February 24, 2025
Win now or pay later: Sky sacrifice draft assets for All-Star Ariel Atkins
By Alissa Hirsh
Atkins enhances the Sky’s playoff prospects in 2025, but limits the team's ability to replenish talent through the draft
The 2025 WNBA season has not yet begun, but the Chicago Sky have perhaps already put themselves back into playoff contention by adding two-time All-Star Ariel Atkins to the roster. To do it, they sent two valuable draft assets to the Washington Mystics: the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft, and swap rights to its first-round pick in the 2027 draft. The Mystics will also receive the Sky’s 2027 second-round pick.
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Atkins brings an impressive pedigree as a multi-level scorer and an elite defender. She was named to the All-Defensive team in each of her first five seasons.
Atkins’ arrival to the Sky’s backcourt continues two offseason themes: spacing the floor and adding high-caliber pros around developing bigs Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese. Atkins is a career 36.2% shooter from deep and a 2020 Olympic gold medalist.
Maybe most importantly, Atkins brings a scorer’s mentality to the Sky. She’s the only offseason addition who averaged more than eight field goal attempts per game in the last two seasons. That matters, given the Sky took a pass on its former leading scorer Chennedy Carter. Her 17.5 points per game last season ranked 12th in the league.
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Atkins finished 22nd in scoring with 14.9 points per game for the Mystics last season. In addition to her consistency from deep, she led all guards in efficiency from mid-range, which she calls her “bread and butter.”
29-year-old Atkins’ dynamism will help prevent Cardoso and Reese from carrying an outsized offensive burden. While the Sky’s other newcomers excel in complementary or playmaking roles, Atkins can create her own offense.
It is still possible that the Sky’s playoff hopes will remain tenuous. Both the Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever — the bottom two playoff seeds in 2024 — added serious star power in the offseason. Most of the league’s top teams maintained their cores.
Becoming a true title contender will require a successful 2026 offseason for the Sky. Most of the league’s veterans — including Atkins — come off the books after this season. Two new franchises will also join the league in 2026.
The cost of the Sky’s accelerated rebuild
The Sky’s accelerated rebuild began last offseason when first-year general manager Jeff Pagliocca sacrificed future draft capital to pick Reese. With the defending runner-up Minnesota Lynx now holding swap rights to the Sky’s 2026 pick, Chicago gains nothing by missing the playoffs this season, making immediate success their only viable path.
Trading away the 2025 No. 3 pick and swap rights for 2027 creates a more urgent countdown toward championship contention. It also heightens the pressure on Cardoso and Reese to become superstars.
The Sky have essentially forfeited their chance of drafting two transcendent talents: University of Southern California phenom Juju Watkins, the projected 2027 No. 1 pick, and Notre Dame point guard Olivia Miles, who has an outside chance of falling to No. 3 in the 2025 draft.
Failing to crack the league’s upper tier before Reese and Cardoso’s rookie contracts expire would leave the Sky stranded, having surrendered multiple opportunities to develop a wider talent pipeline.
Some insurance remains. The Sky have the 2025 No. 10 pick and the right to swap for the Connecticut Sun’s 2026 first-round pick. That could mean a lottery pick if the Sun’s rebuilt roster flounders.
Pagliocca’s moves thus far represent an all-in bet on Cardoso and Reese’s developing into franchise pillars — as well as on his own ability to win in a heated 2026 free agency market. Chicago’s title window will open or close based on how these two gambles unfold.
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Written by Alissa Hirsh
Alissa Hirsh covers the Chicago Sky for The Next. She is also writing a memoir about the difficulty in leaving her college basketball career behind, and co-founded The Townies newsletter. Her hometown of Skokie, Illinois is known for having the top bagel options in the Chicagoland area.
