2016 Chicago Sky season

The 2016 Chicago Sky season was the franchise's 11th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

2016 Chicago Sky season
Coach	Pokey Chatman
Arena	Allstate Arena
Attendance	7,009 per game
Results
Record	18–16 (.529)
Place	4th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Semifinals
Team Leaders
Points	Elena Delle Donne (21.5)
Rebounds	Elena Delle Donne (7.0)
Assists	Courtney Vandersloot (4.0)
Media
Television	WMEU-CD ESPN ESPN2 NBA TV
← 2015 season 2017 season →

Offseason

Draft picks

The Sky made the following selections in the 2016 WNBA draft:

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	10	Imani Boyette	United States	Texas
3	34	Jordan Jones	United States	Texas A&M

Preseason

2016 pre-season game log
May: 2–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 1 1:00 PM[lower-alpha 1] New York W 93–59 Delle Donne (17) Laney (7) Vandersloot (4) Bob Carpenter Center 3,432 1–0 2 May 4 6:00 PM Connecticut L 84–81 Delle Donne (13) Breland (6) Faulkner (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 4,207 1–1 3 May 5 4:00 PM Atlanta W 95–75 Laney (14) Parker (5) Vandersloot (6) Mohegan Sun Arena 4,025 2–1
2016 pre-season schedule

• The Sky was designated the home team for the May 1 and May 5 neutral-site games.

Regular season

Game log

2016 game log Total: 18–16 (Home: 11–6; Road: 7–10)
May: 2–4 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 14 7:00 PM[lower-alpha 1] Connecticut 93-70 Vandersloot 14 Breland 9 Vandersloot 7 Allstate Arena 1-0 2 May 18 11:30 AM Minnesota 97-80 Delle Donne 28 Delle Donne, Young 6 Vandersloot 11 Allstate Arena 1-1 3 May 22 2:00 PM Atlanta 87-81 Pondexter 17 Breland 10 Pondexter 5 Philips Arena 1-2 4 May 24 6:00 PM Los Angeles 93-80 Faulkner 17 Breland, Young 9 Faulkner 10 Allstate Arena 1-3 5 May 27 7:00 PM San Antonio 79-78 Delle Donne 27 de Souza, Delle Donne 9 Faulkner 11 AT&T Center 1-4 6 May 29 3:30 PM Dallas 92-87 Pondexter 18 Boyette 8 Faulkner 9 College Park Center 2-4
June: 4–5 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 7 June 1 6:00 PM[lower-alpha 1] Washington 86-78 Delle Donne 18 Delle Donne 9 Vandersloot 8 Verizon Center 3-4 8 June 3 7:30 PM Washington 98-72 Delle Donne 18 de Souza 7 Faulkner 9 Allstate Arena 4-4 9 June 10 6:00 PM Indiana 73-64 Boyette 16 Boyette 12 Vandersloot 6 Bankers Life Fieldhouse 5-4 10 June 12 5:00 PM Phoenix 86-80 Delle Donne 18 de Souza 7 de Souza, Faulkner 3 US Airways Center 5-5 11 June 14 9:30 PM Los Angeles 98-85 Pondexter 20 de Souza 12 Pondexter 5 Staples Center 5-6 12 June 17 6:30 PM Atlanta 101-97 OT Delle Donne 26 de Souza 8 Vandersloot, Pondexter, Faulkner 5 Philips Arena 5-7 13 June 21 7:00 PM San Antonio 81-75 Delle Donne 23 Young 9 Faulkner, Young, Delle Donne 3 Allstate Arena 6-7 14 June 24 6:30 PM New York 80-79 Delle Donne 31 Delle Donne 8 Vandersloot 5 Madison Square Garden 6-8 15 June 29 11:30 AM Indiana 95-83 Delle Donne 21 Delle Donne 6 Pondexter 6 Allstate Arena 6-9
July: 5–4 (Home: 3–3; Road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 16 July 1 6:00 PM[lower-alpha 1] Washington 86-84 OT Delle Donne 28 Delle Donne 11 Vandersloot 5 Allstate Arena 7-9 17 July 5 7:30 PM Washington 87-82 Delle Donne 38 Delle Donne 10 Faulkner 7 Target Center 7-10 18 July 8 7:30 PM New York 88-85 Quigley 29 Delle Donne 7 Faulkner 5 Allstate Arena 7-11 19 July 10 6:00 PM Phoenix 100-95 Quigley 21 Boyette 13 Vandersloot, Faulkner 7 Allstate Arena 8-11 20 July 13 5:00 PM Los Angeles 77-67 Delle Donne 15 Boyette 7 Vandersloot, Faulkner 5 Allstate Arena 8-12 21 July 14 9:30 PM Los Angeles 84-77 Delle Donne 24 Boyette 8 Faulkner 6 Allstate Arena 9-12 22 July 17 6:30 PM Seattle 91-88 Delle Donne 35 Delle Donne 11 Faulkner 4 KeyArena 10-12 23 July 19 7:00 PM Phoenix 79-77 Delle Donne 18 Boyette 10 Vandersloot 3 Talking Stick Resort Arena 11-12 24 July 22 6:30 PM Connecticut 94-89 Delle Donne 20 Breland 8 Vandersloot 6 Allstate Arena 11-13
August: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 25 August 26 11:30 AM Atlanta 90-82 Delle Donne 34 Boyette 9 Delle Donne, Pondexter 5 Allstate Arena 12-13 26 August 28 11:30 AM Dallas 92-85 Delle Donne 18 Delle Donne 9 Vandersloot 9 College Park Center 13-13
September: 5–3 (Home: 4–0; Road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 27 September 2 11:30 AM Seattle 92-88 Young 24 Breland 10 Vandersloot, Pondexter 5 Allstate Arena 14-13 28 September 4 11:30 AM San Antonio 97-73 Delle Donne 35 Boyette 7 Vandersloot, Pondexter 5 Allstate Arena 15-13 29 September 7 6:00 PM Washington 118-81 Vandersloot 17 Boyette 7 Vandersloot 8 Verizon Center 15-14 30 September 9 5:00 PM Los Angeles 95-88 Pondexter 22 Breland 9 Vandersloot 4 Bankers Life Fieldhouse 15-15 31 September 11 9:30 PM Los Angeles 96-86 Pondexter 24 Breland 10 Pondexter 5 Mohegan Sun Arena 16-15 32 September 13 6:30 PM Minnesota 98-97 OT Pondexter 24 de Souza 11 Pondexter 4 Allstate Arena 17-15 33 September 17 7:00 PM New York 92-68 Young 22 Young 9 Faulkner 11 Allstate Arena 18-15 34 September 19 6:30 PM Seattle 88-75 Faulkner, Breland 14 Boyette, de Souza 6 Faulkner 7 KeyArena 18-16
2016 season schedule

