To be a Sky fan right now is to be bursting with questions. Ones like: What is Skylar Diggins doing in Chicago?
It surprised many to see the seven-time All-Star choose a team that has won less than 30% of its games over the last two seasons, and an organization not exactly known for flawless execution since its 2021 championship.
So how did she end up here?
As the new collective-bargaining agreement reshaped the league this offseason, Diggins took a moment to reflect.
She thought about where she was in her career — 35 years old, two kids, entering her 12th season — and decided she wanted a change. She’s played on the West Coast her whole career, but she grew up in South Bend, 90 miles outside of Chicago.
She wanted to be closer to home.
And Chicago successfully sold her on its vision: a win-now roster that was tougher, more athletic, more competitive than last year.
For head coach Tyler Marsh, Diggins’ arrival is proof the organization is moving in the right direction.
“Skylar has been around this league a long time to know the fake from the real,” Marsh said. “And there’s a reason she wanted to be here. Being close to home helps, but you also gotta be able to trust the people you’re going to compete with. There’s some discernment there that she’s able to recognize.”
The Sky did execute well in free agency, landing stretch big Azurá Stevens and two-way wing DiJonai Carrington, and adding young talent in Rickea Jackson and Jacy Sheldon.
But executing the “win-now” part won’t be easy. Most of the league’s top teams retained their cores. And even with all the added talent, Diggins is still the Sky’s only All-Star.
Which means the Sky better hope she didn’t come back to the Midwest just to decompress before retiring.
Lucky for them, she shot down the idea before anyone thought to raise it.
“I’m not just coming here saying this is the end or whatever for me,” she said at her introductory news conference. “I don’t think it’ll be a diminishing return. I’m committed to the work. … I want to get better. That’s been my mantra since I was a kid — ‘get better.’ That’s the mindset I have here for this organization, for myself, and that’s the standard I hold myself to.”
Even for players with the highest standards, some decline in their game is inevitable. Over the last two years, Diggins’ scoring average has settled around 15, down from the 17-20 range of her prime. But pair that with six assists and you’re still looking at one of the best point guards in the league.
So, Sky fans: is this great-player-comes-home-at-the-tail-end-of-her-career storyline giving anyone a Candace Parker flashback? Will this homecoming end in a championship, too?
One can hope. But there are a few big differences between then and now. As good as Diggins is, she’s not quite Parker. And Parker came home to a roster that had been together for years. Diggins is walking into a complete overhaul.
She’ll need a little magic to bring them together ahead of schedule.
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