Looking Back on Sky's First WNBA Championship
The Houston Comets were the first team to win the WNBA championship. They did so three more times afterwards. Some teams in the league, like the Connecticut Sun have never won it before, despite being to the WNBA Finals multiple teams.
The Chicago Sky broke into the league back in 2006 etched its name in WNBA history exactly four years ago (October 17, 2021) by winning their first championship.
A surprisingly playoff team with a .500 record, the Sky ran the table in the WNBA Playoffs during the postseason in 2021. For the first time ever, the Sky became champions of the league.
🥺🥺🥺🥺
— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) October 17, 2021
💙 you, #skytown pic.twitter.com/6aBY8XwBag
How did Game 4 of the 2021 WNBA Finals go down four years ago?
In the best-of-three series, the Phoenix Mercury were heavily favored. They boasted stars like Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins.
Chicago had a few of their own, including Candace Parker. This marked the first of her two seasons playing for the Sky. Growing up in Naperville, Illinois (a nearby suburb of Chicago), Parker chose to leave the Los Angeles Sparks and play closer to where she lived as a child.
The Sky were outscored by the Mercury in the first three quarters of Game 4. Chicago was up 2-1 in the series, but it looked like they were going to fall in the potential close-out game.
Parker and her teammates rallied in the fourth quarter. Chicago made up the nine point deficit entering game's final period. The Sky went off for 26 points while holding their opponent to just 11 points. The 15-point swing was enough to seal the victory for Chicago over Phoenix.
Head coach James Wade believed in his team and did not give up. This team had been battle-tested going through tough opponents prior to Phoenix such as the Sun, the Minnesota Lynx, and the Dallas Wings.
Four starters for the Sky scored in double figures, including Kahleah Copper. She, who coincidentally played for the Mercury this season, was named the 2021 WNBA Finals MVP. Parker added 16 points, and Allie Quigley posted a team-high 26 in Game 4.
Other notables from both the Sky and the Mercury that series.
Courtney Vandersloot played for Chicago during that championship season and returned to the Sky in 2025. Kia Nurse, a teammate of Vandersloot's this season, was a member of the Mercury in the 2021 WNBA Finals.
Along with Nurse, the Indiana Fever's Sophie Cunningham also played for Phoenix in the championship series that year. Dana Evans, who checked in for two minutes in the Game 4 victory, won her second WNBA title this season with the Las Vegas Aces over Copper and the Mercury.
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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.