Chicago Sky player Kahleah Copper drives through heavy coverage during Game 4 of the WNBA Finals at Wintrust Arena on Oct. 17, 2021.
Credit: © Shaina Benhiyoun, Sipa USA/AP Images

The Chicago Sky won the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Championship for the first time on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. They beat the Phoenix Mercury 80-74 in Game 4, winning the series 3 games to 1. It marked the second time the Sky had made the finals. (They lost to the Mercury in 2014.)

The Sky was full of basketball stars at the championship game. Allie Quigley was the lead scorer for Chicago, with 26 points. Candace Parker added 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists. Parker had returned to Chicago after 13 years with the Los Angeles Sparks to lead the sky to the championship. Courtney Vandersloot contributed 10 points and 15 assists for the Sky. Kahleah Copper scored 10 points and was named finals most valuable player (MVP), averaging 17 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. For Phoenix, Brittney Griner, a seven-time All-Star, led in offense with 28 points.

Skies appeared gray at the start of the fourth quarter, when the Mercury led by nine points. In the last 10 minutes, Quigley made two three-point shots in a row and later added a third. Parker made a three-pointer as well. Stefanie Dolson, who won gold in three-on-three basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, scored two lay-ups, adding four points to the board. Diana Taurasi made two of three free throws. Vandersloot solidified the lead with a fadeaway jump shot, a move in which the player shoots while jumping backward away from the basket. (Few stars have mastered the fadeaway, notably Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Dirk Nowitzki of the National Basketball Association (NBA).) After a couple of late free throws, the Sky won by six points.

Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois, was busy, with 10,378 fans showing up to watch Game 4. The American rap artist Chance the Rapper was in attendance as an avid fan of the Sky.

Chicago coach James Wade became the third Black male coach to win a WNBA championship. Wade had served as the Sky’s general manager and coach for three years. Wade, age 46, is from Memphis, Tennessee. He played basketball at Kennesaw State University in Georgia in the 1990’s and played professionally overseas. His wife, the French-born Edwige Lawson-Wade, played 5 years in the WNBA. Wade’s cousin Dwayne Wade played in the NBA for 16 seasons, making 13 All-Star teams and winning three NBA Championships.

The Chicago Sky had reached the limit! Fans celebrated with a parade and rally on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021, surrounded by blue skies and big smiles.