WNBA All-Star Game puts Sky's fall from the top on all-too-vivid display
<p>The last time the <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/07/21/the-all-stars-the-sky-couldve-had-are-coming-to-chicago" target="_blank" >WNBA All-Star Game</a> was here in Chicago, in 2022, the <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky" target="_blank" >Sky</a> were so much of an “it” team, their stuff practically strutted itself.</p><p>They were the league’s defending champions, having dominated Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and the Mercury in the 2021 finals and raised the city’s first WNBA title banner.</p><p>At 16-6, they’d come back to post the league’s best record at the break and had every intention of repeating as champs, something that seemed entirely possible, if not probable. No fewer than four Sky players — Candace Parker, Courtney Vandersloot, Kahleah Copper and Emma Meesseman — were All-Stars, with the great Parker, still delivering the goods at 36, having been made the first All-Star drafted by young Aces star A’ja Wilson, one of the game’s team captains.</p><p>“When am I going to have another opportunity to play with Candace Parker?” Wilson said.</p><p>If Parker was on some sort of a farewell tour — there was a good bit of speculation about that — she sure didn’t sound like it.</p><p>“I just want to get more rings,” she said.
Reported by 1 outlet — Chicago Sun-Times. See all sources ↓
<p>The last time the <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/07/21/the-all-stars-the-sky-couldve-had-are-coming-to-chicago" target="_blank" >WNBA All-Star Game</a> was here in Chicago, in 2022, the <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky" target="_blank" >Sky</a> were so much of an “it” team, their stuff practically strutted itself.</p><p>They were the league’s defending champions, having dominated Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and the Mercury in the 2021 finals and raised the city’s first WNBA title banner.</p><p>At 16-6, they’d come back to post the league’s best record at the break and had every intention of repeating as champs, something that seemed entirely possible, if not probable. No fewer than four Sky players — Candace Parker, Courtney Vandersloot, Kahleah Copper and Emma Meesseman — were All-Stars, with the great Parker, still delivering the goods at 36, having been made the first All-Star drafted by young Aces star A’ja Wilson, one of the game’s team captains.</p><p>“When am I going to have another opportunity to play with Candace Parker?” Wilson said.</p><p>If Parker was on some sort of a farewell tour — there was a good bit of speculation about that — she sure didn’t sound like it.</p><p>“I just want to get more rings,” she said. Then what are you going to say?”</p><p>Those Sky would enter the playoffs at 26-10, tied for the top record, but fall just short of the finals, a disappointment that — given all that has transpired since — seems a lot longer ago than merely four years.</p><p>As the All-Star Game returns to our city this week, marking the WNBA’s 30th season (and the Sky’s 21st), it’s hard to know where to begin to account for all the bad decisions, bad luck and — undeniably, at times — dysfunction that have boxed the Sky out of any sort of a position of prominence in a league that nonetheless is growing and, many would contend, thriving.</p><p>Entering their final game before the break — Wednesday at the Liberty — the Sky are 50-100 (.333) since the 2022 season. The record is even worse over the two and a half seasons since Jeff Pagliocca was promoted to general manager, a 32-78 (.291) odyssey during which the Sky have acquired and lost key players, been bitten by major injuries and seemingly ended up on the wrong end of multiple critical deals.</p><p>When he officially took the GM reins, Pagliocca said of his relationship with brand-new coach Teresa Weatherspoon — who’d been hired before he was promoted — “The compatibility is in a very, very good place.” But Weatherspoon lasted only one chaotic season before being dismissed.
Read the full report at Chicago Sun-Times ↗
Why it matters
A world story we're tracking; its significance and source trust firm up as more outlets confirm it.
- What's the story?
- <p>The last time the <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/07/21/the-all-stars-the-sky-couldve-had-are-coming-to-chicago" target="_blank" >WNBA All-Star Game</a> was here in Chicago, in 2022, the <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky" target="_blank" >Sky</a> were so much of an “it” team, their stuff practically strutted itself.</p><p>They were the league’s defending champions, having dominated Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and the Mercury in the 2021 finals and raised the city’s first WNBA title banner.</p><p>At 16-6, they’d come back to post the league’s best record at the break and had every intention of repeating as champs, something that seemed entirely possible, if not probable. No fewer than four Sky players — Candace Parker, Courtney Vandersloot, Kahleah Copper and Emma Meesseman — were All-Stars, with the great Parker, still delivering the goods at 36, having been made the first All-Star drafted by young Aces star A’ja Wilson, one of the game’s team captains.</p><p>“When am I going to have another opportunity to play with Candace Parker?” Wilson said.</p><p>If Parker was on some sort of a farewell tour — there was a good bit of speculation about that — she sure didn’t sound like it.</p><p>“I just want to get more rings,” she said.
- How widely is it covered?
- 1 outlet, average source rating 6.0/10.
- When was it last updated?
- 11m ago.
How outlets are framing the same story
Here's how each outlet is covering the story — compare their headlines and timing at a glance.
- Coverage card1 outlet1CoverageScouting report
WNBA All-Star Game puts Sky's fall from the top on all-too-vivid display
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times