5 Players Who Wore Sky and Dream Jerseys
The Chicago Sky and Atlanta Dream have had little in common as of late. Last year, the Sky not only missed the playoffs but they fired their head coach after the season, too.
Atlanta not only made the playoffs the last two seasons, but their current head coach Tanisha Wright has been with the Dream while Chicago has gone through four coaches since.
In 2021, Chicago won an WNBA Championship. It was their sole appearance in the Finals. The Dream have been three times in a five year span from 2010 to 2013, losing every time.
Yet a few of the things the Sky and the Dream have in common is each other. That's right, there are about a dozen WNBA players who have played for both Chicago and Atlanta:
1. Jessica Breland
The New York City native played forward for both the Chicago Sky and the Atlanta Dream. Breland began he WNBA career with her hometown team, the New York Liberty.
She signed as a free agent with the Sky in 2014. Four seasons later, Breland spent two years with the Dream.
The former North Carolina Tar Heel player had a career best in 3-point percentage (38.1%) in 2017 when she was with the Sky. Breland experience career highs in rebounds (7.9) and blocks (1.9) the next year in Atlanta.
Breland played for five different teams during her nine-year career in the WNBA. She finished with averaged of nearly seven points, six rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
2. Chennedy Carter
Most famous with the Chicago Sky last season, this dicey guard mixed it up with Indiana Fever rookie Caitlyn Clark in 2024.
Carter debuted in the WNBA with the Atlanta Dream. She averaged 15.8 points per game across 27 games with her original team.
She joined the Los Angeles Sparks in 2022 for a season before sitting out a year. Carter then played for Chicago last year.
The Fort Worth, Texas native experience career-bests in points (17.5), field goal percentage (48.7%), rebounds (3.5), and steals (1.1) last year with the Sky. Carter is now playing for the Wuhan Shengfan.
3. Ruth Riley
Hailing from Ransom, Kansas, she played both forward and center while in the WNBA. Riley wrapped up her playing career with both the Chicago Sky and the Atlanta Dream.
The Notre Dame graduate began her professional career with three now-defunct teams in the Portland Sol, and two relocated teams in the Detroit Shock and San Antonio Stars.
Riley started all 34 games with San Antonio before joining the Sky. She became more of a role player while coming off the bench in 19 of her 33 games in 2012.
It was her last season in the WNBA that she had her fewest turnovers per game average. With the Atlanta Dream in 2014, Riley committed just half a turnover per contest.
4. Courtney Williams
A former member of the Phoenix Mercury, this former first round pick in 2016. Williams spent three and a half seasons with the Connecticut Sun before joining the Atlanta Dream.
The product from the University of South Florida. She joined the Chicago Sky in 2023.
Williams just played against them on Monday and last Saturday as a member of the Minnesota Lynx. She connected on a pair of three-pointers two days ago.
Two Chicago Sky assistant coaches are also on this list.
Both Courtney Paris and Tamera Young have played for the Atlanta Dream. While Paris never played for the Sky, Tamera did and spent two tenures with the Dream.
First, the former Oklahoma Sooner was a bit of a nomad during her playing career. Paris was on four different WNBA teams before retiring to focus on coaching.
She joined her alma mater and eventually broke in with a former team, the Dallas Wings before joining the sidelines of the Chicago Sky.
Young benefited from playing for the Chicago Sky and the Atlanta Dream. She spent nearly a decade with her second WNBA team from 2009 to 2017.
Both Paris and Young support head coach Tyler Marsh. The Chicago Sky host the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday night at Wintrust Arena.
Other Notables: WNBA legend Swin Cash played for both the Chicago Sky and Atlanta Dream. So did Kaela Davis, Jordan Hooper, Cathrine Kraayeveld, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Stacey Lovelace-Tolbert, Imani McGee-Stafford, and Michelle Snow.
My name is Scott Conrad and I am a Contributor for the Chicago Sky with Sports Illustrated.com. I am also a Contributor with FanSided on NinerNoise, as well as Da Windy City. In addition, I am the Site Editor/Expert for The View from Avalon. I spent two seasons (2015 & 2016) with the Tampa Bay Times as a Correspondent covering high school football. I am a two-time published author with more work to come. In my teenage years, I started watching both MLS and WNBA start in 1996 and grow to be the juggernauts they are in their respective sports. Much love to the career on and off the court for fellow-Napervillian and former Sky forward Candace Parker. Outside of the sports journalism world, I am a travel volleyball coach. I accepted the Head Coach position with Greater Cincinnati Volleyball Club for their U13-2 team. In terms of active sports, I play volleyball, soccer, softball, kickball and train in mixed martial arts.