Standings

Eastern Conference	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
3 - New York Liberty	21	13	.618	-	10-7	11-6	11-5
4 - Chicago Sky	18	16	.529	3	11-6	7-10	8-8
5 - Indiana Fever	17	17	.500	4	8-9	9-8	8-8
6 - Atlanta Dream	17	17	.500	4	11-6	6–11	9-7
e - Connecticut Sun	14	20	.412	7	8-9	6-11	4-12
e - Washington Mystics	13	21	.382	8	5-12	8-9	8-8

Notes

# – Playoff seed

e – Eliminated from playoffs

Roster

2016 Chicago Sky roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From C 34 Boyette, Imani 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) October 11, 1994 (aged 21) Texas F 51 Breland, Jessica 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) February 23, 1988 (aged 28) North Carolina F/C 41 de Souza, Érika 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) March 3, 1982 (aged 34) Brazil G/F 11 Delle Donne, Elena 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 188 lb (85 kg) September 5, 1989 (aged 26) Delaware C 8 dos Santos, Clarissa 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 196 lb (89 kg) March 10, 1988 (aged 28) Brazil G 21 Faulkner, Jamierra 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 141 lb (64 kg) March 9, 1992 (aged 24) Southern Miss G/F 44 Laney, Betnijah 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) October 29, 1993 (aged 22) Rutgers F 32 Parker, Cheyenne 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) August 22, 1992 (aged 23) Middle Tennessee G 23 Pondexter, Cappie 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) January 7, 1983 (aged 33) Rutgers G 14 Quigley, Allie 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 140 lb (64 kg) June 20, 1986 (aged 29) DePaul G 22 Vandersloot, Courtney 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 145 lb (66 kg) February 8, 1989 (aged 27) Gonzaga F 1 Young, Tamera 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) October 30, 1986 (aged 29) James Madison	Head coach Pokey Chatman (LSU) Assistant coaches Jonah Herscu (Lake Forest College) Christie Sides (Louisiana Tech) Athletic trainer Heidi Wlezien Strength and conditioning coach Ann Crosby (Western Michigan) Legend (C) Team captain (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured Notes Age of player is as of the start of the regular season.

Playoffs

The Sky's 18–16 regular season record was good for second in the Eastern Conference and fourth overall in the WNBA. This standing led to Chicago being seeded fourth and being granted an automatic bye from the first of two single elimination rounds. In the second single elimination round, the Sky drew sixth-seeded Atlanta, defeating the Dream 108–98 and advancing to the best-of-five semifinal round. The Sky fell to second-seeded Los Angeles in the semifinals, losing in four games.

	First round: Single elimination (Sept. 21)				Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 24 and 25)				Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 28 – Oct. 6)				WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Oct. 9 – 20)
									1 Minnesota Lynx	3
									8 Phoenix Mercury	0
					3 New York Liberty	94
					8 Phoenix Mercury	101
	5 Indiana Fever	78
	8 Phoenix Mercury	89
													1 Minnesota Lynx	2
													2 Los Angeles Sparks	3
	6 Atlanta Dream	94
	7 Seattle Storm	85
					4 Chicago Sky	108
					6 Atlanta Dream	98
									2 Los Angeles Sparks	3
									4 Chicago Sky	1

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

Semifinals

Team	1	2	3
1 Minnesota Lynx	113	96	82
8 Phoenix Mercury	95	86	67

Team	1	2	3	4
2 Los Angeles Sparks	95	99	66	95
4 Chicago Sky	75	84	70	75

WNBA Finals

Team	1	2	3	4	5
1 Minnesota Lynx	76	79	75	85	76
2 Los Angeles Sparks	78	60	92	79	77

References

Footnotes

1. All times are specified as Central Time.

Notes