Sky Trade No. 3 Pick in 2025 WNBA Draft to Mystics for Former All-Star Ariel Atkins

A massive trade in the WNBA has come through the wire on Sunday.

Jul 2, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Washington Mystics guard Ariel Atkins (7) dribbles the ball against LA Sparks guard Zia Cooke (1) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The first few picks of the 2025 WNBA Draft have received a lot of movement over the past month.

At the end of January, news broke that the Los Angeles Sparks were trading the No. 2 pick to the Seattle Storm in a three-team deal that brought them former Aces superstar Kelsey Plum.

The No. 3 pick had been secured by the Chicago Sky in the 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery. However, according to an X post from ESPN's Kendra Andrews on Sunday, "Breaking: 2x-time All-Star guard Ariel Atkins has been traded from the Washington Mystics to the Chicago Sky in exchange for the 2025 No. 3 overall pick, sources told me and @alexaphilippou Sunday.

"The move kickstarts a rebuild for D.C. and marks a huge get for the surging Sky".

Breaking: 2x-time All-Star guard Ariel Atkins has been traded from the Washington Mystics to the Chicago Sky in exchange for the 2025 No. 3 overall pick, sources told me and @alexaphilippou Sunday.

The move kickstarts a rebuild for D.C. and marks a huge get for the surging Sky pic.twitter.com/gx2B5UB1Ci

— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) February 24, 2025

In a subsequent article from ESPN, it's written, "The Mystics will also receive a 2027 first-round pick swap and Chicago's 2027 second-round pick.

"Atkins, a 2019 WNBA champion with the Mystics and 2020 Olympian, has averaged 13.4 points and 3.0 rebounds throughout her career."

As a result of this trade, the Mystics now hold the No. 3, No. 4, and No. 6 picks in the 2025 WNBA Draft.

At first glance, this seems like a peculiar move from the Chicago Sky. Even now that they have Atkins (who averaged 14.9 points per game for Washington in 2024), it's hard to imagine that they're true contenders for a WNBA championship, considering some of the other loaded rosters in the league. 

Fans seemed convinced that the Sky would use the No. 3 pick to select a guard or some current college sharpshooter that could grow and develop alongside post players Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso.

However, the Sky's front office clearly wants to win right now and was willing to move boulders to maximize their team's success in 2025.