Thank You Candace & Company

Members of the 2021 WNBA Champions Chicago Sky celebrate their title at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. Photo by J. Coyden Palmer.

Change is rarely easy and oftentimes, we in the sports media and fans are just plain rude. We forget the good times of the past and are solely focused on the present. We forget to do the basics when expressing ourselves for the teams we cover and cheer for. Players come and go for various reasons and too often we forget to just pause, and say “thank you.” As we come to the realization that the Sky’s roster is being gutted for a rebuild, we can’t forget what this team brought us and I for one just want to say THANK YOU!

Candace Parker speaks downtown to her hometown fans during the Sky’s championship rally in 2021. Photo by J. Coyden Palmer

Thank you Candace Parker for returning home for a couple of years. Thank you for introducing us to your wife and baby and allowing us to connect with Lailaa. Thank you for bringing the experience and leadership that was needed to push us over the top. Thank you for always representing Chicago on the world stage and showing off your basketball I.Q. as the best basketball analyst on TNT.

Thank you Allie Quigley. Your deadeye shooting from the outside helped spread the court so others could do their work. Thank you for representing Joliet and Will County and doing so with such class. If you never play professional basketball again, as you ponder your future with this year off, you will have had a distinguished career and now can start teaching others how to shoot that rock if you so choose.

Thank you Stefani Dolson. I’ve never seen a white girl party that hard after winning a title. I think I still have the cigar smoke in my clothes from covering the championship rally. You did the double-double, securing Olympic Gold and a WNBA title all in the same year. That is a helluva good reason to party.

Thank you Courtney Vandersloot. It is not for just what you did on the court, but when you married Allie, you became a part of Chicago and embraced our city for all of its beauty and flaws. Your on-court awareness and crisp passing was amazing to watch and you are one of the best point guards to ever play in Chicago.

Thank you Azura Stevens. We watched your confidence grow from season to season. We watched your outside shot develop. We watched your defense improve. We watched you run the court with the beauty of a gazelle and finish at the rim. Take those skills to your next stop and we wish you well.

Thank you Lexie Brown. The way you stand up for yourself is something I wish all parents could teach their daughters when the world comes at them sideways. Thank you for always having a eye for fashion and speaking out on social justice issues. Just like you are unwilling to settle for a jump shot on the court, “don’t settle for anyone’s dusty son” either, as you say in life.

Diamond DeShields couldn’t stop dancing at the championship celebration. Unbeknownst to all, she had reason to dance after just overcoming a serious medical condition. Photo by J. Coyden Palmer.

Thank you Diamond DeShields. I had no clue what you were going through. Your health is your wealth. The fact that you gritted through a pain I can’t even imagine and did so in silence is something that should be commended and never forgotten. It never stopped you from dancing though. Keep on dancing and being that diamond in the sky.

Gracias Astou Ndour-Fall. Your unique journey of living in Senegal, becoming a Spain national and then earning a title in the United States is a world-wind experience for real. Thank you for representing the Sky and Chicago.

Thank you Coach James Wade. You will have your hands full as a general manager and now the pressure is on because of what you have built. Chicago has bought into it and we want more. You did it before James, so we know you can do it again.

Dana Evans, there are no more restraints and the path is now clear for you to soar. You paid your dues, time now to go get your dividends. We know your dad will lead your family on that drive over the border to see your breakout season and we will all be watching.

Kahleah Copper, you are one of the best players in the WNBA and the photo of you standing over Sophie Cunningham in the Finals was the most Chicagoish/West Philly shit I’ve seen in a while. Be all you can be Copp. You are now the alpha female and you have the talent, motivation and self-confidence to back it up.

Ruthy Hebard, we know you were raised in Alaska, but you were born in Chi. That means ball is in your DNA. Just as we watched and waited for Azura, we’ve done the same for you. Time to show what you can do too.

Thank you to everyone with the Chicago Sky. Covering a team during a pandemic via Skype was no easy task for journalists. We all made it through. I applaud your decision to bring Nadia Rawlinson into the fold as part of the ownership group. It is important for African Americans, especially women, to be stakeholders. While there will be challenges ahead, nothing worth having is ever easy. Thank you for accepting the challenge.