{"id":237712,"date":"2025-10-20T03:46:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T03:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/237712\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T03:46:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T03:46:21","slug":"sky-offseason-notebook-cardoso-back-to-china-banham-and-van-lith-eye-unrivaled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/237712\/","title":{"rendered":"Sky offseason notebook: Cardoso back to China, Banham and Van Lith eye Unrivaled"},"content":{"rendered":"

A turbulent season has ended, and the Sky\u2019s<\/a> heavy hitters \u2014 Angel Reese, Courtney Vandersloot and Ariel Atkins \u2014 still have to give their exit interviews. But other key players spoke on Friday. Here\u2019s what we learned about where they\u2019re headed this winter and whether they see themselves back in Chicago:<\/p>\n

Kamilla Cardoso (Center | Under contract)<\/p>\n

Cardoso began showing why the Sky drafted her third overall<\/a>, becoming a force in the low post. She improved her efficiency on higher shot volume and finished as the league\u2019s fifth-best rebounder.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had some hard conversations with my teammates and coaches about how they needed more from me,\u201d she said. \u201cI came back [from the All-Star break] with a different mentality.\u201d<\/p>\n

This offseason Cardoso will return to the WCBA in China, where she\u2019s the reigning International Player of the Year. She\u2019s under contract with the Sky for two more years and will be a centerpiece the team builds around. The next step in her game, she said, is gaining confidence on the perimeter \u2014 shooting more jumpers and attacking the rim.<\/p>\n

Rachel Banham (Shooting guard | Free agent)<\/p>\n

Banham shouldered more than most expected this season. She was the team\u2019s best three-point shooter (36% on 5.5 attempts per game) and also took over ball-handling duties after the team\u2019s point guards went down.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing to Chicago brought a lot of opportunities for me,\u201d Banham said. \u201cI\u2019ve gotten to play so much more, and that\u2019s what any player wants. I feel like [head coach Tyler Marsh] gave me that opportunity to just be me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Banham said she would definitely consider returning to the Sky. Given her role in the locker room and the trust Marsh and general manager Jeff Pagliocca showed in her, the feeling is probably mutual.<\/p>\n

This offseason, she said she\u2019s been \u201ctalking to\u201d Unrivaled. The 3×3 league in Miami became a winter hub for players to recruit free agents to their WNBA teams.<\/p>\n

Banham said her pitch to free agents about the Sky would highlight the honesty and transparency of Marsh and Pagliocca. She\u2019d also point to how good the Sky looked when fully healthy, beating contenders like the Lynx and Liberty.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Williams (Center | Free agent)<\/p>\n

Williams helped anchor the defense off the bench and filled in as a starter when Reese and Cardoso were out. Now the Sky\u2019s longest-tenured member, she said she\u2019s \u201calways interested\u201d in returning and wouldn\u2019t close any doors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not gonna say I\u2019m not coming back,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

Williams will play overseas in Turkey this offseason, where she previously won a league title in 2022.<\/p>\n

As secretary of the players\u2019 union, she will also be busy with CBA negotiations. Players are seeking higher salaries, among other changes. The current deadline is the end of October, though it\u2019s expected to be pushed back. The last CBA in 2020 was finalized in January.<\/p>\n

Hailey Van Lith (Combo guard | Under contract)<\/p>\n

The Sky\u2019s No. 11 pick never found her footing as a rookie<\/a>, slowed by an ankle injury. She missed 15 games and averaged 3.5 points in 12 minutes. She was also missing the mentor she expected to have in Vandersloot, who tore her ACL early in the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been realizing sometimes it takes a couple years,\u201d Van Lith said. \u201cWhatever my journey is going to be is what it\u2019s going to be. I\u2019m going to fight for it to be as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her ankle pain had been lingering since college, so she wasn\u2019t able to get healthy while playing on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing for me outside of getting healthy is figuring out what state my body needs to be in to play at the level I need to play to be successful in the WNBA,\u201d she said of the offseason.<\/p>\n

This offseason, Van Lith will play in Unrivaled while focusing on her health. She\u2019s expected back with the Sky for Year 2.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"AT&T<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said it\u2019s important for owners to have a viable economic model. But do all the owners have the same model in mind?<\/p>\n

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\"WNBAALLSTAR-071122-87.JPG\"<\/p>\n

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If the 2026 season proceeds as planned, the All-Star Game will take place at the United Center on July 25.<\/p>\n

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\"Angel<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was destined for me,\u201d Reese said during an interview before the show began. \u201cThis is already for me. I\u2019m so happy to be sitting in this room with so many amazing models and women.\u201d<\/p>\n

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read<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A turbulent season has ended, and the Sky\u2019s heavy hitters \u2014 Angel Reese, Courtney Vandersloot and Ariel Atkins…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237713,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-237712","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}