{"id":783661,"date":"2026-07-25T12:06:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T12:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/783661\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T12:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T12:06:09","slug":"column-chicago-sky-noticeably-absent-from-wnba-all-star-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/783661\/","title":{"rendered":"Column: Chicago Sky noticeably absent from WNBA All-Star weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

There wasn\u2019t really any doubt. But after the city spent the weekend hosting the WNBA All-Star Game for the second time in five years, it\u2019s more clear than ever: The love of women\u2019s basketball in Chicago is alive and well.<\/p>\n

In every sense that matters, this weekend was a resounding success for both the WNBA and the city. The league is predicting a sellout for Saturday\u2019s All-Star Game at the United Center, meaning more than 20,000 fans will flock downtown for the event. The city is now home to three women\u2019s sports bars \u2014 Whiskey Girl Tavern, Babe\u2019s Sports Bar and Level Sporting Club \u2014 that spent the week throwing elaborate parties sponsored by league partners such as Nike.<\/p>\n

Chicago isn\u2019t new to this. The city hosted the All-Star Game in 2022. But four years ago, the WNBA was still in the early stages of a massive popularity boom \u2014 and everything was different. Parties and corporate activations were still scarce. The game was held at Wintrust Arena to accommodate smaller crowds. Players such as Kahleah Copper joked during media day that it was easier to catch some time to relax or spend an afternoon cruising Lake Michigan on a boat back in those days.<\/p>\n

Now, the pendulum has swung considerably in the opposite direction. Players spent All-Star weekend bustling between commitments. Fans were forced to choose between a lengthy list of parties, panels and pop-ups scattered across the West and South sides of the city. Celebrities from Barack Obama<\/a> to Dwyane Wade to Jayson Tatum made appearances at Friday\u2019s events.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Chicago Sky’s Kamilla Cardoso, from left, Azur\u00e1 Stevens and Skylar Diggins listen to coach Tyler Marsh during a timeout in a game against the Toronto Tempo on May, 27, 2026, at Wintrust Arena. (Josh Boland\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

But throughout a weekend meant for celebration in Chicago, one absence was undeniable \u2014 and inexcusable: the Sky<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Sky did not have a single player represented in any official WNBA event<\/a> this weekend. They could not even host an event in their own training facility, which will not open in 2026 after a yearlong delay in construction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Per a source, the Sky did turn down a league offer for specific player participation in Friday\u2019s Shooting Stars event, which aligns with the team\u2019s lack of health from injuries affecting most of its starters. And the Sky still are grappling with the \u201cwhat if\u201d questions caused by the loss of Rickea Jackson<\/a>, who was trending toward her first All-Star selection until a red-hot start to the season was cut short by a torn ACL.<\/p>\n

Still, these factors can\u2019t outweigh the reality: Despite serving as the host team, the Sky spent the weekend stuck on the sidelines.<\/p>\n

Sky ownership made the only bid for this year\u2019s All-Star weekend<\/a>. And for three days, it threw one hell of a party. But what does it mean to host something like this if your team is so dysfunctional that it can\u2019t provide a single player to participate in the centerpiece event?<\/p>\n

The Sky have struggled with a somewhat problematic reputation for more than a decade, dating to the messy exit of Sylvia Fowles in 2014. But it\u2019s important to remember that they haven\u2019t been truly bad in quite some time. Not like this. The Sky had not gone a season without at least one All-Star since 2016. In the 21-year history of the franchise, only four times have they not had All-Star.<\/p>\n

Photos: WNBA All-Star weekend returns to Chicago<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The landscape surrounding the All-Star Game obviously has changed. The WNBA is significantly larger<\/a> in 2026 than it was a decade prior. As more teams enter the league, it will become increasingly difficult for players to earn spots on these exclusive rosters. Still, this year\u2019s absence captures the Sky\u2019s solemn slide out of leaguewide relevancy as they trend closer toward their third straight season without a playoff berth.<\/p>\n

The Sky have lost before. They won only 10 games last season<\/a> and 13 the year before. Their inaugural season in 2006 ended at a brutal 5-29. Famously, they finished the 2021 season with a .500 record before going on to win the franchise\u2019s first and only WNBA championship<\/a>. But this team rarely has been sidelined from the greater zeitgeist of the league. And the Sky have never truly existed without a center of gravity around which to revolve.<\/p>\n

From Candice Dupree to Elena Delle Donne to Allie Quigley to Angel Reese, this franchise is defined by the rich bevy of talent that always stocked the sidelines. They weren\u2019t always happy or healthy, but the Sky almost always have had a star. There are plenty of ways to win games (and a championship) in the WNBA, but the baseline logic is simple: Find a star. Develop the player. Reap the rewards. But for now, the Sky neither have a star nor a clear path to acquire one. And while the city recovers from the hangover of a weekend well-spent on women\u2019s sports, the Sky must face down the back end of a season that is already almost lost.<\/p>\n

The weekend can\u2019t be salvaged for the Sky, but it should serve as a lesson in priorities. Chicago should be eager to throw another WNBA All-Star weekend soon. But next time, the Sky can\u2019t be left on the outside looking in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There wasn\u2019t really any doubt. But after the city spent the weekend hosting the WNBA All-Star Game for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":783662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[8833,438,38388,5488,333600,68329,99,58548,333599,434,18553,18121,333598,12142],"class_list":["post-783661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-barack-obama","tag-chicago-sky","tag-dwyane-wade","tag-jayson-tatum","tag-mccormick-place","tag-rickea-jackson","tag-sports","tag-united-center","tag-wintrust-area","tag-wnba","tag-wnba-all-star-game","tag-wnba-all-star-weekend","tag-wnba-all-start-weekend-chicago","tag-wnba-live"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783661","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=783661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/783662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=783661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=783661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=783661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}