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The Chicago Sky have fired head coach Teresa Weatherspoon after just one season at the helm, per the Chicago Sun-Times’ Annie Costabile.
The Sky finished 13-27 and missed the postseason for the first time since 2018.
According to Costabile, players were “outwardly supportive” of the first-year head coach throughout the season, but exit interviews revealed a “disconnect.”
“Multiple players noted the changing play style throughout the year and mentioned the learning curve of being a first-year coach,” Cosabile wrote.
The Sky were in a playoff position for much of the season and had a chance to clinch a postseason berth late in the year, but Chicago lost 12 of its last 14 games to seal its fate.
While players noted the disconnect between Weatherspoon and her roster, the Sky also dealt with circumstances out of their control, namely the many different injuries throughout the season. Chicago played only two games with a fully healthy roster and star rookie Angel Reese sustained a season-ending injury in early September.
Reese was outspoken on social media following Weatherspoon’s firing.
“You had a tough job. All the crazy circumstances that we went through this year and when your back was against the wall, you always believed,” Reese wrote on X. “I came to Chicago because of YOU. You were an unsung hero in my life.”
Angel Reese @Reese10Angel
I’m heartbroken. I’m literally lost for words knowing what this woman meant to me in such a pivotal point in my life. She was the only person that believed in me. The one that trusted me. Many don’t even know what it’s like to be a black women in sports when nobody believes in…
It was just three seasons ago the Sky won their first WNBA championship, but it has since faced a number of setbacks. James Wade, who led Chicago to a title as the team’s coach and general manager, departed midway through the 2023 season and the Sky faced a first-round exit in the playoffs.
The Sky had an unsuccessful offseason in the free agency market, ultimately leading to star guard Kahleah Copper requesting a trade before the start of the regular season.
Though things seem bleak for Chicago at the moment, it has a young roster that seems to be on its way to a bright future.
In the backcourt, 25-year-old Chennedy Carter led the way for the Sky behind 17.5 points per game. Reese, whose play in 2024 likely would have led to a Rookie of the Year award had it not been for Caitlin Clark, pairs well with fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso in the front court.
Chicago will now begin another coaching search as it looks to find the right person to guide a talented young group in a new era of Sky basketball.
