​The Chicago Sky and Dallas Wings finished the 2025 WNBA season at the bottom of the standings, each struggling to reach 10 wins. Looking to break free from that shared ineptitude, both teams pursued aggressive offseason overhauls of their rosters. In Chicago, the rebuild kicked off with trading Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream and then constructing a more veteran, balanced core around Kamilla Cardoso. Through a combination of trades and free-agent signings, the Sky added Skylar Diggins, DiJonai Carrington, Azurá Stevens, Rickea Jackson, and Jacy Sheldon, while re-signing Courtney Vandersloot and later bringing in Natasha Cloud. They also selected Gabriela Jaquez with the No. 5 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, signaling a renewed emphasis on depth and experience alongside youth.
Dallas, armed with the No. 1 overall pick, sought to pair Azzi Fudd with Paige Bueckers and leaned into a substantial free-agent push that brought in Jessica Shepard and Alanna Smith from Minnesota. The Wings kept Arike Ogunbowale, welcomed Awak Kueir back to the league, and filled out the roster with veterans Odyssey Sims and Alysha Clark. This flurry of activity fueled early-season optimism in Chicago, while Dallas entered the year with a more cautious, or at least more tempered, sense of expectation.
The season opened with four consecutive road games for Chicago, but the Sky began 3-1 before finally hosting the Wings for their first home game on May 20. Dallas stood at 2-2 after two opening road games, but their losses were marred by late collapses, particularly on defense. In hindsight, Dallas’s 10-point comeback win against Chicago—settling into the pivotal moment of the season for both teams—became a turning point. On that day, Chicago was without Rickea Jackson, who had been blossoming as a primary scoring option before suffering an ACL tear in the previous game. Her absence contributed to a five-game losing streak that would erase much of the Sky’s early momentum. Chicago would later endure a six-game skid as well.
The reintroduction of Vandersloot, which should have provided stability and a celebratory turning point after her ACL recovery, complicated the Sky’s season instead. The organization opted to move Sloot into the starting lineup ahead of Diggins, a decision that Diggins did not hesitate to express frustration about. She has not played in the Sky’s last two games in street clothes due to a knee injury, and is listed as out again on Sunday as Chicago, now 7-15 and in 13th place, remains four games off the final playoff berth.
After their dramatic comeback win in Chicago, Dallas dropped the next game before embarking on a four-game winning streak. That stretch included a win over the New York Liberty in Brooklyn, which proved to be Fudd’s breakout performance, highlighted by a 3-point barrage that included six triples and helped establish her as a potent scoring threat and a catalyst for the Wings’ improved offense. The No. 1 pick’s eye-opening shooting display underscored the potential upside of Dallas’s offseason gambits and set expectations for the Wings’ future trajectory as they navigated a season of rising ambition and persistent challenges.