun update: I'm writing a book! And I’m really excited about it!

With this article up, I’m officially off the clock. Taking a much-needed between-seasons break. See y’all at the start of the W season!

“They get who I am.” Rickea Jackson came to Chicago for a clean slate — despite any outside noise about the franchise. How she fits into the Sky’s bold plan to get back to winning:

Really did believe Ayo was ready for this level of competition by the deadline this year. Just a solid, unflappable player who craves this type of moment.

Ayo Dosunmu: good hoops

ordered a piece of ice cream pie while watching the playoffs on a bar patio, doesn’t get much better than this

Sydney Taylor is a player to watch out of Sky training camp. Moves well, good communicator, shoots the hell out of the ball.

The Chicago Bulls anchored their future to Billy Donovan. What happens now that he left? A look at who’s steering the ship and where it might be headed:

Courtney Vandersloot wants to rebuild a championship culture for the Chicago Sky. And amid the most uncertain chapter of her lengthy WNBA career, the guard is looking to the past for inspiration. Talked with Sloot about injury recovery, navigating the fallout with Angel Reese and what comes next:

This was probably the most important article I wrote this season. Definitely the thing I'm most proud of writing. Billy Donovan's tenure in Chicago didn't feature nearly half as much winning as he would have preferred, but he was always direct and sincere and incredibly gracious with his time.

Billy Donovan is leaving Chicago after six seasons with the Bulls. The Reinsdorfs anchored their decision-making on the hopes the coach would stay. Now, they face two crucial hiring processes on their own.

Some quick notes from the first day of Sky training camp, including injury concerns and the future of the backup PG position:

Maddy Westbeld and Azurá Stevens also limited today while working through lower body injuries

No Kamilla Cardoso, Elizabeth Williams or DiJonai Carrington on day 1 of Sky training camp. Cardoso and Williams are fulfilling final duties for their overseas teams. Carrington is meeting with a team doctor to assess the left foot injury that ended her 2025 season.

TIP THEM OVER

As noted in the article, landing top lottery odds is very very hard to do during expansion years. The bottom gets crowded fast.

By trading their natural firsts in the next two drafts, the Chicago Sky likely gave up their shots at JuJu Watkins and Sarah Strong. Why? Got into Jeff Pagliocca’s draft philosophy and how it shapes the team’s construction as a whole:

The Sky announce they will host training camp at UIC through the end of May. The team is still awaiting the completion of its training facility in Bedford Park. Wrote about that last week:

Okay, well, as an openly queer person who covered multiple queer couples captaining their respective pro sports teams, I also find it strange that this topic was explicitly marked off limits by the Wings today. It was a normal question posed in a very normal manner.

“We’re not going to get punked.” The Sky want to alter their perception. Skylar Diggins knows that starts (and ends) with her. On why she trusts the Sky’s new vision, how she hopes to change an identity and what it means to be a good teammate, not an easy one.

I cannot tell you how many times I had to wait 15+ minutes for Andre Drummond to finish his extensive post-practice 3-point shooting drills before he’d come over for an interview. Thank God they’re finally letting him rip.

The play-in tournament is legitimately brutal to cover as a beat writer but man it is so fun to watch as a fan

Would love to take some Sky questions today — partially for a mailbag, partially to see what folks are interested in for training camp. Hit me with your best!

“We’re not going to get punked.” The Sky want to alter their perception. Skylar Diggins knows that starts (and ends) with her. On why she trusts the Sky’s new vision, how she hopes to change an identity and what it means to be a good teammate, not an easy one.

Ozzie Guillén announced himself a Gabriela Jaquez fan and plans to take his family to Sky games this summer to show support, that's about the biggest stamp of approval you can ask for in Chicago

Would love to take some Sky questions today — partially for a mailbag, partially to see what folks are interested in for training camp. Hit me with your best!

Introductory pressers for Rickea Jackson, Skylar Diggins, Jacy Sheldon and Gabriela Jaquez today — lots of good stuff from this group, will have a lot for y’all to read throughout the week!

The Bulls are getting another first-round pick after the Blazers edged out the Suns in the play-in for a playoff spot in the West.

!!!!!!!!!!

Alec Jacoby White!!!

Gabriela Jaquez just got a lengthy shoutout during this play-in game while her brother Jaime balls out for Miami, nice to see it

I found this piece of Azurá’s presser to be extremely moving. Think we’ll see a similar refrain across the league this week. These women feel these salaries are what they long deserved, but they’re not taking them for granted.

“It’s a new era here in Chicago.” Azurá Stevens wants to elevate the Sky back to the winning franchise of her prior tenure. On the pitch that brought her home:

Jeff Pagliocca confirmed yesterday that Ajša Sivka still has not signed/committed to sign with the Chicago Sky for 2026. Team remains in contact with her, but no guarantee for her availability this summer.

don’t care

By drafting Gabriela Jaquez, the Chicago Sky are investing in their system — and their culture. How the pick fits into the team’s greater vision for the future:

This pick is growing on me. One thing that jumped out — Tyler Marsh compared Jaquez to DiJonai Carrington, just in “a different package.” Sees a major mentorship opportunity there.

By drafting Gabriela Jaquez, the Chicago Sky are investing in their system — and their culture. How the pick fits into the team’s greater vision for the future:

In the later rounds, the Sky drafted Latasha Lattimore out of Mississippi at No. 21 and Tonie Morgan from Kentucky at No. 32.

The Sky take Latasha Lattimore with the sixth pick in the second round. She played for four different programs in her five-year NCAA career and averaged 10.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game in her final season with Ole Miss.

that gasp in the room was some damn good TV

The difference between CBAs: The rookie salary for last year’s No. 1 WNBA draft pick was $78,831 The rookie salary for this year’s No. 1 pick is $500k The average first-year salary for first-round picks last year was ~$75k The average first-year salary for first-round picks this year is $386k

The Sky put a primary target on their board ahead of Monday night's draft: Gabriela Jaquez. With the No. 5 pick, they hit their mark.

Early story on the Chicago Sky taking Gabriela Jaquez with the No. 5 pick:

This front office definitely has a type — length, 3-point shooting, defensive toughness — for their younger targets. Jaquez certainly fits that bill and won't be asked to do too much heavy lifting during her transition to the Sky.

The Sky select Gabriela Jaquez with the No. 5 pick. Did not have that one on my board.

The PBWA is pleased to announce the second annual NBA All-Interview Team. Press release: probasketballwriters.org/wembanyama-a...

“We've been working on this project for a couple of years now. And it's amazing to me to go from renderings on paper to reality, to go to actually taking a shovel into the dirt and say this is really happening.” — Fire owner Joe Mansueto

The Sky signed Aicha Coulibaly to her rookie scale deal and Sydney Taylor to a training camp contract. Rounding out the group for training camp, which will start Sunday.