History to Watch For: 2024 Chicago Sky, Los Angeles Sparks, and Washington Mystics
First off, congrats once again to Candace Parker, who earlier this week announced she was retiring from the WNBA. No doubt her name will continue to pop up in WNBA records for a long time.
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Last week we dove in to some historical markers within reach for the Atlanta Dream in 2024. Let's continue on with a trio of teams who have undergone major changes (two of whom Parker won championships with).
Chicago Sky
The 2024 Sky aren’t going to look much like the 2023 Sky. From last year’s squad they currently still have Dana Evans, Isabelle Harrison (who was unable to play in 2023), Marina Mabrey, and Elizabeth Williams on roster.
After losing General Manager and Head Coach James Wade midseason for an NBA opportunity, they’ve since hired Jeff Pagliocca as their General Manager and Teresa Weatherspoon as Head Coach in the offseason.
After a multi-year run of draft picks not translating to the Sky roster, selecting Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese in the first round of the 2024 Draft could bolster a real reset. The franchise hasn’t played a rookie first-rounder more than 15 minutes per game since Gabby Williams and Diamond DeShields in 2018; Cardoso and Reese will likely change that.
Also worth watching is what kind of success Weatherspoon can bring back to the franchise. She’s walking in to a tough situation in her first WNBA head coaching opportunity, but maybe her experience and the roster reset can overcome that.
| WNBA Coaching Debuts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Coach | First (Full) Year | Team | Record |
| Michael Cooper | 2000 | Los Angeles Sparks | 28-4 (0.875) |
| Bill Laimbeer | 2003 | Detroit Shock | 25-9 (0.735) |
| Joe Bryant | 2006 | Los Angeles Sparks | 25-9 (0.735) |
| Becky Hammon | 2022 | Las Vegas Aces | 26-10 (0.722) |
Both Laimbeer and Hammon led their teams to WNBA titles in their first full years as head coach, Laimbeer turning the franchise around from worst to first in the league. Likely more within reach is James Wade's mark of 20-14 (0.588) in his first year with the Sky.
Los Angeles Sparks
The Sparks are facing just the second season in franchise history where they take the court without at least one of Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker, or Nneka Ogwumike. The only other season was 2007, when Leslie was out after giving birth to her first child. The Sparks finished last in the league that year, which ultimately landed them a spot in the lottery and the opportunity to draft Parker.
This year, instead, the Sparks look to build off of a run of down years and some free agency maneuvering that landed them two lottery picks, which they used to select Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson.
The Sparks have gone several seasons without prominently featuring rookies in their lineups; you have to go back to 2015 to find two rookies who played 15 or more minutes per game (Ana Dabović and Marianna Tolo) for the Sparks. Current Sparks head coach Curt Miller was an assistant coach on that 2015 Sparks squad.
Speaking of Miller, it’s unclear how much winning is ahead of the Sparks this year, but he’ll have a chance to move up the all-time coaching leaderboards this summer.
A full 40-game season will move him up in to a tie with Pokey Chatman (306 games, 12th all-time). At least 12 wins moves him past Lin Dunn (168) and in to the top ten in regular season wins.
Washington Mystics
The Mystics have a knack for bringing back former players (see: Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Kristi Toliver, the latter of whom played for each of the teams in this post), so signing Stefanie Dolson in free agency makes perfect sense.
Dolson was drafted by the Mystics and played her first three seasons there before being dealt to Chicago with Kahleah Copper as part of the Elena Delle Donne trade, a move that ended up netting each of them a WNBA title (Delle Donne with the Mystics in 2019, Copper and Dolson with the Sky in 2021). Seven years after that trade all three are in very different situations.
Among the players, the primary connecting thread from the championship Mystics to this year’s team is now Ariel Atkins. Last season she became the franchise’s all-time leader in made threes (318 and counting), and this season she’ll look to continue her run to the top of the franchise’s steals list.
| Player | Mystics Steals |
|---|---|
| Alana Beard | 364 |
| Monique Currie | 260 |
| Ariel Atkins | 253 |
Atkins has been good for at least one steal per game in her career, so expect her to move up to 2nd on this list before June.
Alongside Atkins and even more critical for her defensive prowess with Natasha Cloud gone is Brittney Sykes. If she’s able to match her 2023 performance, Sykes looks poised to eclipse 3,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 750 assists, and 350 career steals. Only 31 players have gotten there in the WNBA before.
| Stat | Career Total | 2023 Total |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 2,655 | 636 |
| Rebounds | 909 | 198 |
| Assists | 604 | 153 |
| Steals | 287 | 84 |
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