Look, we said it here first. Everyone should pay attention to the Chicago Sky. If you haven’t yet, you might want to hurry, as their season could end soon. We’re talking like two games soon if everything goes as planned. Because this year, the Chicago Sky WNBA Finals run is legit. And they’re already up 1-0 against the Phoenix Mercury.
What Led To This Chicago Sky Finals Run?
Well, it started with the signing of one key free-agent and Illinois native, Candace Parker. The two-time WNBA champion certainly used her winning experience to bring us back to the promise-land. Next, came the 2021 WNBA Draft that helped further along this Chicago Sky finals run with some young depth.
After the draft and free agency period ended, the Chicago Sky opened their 2021 season on the road with a victory against the Washington Mystics. Game two took place outside of Chicago too, and ended similarly with a win against Atlanta. Their next game was their home opener against the New York Liberty on Sunday, May 23. They would lose that game 93-85, and go on a 7 game losing streak.
But, things change fast in professional sports. The girls countered their losing streak with a 7-game winning streak that took place nearly all of June, and reignited a potential Chicago Sky finals run. When the regular season was all said and done, the team’s record was 16-16. They were back in the WNBA playoffs for the third year in a row.
Chicago Sky’s Playoff Dominance
Things couldn’t have gone any better once the playoffs began, because before we entered the postseason, the team had only won two of their final six games. But in the Chicago Sky finals run, their 6-1. They crushed their first two opponents in the opening rounds, crushing the Dallas Wings 81-64 and then taking care of the Minnesota Lynx with a 89-76 win. Their semifinal matchup could’ve gone a lot worse after they went 1-1 in the first two games. Game one took two overtimes to finish, and in game two, the Connecticut Suns held our girls to 68 points. This would be their worst playoff performance, and their only loss of the postseason. The Sky won the next two games at home as they crushed teams on their way back to the WNBA Finals. It’s their first appearance since 2014, where they were swept 0-3 by none other than our current finals opponent, the Phoenix Mercury.
And now after game one, they’re doing something they failed to do in 2014. Winning a game in the finals. They did it quite handily too, beating the Mercury by fourteen points in the 91-77 victory. The Chicago Sky were led by forward Kahleah Copper who scored 21 points in game one. Copper has actually been a dominating force the entire postseason for the Sky, and is a huge reason why we’re 6-1 this postseason. She led the team in scoring when she averaged 14.4 PPG in the regular season. Then now, when the lights are shining their brightest, Kahleah Copper is making her mark. In the postseason, Copper has averaged 18.6 PPG, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. Thanks to her, the Chicago Sky finals run has gone smoothly. The girls are two games away from winning it all for the first time in the Sky’s franchise history. You won’t want to miss game two tonight, at 8:00PM CST on ESPN.
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