Chicago Sky’s James Wade Named Head Coach for WNBA All-Star Game

Chicago Sky head coach James Wade will run one of the benches for the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game, the league announced Friday.

Chicago will host the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Sunday, July 10.

Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon will serve as the opposing head coach. Both coaches will bring their respective coaching staffs to the benches.

Hammon will lead Team Wilson, which will feature captain Aces forward A’ja Wilson and co-captain Sue Bird from the Seattle Storm. Wade will lead Team Stewart, which features Storm forward Breanna Stewart and co-captain Sylvia Fowles from the Minnesota Lynx.

James Wade has led the Chicago Sky to a 12-5 record this season. Following the biggest comeback in WNBA history on Tuesday night against the Aces, the Sky still look like the team to beat in 2022. Chicago currently touts the second-best record in the league.

Coach Wade has been in the league since 2012. He earned his first gig with the San Antonio Stars, where he was as an assistant until 2016. From 2017-18, he served as an assistant coach to Cheryl Reeve with the Minnesota Lynx. The Chicago Sky hired Wade in 2019 and he made an immediate impact. After a 20-14 season, Wade earned WNBA Coach of the Year honors in 2019.

The veteran coach also had stints overseas in the EuroLeague for BLMA in France and UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia, where he aided Ekat to the 2018 EuroLeague title.