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Chicago Sky Coach Facing Decision After Player's Strong Message

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Levi M. Dombro | Last updated May 30, 2025 6:08 PM ET

The Chicago Sky broke a four-game losing streak on Thursday evening and earned their first win of the 2025 WNBA season. The victory came at the hands of the Dallas Wings, who are now 1-5 after the 97 to 92 defeat.

Second-year forward Kamilla Cardoso led the Sky in scoring with 23 points, and she also chipped in eight rebounds. Cardoso made nine of her 13 attempts as well on Thursday, and that 69.2% clip was her best performance of the year.

This raises her season averages to 12.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per night on 54.7% shooting. This is substantially better than her 9.8-point, 7.9-rebound per game averages at a 52.1% mark that earned her a spot on the 2024 All-Rookie team last season.

Cardoso was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, but she was largely outshined by All-Star forward Angel Reese last season. Reese scored 13.6 points per night and contributed a WNBA-record 13.1 rebounds per game in 2024.

However, new head coach Tyler Marsh is facing a difficult decision about how to structure the offense going forward. Veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot, who broke the Sky's all-time scoring record on Thursday, sent a strong message after the game about the team needing to play through Cardoso.

“I think she needs to touch the ball a lot,” Vandersloot said. “We have to play through her. She likes to feel it and she’s so unselfish. She’s a great passer and I think she understands the game really well and so we have to play through her more often.”

Vandersloot is a legendary figure in the franchise's history, and she is contributing a solid 11.4 points and 6.0 assists this season for Chicago. Her voice is held in high regard, and coach Marsh himself acknowledged just how special of a player Cardoso can be.

“I think that Kamilla can be a dominant force in this league, pretty much on a nightly basis,” Marsh said. “Learning how to be that nightly is part of being a pro and it’s part of understanding what her talent is and what her potential is. We just want to put her in positions where she’s able to do that and see that so it can be a regular thing.”

The Sky will face the Wings once again on Saturday evening, as they travel to Dallas for an 8:00 p.m. EST tipoff. Chicago will look to put together a winning streak for the first time in the 2025 WNBA season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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