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The WNBA‘s Chicago Sky is set to unveil a brand new practice facility prior to the 2026 season, and former Sky star Candace Parker believes it’s long overdue. But Chicago star Courtney Vandersloot, the longtime face of the franchise and a former teammate of Parker, talks about the organization being “cheap” are largely overblown.
Parker, a Chicago native, returned home and helped lead the Sky to a WNBA championship alongside Vandersloot in 2021. But during a previous appearance on The Draymond Green Show, she spoke about how underfunded the team was.
“I’ve never had a practice facility where I could just go get shots up at night. We’ve always shared a practice facility,” Parker told Green.
Those comments, fairly or not, landed the Sky a reputation of being “cheap.” But Vandersloot says that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
“Chicago has always had a reputation of being the cheap team, or whatever it may be, but I’ve known from the inside that isn’t the case,” Vandersloot told reporters on Monday via Front Office Sports. “They just want to do it the right way. They want to do it their way. And I think the practice facility is coming at the right time.”
Sky superstar Angel Reese, who finished second in the WNBA Rookie of the Year voting behind Caitlin Clark last season, didn’t quite go as far as Vandersloot. But she did say that she wasn’t overly concerned about the facilities.
“As long as we have a hoop. For me, it’s a hoop and a goal. I’m just happy to be where we are right now,” Reese said, although she did appreciate the upcoming changes. “Everybody’s going to want to come to Chicago. But I don’t know if they’re going to be able to get in.”
Vandersloot, Reese, and the Sky kick off their 2025 WNBA campaign on Saturday against Clark and the Indiana Fever.