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The Chicago Sky will not be playing in the postseason this year following a miserable finish to the end of the year. After starting the 2024 campaign 11-15, the team ended by losing 12 of their final 14 contests.
A blowout loss on Thursday officially ended their postseason hopes.
The Sky were beaten soundly by the Connecticut Sun, falling 87-54 on the road. That regular season defeat moved them to 13-27.
Chicago needed a win to stay alive in the playoff hunt, though even that wouldn’t have guaranteed a spot. The Atlanta Dream had the inside track to the final seed, which they’d secure with a win over the New York Liberty.
The Sky had previously made the postseason each year dating back to 2019. That included a WNBA championship in 2021.
After being eliminated in the first round of play last season, the team added Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso in the draft to help bolster the roster.
Reese, in particular, played a big part in early success as she got off to a record-setting pace in terms of rebounding. Unfortunately, a wrist injury kept her off the floor over the final week of action, allowing A’ja Wilson to pass her by in rebounding totals.
The Chicago Sky finished the year 2-12.
That certainly made a difference in those dashed playoff hopes, as did Reese’s absence from the floor.
“I fell on my hand when I got the and-1,” she recalled of the season-ending setback, which occurred on September 6th.
“It is a small crack in by bone… Basically, the doctors told me I could either not get surgery or have surgery. This risk of not having surgery — I could literally have arthritis at 22 years old — that wasn’t an option.”
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Without their first-round selection in the lineup, the Sky lost their last five games of the year. The 33-point blowout in the regular season final offered a sobering reality of the playoff omission.
The Sun, who blasted the Sky in that final game, will now face Angel Reese’s rival, Caitlin Clark, in Round 1 of the WNBA postseason.
Reese, meanwhile, will look to get healthy and return stronger in 2025.