Sydney Taylor's Breakout Season Gets Exclamation Point With Gamewinner in Sky vs Aces

Sydney Taylor's emergence for the Chicago Sky reached a new high as she hit the shot to beat the Las Vegas Aces.

Jul 7, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Chicago Sky guard Sydney Taylor (12) against the Phoenix Mercury at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There's no question that Sydney Taylor has had a breakout season for the Chicago Sky.

Taylor is an undrafted rookie. She played overseas after finishing her college career at Louisville in 2024, until she found a spot with the Sky. But since, she's turned that roster spot into a starting role.

And on Saturday, Taylor hit a game-winning three-pointer to lead the Sky to a win over the defending champion Las Vegas Aces. After A'ja Wilson converted a driving layup with 3.2 seconds left to put the Aces up 83-81, Chicago had one more crack at it. They called Taylor's number.

Taylor curled off a screen, catching the inbounds pass well beyond the arc, and buried the shot over Jackie Young. There was less than a second left on the clock when the ball went through, and it gave Chicago the 84-83 victory—putting an exclamation point on Taylor's breakout season in the process.

SYDNEY TAYLOR CALLS GAME WHAT THE FUCKKKKKK pic.twitter.com/FJIMwtRpBd

— Shabazz 💫 (@ShowCaseShabazz) August 1, 2026

Taylor helped carry the Sky the entire contest, scoring 29 points overall. She is averaging 14.2 points per game on the season on 45.9% shooting, 34% from deep. And that's on an average of just over 20 minutes a night.

Taylor's Emergence Makes Sky Struggles Easier to Stomach

Jul 10, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Chicago Sky head coach Tyler Marsh reacts during the game against the Los Angeles Sparks during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While the win was certainly exciting, it has been far from a banner year for Chicago. However, things have gotten better as of late. The Sky were mired near the bottom of the standings for much of the season, but have now won two games in a row and are 5-5 over their last 10.

This is significant because the Washington Mystics own a pick swap with them for the 2027 WNBA Draft, which could feature JuJu Watkins as the headliner. So it would have been a total embarrassment for the team to have to surrender a prime pick.

But since veteran Courtney Vandersloot returned from injury, the ship has steadied a bit for the Sky. There's still been some turbulence given Skylar Diggins did not take well to being told she would come off the bench shortly after Vandersloot's return. Diggins has not played since and has been listed out with a knee injury.

Rickea Jackson, who the team traded for in the offseason, suffered an ACL tear early in the year, delivering a blow to the franchise's win-now hopes as well.

Still, Taylor's been a bright spot to a degree no one really could have predicted. She's only 25-years-old, so her development should be a big part of the Sky's future plans, with the undrafted rookie making up for at least some of the sting of the draft picks Chicago has lost via trade in the recent past.