Chicago Sky need Ariel Atkins to live up to blockbuster trade to keep playoff hopes alive

Back in February, a few months before the 2025 WNBA Draft, the Chicago Sky made a blockbuster trade to send the No. 3 overall pick, a 2027 first-round pick swap and a 2027 second-round pick to the Washington Mystics in exchange for veteran combo guard Ariel Atkins. 

The win-now move was met with surprise from the basketball community. No one doubted that Atkins -- a WNBA champion, Olympic gold medalist, two-time All-Star and five-time All-Defense selection -- would make the team better. However, there were plenty of questions about whether she would raise the Sky's ceiling high enough to give up a lottery pick. 

Nearly a month into the season and the trade looks even worse for the Sky. 

The team is stuck in 11th place in the standings with a 2-5 record, Atkins has been inconsistent and Courtney Vandersloot is out for the year with a torn ACL. Meanwhile, Sonia Citron, whom the Mystics drafted with the No. 3 overall pick, is averaging 13.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists a game while shooting 37.5% from 3-point range and is a contender for Rookie of the Year. 

Courtney Vandersloot injury: Chicago Sky legend suffered torn ACL vs. Fever, will miss rest of 2025 season

Jack Maloney

If all of that wasn't enough, the Sky have no avenue to tank because they owe their 2026 first-round pick to the Minnesota Lynx. The Sky's plan was to compete this season and that hasn't changed even after their slow start and Vandersloot's injury. 

In order to get back into the playoff picture, which is still possible in a league where below .500 teams routinely make the postseason, the Sky will need Atkins to lead the way. 

"Yeah, I think I did [feel pressure to live up to the expectations set by the trade] a little bit in the beginning," Atkins told CBS Sports prior to the Sky's loss to the Indiana Fever on June 7. "But you also got to understand that at the end of the day, if somebody wants you and somebody believes in you, you just got to go out and do your thing. They traded for you for a reason." 

Atkins, who spent the first seven seasons of her career in Washington, got off to a slow start in Chicago as she tried to figure out where she fit in a new system and on a new team. In her first three games, all losses for the Sky, she scored in double figures once and only took 20 total field goal attempts. 

Although Atkins' willingness to be a team player has served her well throughout her career, the Sky acquired her to be more than that. 

"Ariel is someone that thinks the game a lot," Sky coach Tyler Marsh said. "So for someone who's been in pretty much the same system for her career, it's an adjustment for her in terms of learning our staff and learning our system and learning her teammates." 

"I think her approach has changed slightly just in terms of understanding that we have to adjust to her as well," Marsh continued. "Her talent demands that. Her experience demands that. So, I think that she's done a really good job of acclimating herself within the framework of what we're trying to do offensively and defensively, and our team has shown her the trust that we have in her to be who she is."

Atkins has taken on a much bigger role since her first three games. The difference, even after scoring just four points against the Fever, is night and day. 

Notably, Atkins was third on the team in scoring and sixth in shot attempts through her first three games. In her last four outings, she's first in both categories, a fact she attributes to being more comfortable.

Prior to taking on the Fever at the United Center, Atkins praised Vandersloot for her leadership and being a "strong" voice in the locker room. "I look to her a ton," Atkins said.  

Now, more than ever, the Sky are going to be looking to Atkins.