Some thoughts on the Women’s National Basketball Association’s All-Star Weekend, which took place July 24-25 and was hosted by the Chicago Sky.
Normally, this event would have generated a lot of buzz locally. After all, having the best of the best WNBA players in town for one weekend is a feather in the cap for host teams. But since winning its only WNBA title in 2021, the Sky’s fortunes have rapidly declined.
The Sky entered All-Star Weekend with a 9-18 record, and to make matters worse, while luminous players such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and A’ja Wilson participated, the Sky did not have any players take part. No one was voted in by the fans. Nor was anyone selected to the rosters by the honorary All-Star general managers – WNBA legends Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon.
Why has the Sky been in a downward spiral for the past few years? I believe it’s because of ownership. Michael Alter has owned the franchise since it joined the WNBA as an expansion team in the 2006 season. In 20 years as majority owner, he has gone through nine head coaches, the only extended period of success provided by James Wade, who guided the team to the 2021 championship. Among the players on the title-winning group were local legends Candace Parker and Allie Quigley.
But following the 2022 season, Alter allowed Parker to leave via free agency, and Quigley retired. Wade stepped down during the 2023 season to take an assistant job with the NBA’s Toronto Raptors.
In 2024, Weatherspoon was hired as head coach but lasted just one season, following a 13-27 record. Tyler Marsh took over last year, but he, along with general manager Jeff Pagliocca, was unable to turn the team around up to this point.
The constant coaching and front office changes have created a sense of instability and given the Sky a weak reputation among WNBA players. That, plus the fact that a long-awaited and necessary practice facility has yet to be completed, makes it difficult for the team to attract marquee free agents. Located in Bedford Park, the facility was supposed to open before the season and was going to be where the All-Stars practiced and held Media Day. Instead, those events went to the newly opened Obama Presidential Center, which has a full-length basketball court, and the Sky says the new facility will not be open until this fall – after the season is over. While the delays aren’t necessarily Alter’s fault, they create a feeling of organizational mistrust among the players around the league.
Then there’s this: several of the WNBA’s all-time great players such as Elena Delle Donne, Sylvia Fowles, and Parker have played for the Sky, but have either demanded trades or left with bitter feelings toward the organization. That’s not a good look for Alter and his franchise stewardship. Moreover, unlike other franchises who beefed up their staffs by adding more assistant coaches, trainers, nutritionists, and massage therapists, until this season, Alter ran a bare-bones program with few staff. That’s not conducive to building a winning culture for the organization.
If the Sky wants to re-establish itself as a destination franchise, Alter either needs to increase his investment in staff and personnel or sell the team to someone who wants to win and be successful every year. For the Sky to not have one player participating in All-Star Weekend in their hometown is embarrassing, and it should serve as a wake-up call.
Sky fans have long been passionate about their team and don’t deserve this nonsense. But as long as Alter remains the franchise’s owner, it’s hard to see things improving any time soon. And that’s a shame.