Mystics Can Make Sky’s Already Disappointing Season Even More Embarrassing
Things were looking up for the Chicago Sky when they signed a bunch of good veterans in free agency, headlined by Skylar Diggins, and Rickea Jackson played like an All-Star. Then, Jackson tore her ACL, and things went downhill in the dramatic fashion that seems to define everything Chicago has done in recent years.
The Sky have only won six games since Jackson went down and sit well outside the playoff picture with a 9-18 record. Moreover, no one knows if Skylar Diggins has any interest in still suiting up for the Sky after she voiced her frustrations with being expected to come off the bench and the organization’s lacking facilities—their brand new training facility still isn’t done yet—and has since been out with a knee injury. To add insult to injury, Chicago is hosting All-Star weekend this year, but no Sky players are involved in any of the action.
It’s been a disappointing season already, and barring a miracle turnaround, it will stay that way. The Washington Mystics have the power to make things even worse. The headliner of the Sky’s trade for Ariel Atkins was the third overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. The Mystics used that pick to select Sonia Citron, who immediately became an All-Star, and looked like the clear winners of the trade. But it gets even better for Washington. Thanks to that trade, the Mystics also have the right to swap first-round picks with the Sky in the 2027 draft. Given the Sky’s record, they are in the running for a very good pick.
That pick swap didn’t seem like a big deal earlier in the season when the Mystics were just two spots ahead of the Sky in the standings. Yes, falling a few spot would hurt, but it would not be the end of the world in a stacked draft. By now, the Mystics have soared up to eighth place in the standings, several spots ahead of the Sky.
The Mystics are in a legitimate position to push for a playoff spot, give their young core a first taste of postseason basketball, and still end up with a lottery pick. Chicago, meanwhile, is staring at a cruel replay of this year’s draft and the Minnesota Lynx’s Olivia Miles selection.
The Sky could lose two lottery picks in a row to playoff teams
Olivia Miles is the clear frontrunner for Rookie of the Year and an MVP candidate. She never should have ended up with a Lynx team that finished last season with the best record in the league and kept its core of Napheesa Collier, Courtney Williams, and Kayla McBride in place. And yet, here we are, thanks to the Chicago Sky.
The Sky were desperate to get Angel Reese in the 2024 WNBA Draft—so desperate, in fact, that they offered the Lynx a 2026 first-round pick swap to move up one spot in the draft. A year later, they voided the swap part of the deal and just gave the Lynx the pick outright for a chance to draft Hailey Van Lith. Neither Reese nor Van Lith is on the roster anymore.
The trade with the Mystics isn’t quite as disastrous because at least Chicago was able to turn Atkins into Jackson, but giving up that pick swap still hurts. The 2027 draft is stacked. JuJu Watkins can enter the draft if she doesn’t choose to use her extra year of college eligibility. Moreover, Madison Booker, Hannah Hidalgo, Mikaylah Williams, and MiLaysia Fulwiley will all be available as well.
That’s not just a ton of talent to potentially lose out on. It would also be pretty embarrassing to have it happen twice in a row.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.