Just when the waters of WNBA free agency had seemed to have settled, the Chicago Sky made a splash.
The Sky are sending the No. 3 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft to the Washington Mystics in exchange for Ariel Atkins. The Mystics will also receive 2027 first-round pick swaps rights with the Sky, in addition to Chicago’s 2027 second-round pick.
Breaking: 2x-time All-Star guard Ariel Atkins has been traded from the Washington Mystics to the Chicago Sky in exchange for the 2025 No. 3 overall pick, sources told me and @kendra__andrews Sunday
The move kickstarts a rebuild for D.C. and marks a huge get for the surging Sky pic.twitter.com/qApTpdEmHe
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) February 24, 2025
For Chicago, that’s a steep price for the two-time All-Star and five-time All-Defense guard who is in the final year of her contract. However, Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca sees the addition of Atkins, in combination with Chicago’s other offseason alterations, as moves that will prepare the team for a playoff push, saying in a statement:
Ariel has made a tremendous impact on this league since her rookie year. She is an excellent role model for her teammates and an all-star caliber contributor. As one of the league’s top defensive specialists and a consistent scorer,…
