The Chicago Sky joined the WNBA before the 2006 season and are one of the newer franchises — only the Atlanta Dream and expansion Valkyries have played fewer WNBA games. It hasn't always been easy sledding either, with a 297-349 record and just one title. Heck, even defunct franchises like the Miami Sol and the Cleveland Rockers were contracted with a better all-time win percentage than the Sky.
But while they haven't always found their way toward the top of the standings, the Sky have had the privilege of employing some of the best and most interesting players in league history. That includes two of the best bigs of all-time, one of the most memorable backcourt tandems ever, a rising young player headed for greatness and a whole lot more.
Building the best starting five possible from every player who ever suited up for the Sky, here's your starting lineup — plus a few honorable mentions.
Honorable Mention:
Epiphany Prince: There isn't any room in the Sky's all-time backcourt (more on that in a minute), but Prince deserves her flowers. She averaged 14.1 points, 3.1 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game across 151 games and five seasons for the Sky. Prince was a two-time All-Star in Chicago and still ranks in the top-six in franchise history in points, assists, steals and 3-pointers made.
Kahleah Copper: One of the brightest stars in the modern WNBA, Copper fully broke out with the Sky. She averaged just 6.8 points per game across her first three seasons in Chicago, mostly coming off the bench. As a full-time starter in her final four seasons with the team, she averaged 16.2 points per game, earning two All-Star selections and becoming one of the most feared individual scorers in the league.
Candace Parker: She established herself as a Hall-of-Famer with the Los Angeles Sparks and spent just two of her 16 WNBA seasons with the Sky. But she was also the key to the franchise's one and only championship, dominating in the 2021 playoffs for her hometown team.
Point Guard: Courtney Vandersloot
If any member of the Sky was going to get a statue outside the arena, it would be Vandersloot. She's in her 13th season in Chicago, with a two-year hiatus and a championship with the New York Liberty, creating a brief interruption. Her career stat line isn't overwhelming — 10.2 points, 6.6 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. But she was the beating heart of this team for more than a decade and is currently the franchise's all-time leader in minutes, field goals, assists, steals and points. She's also second in rebounds and 3-pointers made, a five-time All-Star, and helped Parker deliver this franchise its only title.
Vandersloot returned to the Sky this season, presumably to finish out her Hall-of-Fame career, but tore her ACL after just seven games. She's an unrestricted free agent and will turn 37 before next season, it's not clear what her WNBA future holds. But even if she never plays another game in a Sky uniform, she'll still be the greatest player in franchise history.
Shooting Guard: Allie Quigley
If Sloot ever gets her statue, they may need to consider building one of Quigley right next to her. The pair, who married in 2018, played nearly 5,000 minutes together from 2013 to 2022. Quigley is second to Vandersloot in several all-time categories for the Sky, including minutes played, field goals, assists and points — and the team's all-time leader in 3-pointers.
A devastating off-ball shooter, Quigley was assisted by Vandersloot 361 times in her career, 174 of which went for 3-pointers. Her number was retired by the team earlier this season and Vandersloot made a touching speech for her wife and backcourt partner that definitely had things getting a little misty:
Small Forward: Elena Delle Donne
Delle Donne only played four seasons for the Chicago Sky, before a somewhat acrimonious split that saw her traded to the Washington Mystics. Because she only played 105 games for Chicago, you won't find her at the top of career leaderboards, but she was arguably the most productive player in franchise history.
She averaged 20.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 blocks per game, on 45.4/38.1/93.8 shooting splits. In her first season, she picked up Rookie of the Year and finished third in the MVP voting. Delle Donne came back and actually won the MVP in her third season, averaging 23.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.0 blocks, on a 59.1 true shooting percentage. It was one of the most dominating seasons in league history and can't be overlooked as part of her legacy with the Sky, even if she didn't last in Chicago.
Power Forward: Angel Reese
Including Reese at this point, in just her second season, may be controversial. But it's hard to argue with the production.
As of this writing, she's already eighth in franchise history in rebounds and will almost certainly finish this regular season at fifth. At her current rate, it would take a little more than four seasons for her to take the top spot. But she's also already in the top-20 in franchise history in points and steals. Assuming she plays out her entire rookie contract in Chicago — through the end of the 2027 season — she'll likely be in the top-10 in all three categories.
The Sky have employed a lot of great frontcourt players but, like it or not, Reese is already on a historic trajectory.
Center: Sylvia Fowles
Fowles cemented her greatness with the Minnesota Lynx — eight seasons, an MVP, two DPOY awards, five All-Star selections and a pair of titles. But she started building her legacy with the Sky.
Fowles was taken by the Sky with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft and spent her first seven seasons there, averaging 15.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 2.0 blocks per game. She was selected as an All-Star three times and won her first two Defensive Player of the Year awards. It's been 11 years since she wore a Sky uniform, but she's still the franchise's all-time leader in rebounds, blocks, free throws, field goal percentage and Win Shares. She's also top-five in points and steals and clearly one of the greatest bigs to ever do it, for any team.