Sky’s Youth Duo Could Provide Hope in Final Stretch
The Chicago Sky's playoff dreams officially came to an end with a win by the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday night. The Sky have overcome insurmountable odds to make the postseason in the recent past, but will now miss the playoffs for the second straight year. Chicago has come up short in 13 of its last 14 games, which caused it to slip to 8-26 a little after the three-quarter mark of the regular season and one game ahead of the Connecticut Sun at about 12th place in the WNBA.
Even without a shot at the postseason, a small spark of hope still shines for the rebuilding squad after what has been nothing short of a turbulent 2025 season.
One small spark means one giant leap
The Sky's future runs through Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso.
While the Windy City squad will need to have more faith in its youth movement as a whole if it wants to make a smooth transition from its most recent championship era, the two first-round picks that started it all can ultimately determine how much hope the Sky have for the future heading into the 2026 offseason. The two have already proven their worth during their 2025 run, including in their most recent matchup against the Seattle Storm. Reese, who earned her second All-Star selection earlier this season, brought the team's energy back and proved to be the Sky's most valuable leader in her recent return. Cardoso added six assists and three blocks as she would join a two-team block party featuring big-time swats against cutting players.
Chicago still has a few chances to grab a much-needed win or two if it keeps up the fight it showed on Tuesday, including two against the Connecticut Sun at home. One small spark of hope from the young bigs, even if it only means keeping up the Sky's newfound energy for the rest of the year, can do wonders in instilling confidence in the future to pair along with their first-rounder in next year's draft. They'll need to see more out of Hailey Van Lith and Maddy Westbeld, who didn't take the floor in Tuesday's matchup, to keep the movement going before they can be paired with more complementary players in the offseason.
Chicago will take on one of its toughest challenges of the year when it faces the New York Liberty at 6 p.m. CDT on Thursday. The game will be broadcast on The U.
Alex Sabri began contributing to the BIGPLAY Network in September 2025. He also contributes to Chicago Sky on SI and FanSided's High Post Hoops. The Purdue and Cleveland State graduate has over two years of journalism experience in collegiate and professional sports, as well as local journalism, and a few more years of sports blogging experience. Though he specializes in covering Ohio sports for BIGPLAY, his interests include the NBA, WNBA, NFL, Cleveland Guardians and college football and basketball.