No WNBA team has won back to back titles since the 2001-2002 Sparks led by Hall of famer Lisa Leslie. However, the Chicago Sky look like they may be on the verge of that level of greatness while being led by their future Hall of famer, Candace Parker. The Sky have been one of the best teams in the WNBA and plenty of all star talent including Courtney Vandersloot, Kahleah Copper, and Emma Meesseman. All this talent has helped them earn the best record in the WNBA at the all star break. Down the stretch of the season, they will have to deal with the Las Vegas Aces as they are arguably the biggest threat to another Chicago Sky title run. Lower seeded teams such as the Sparks and Dream should not go underestimated as well as the Sky won the title last year despite finishing the season as a .500 team.
The Chicago Sky's offensive efficiency has been a big part of their success this season as they currently rank 2nd in the NBA behind the Las Vegas Aces in team points per game at 85.6 points per game. They also lead the WNBA in field goal percentage at 47.3% along with free throw percentage at 84.2%, They are led in scoring by the reigning WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Cooper who averages 13.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. The Sky do not rely on one single player to dominate offensively as they play great team basketball and are very balanced scoring wise. Chicago has five players that average double digits which speaks to the overall quality of their team.
After a decent 4-3 start to the season, the Sky kicked things up a notch by winning 12 of their next 15 games, stacking up multiple impressive wins through out that stretch of games. Arguably their best win of the season came against the Las Vegas Aces on June 21st. They Sky were down by as much as 28 points before making an epic comeback to the take the lead late in the 3rd quarter, The Sky outscored the Aces 30-11 in the 3rd quarter fueling their comeback. They were led by their all star, Courtney Vandersloot who had a game-high 25 points and 8 assists in an epic comeback win. The Sky's 104-95 win was more than just a great regular season win against another title contender it was also history making victory. The 28 point comeback was the largest comeback in WNBA history which shows the teams leadership along with an ability to play through adversity.
As the Sky head into the final stretch of the season, who will look to carry over the momentum going into the all star break. Half of the teams final 12 games will come against the top 5 teams record-wise in the WNBA, including 2 games against the Seattle Storm and 2 against the Connecticut Suns. Their final and likely biggest test will come against a late season rematch against the Aces which will be their first matchup since Chicago's wild 28 point comeback win. If the Sky are able to keep up their overall excellent play heading into the playoffs it will bode well for them as they look to bring another title to the city of Chicago.
Source: WNBA YouTube Channel
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