Chicago Sky star claims ‘our fan base is insane’

“It’s been exciting,” Atkins said of joining the Sky. “I really enjoy Chicago. Chicago people are different. I only say that because it’s like, you meet somebody from Chicago and they’re like, ‘Oh, I’m from Chicago,’ and it’s like,’ Oh, how’d I know?’ You always hear in the first five seconds. So I love it.

“I think our fan base is insane. I think the support around this organization is pretty big, and we appreciate all the love and the support because it really does mean a lot.”

The Sky are much more of a high-profile team than the team she spent her entire career with before joining Chicago in the offseason. The Washington Mystics selected Atkins with the No. 7 pick in the 2018 draft.

Not only is Chicago a bigger city, but the team has Angel Reese on the roster, and her celebrity grabs attention, both good and bad, from the fan base and people in general. Some of the comments fans leave about Reese and the Sky are… insane.

Atikins had a slow start to the season, scoring 28 points in the first three games. She went off in the last three games, scoring 21 points against the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday, 17 against the Wings on Thursday, and a team-high 26 points against Dallas on Saturday.

Ariel Atkins believes the offense is finding its groove

Atkins believes the Sky are beginning to get into their groove on offense.

“Just getting our chemistry, you can kind of see we’re kind of knowing where each other is going to be,” Atkins said of the offense starting to click. “You can kind of see the passes are a little crisper, because you kind of know where the person is going to be. It’s a lot less fumbling and a lot less questioning. We’re figuring out each other, and we’re building that chemistry.”

Chicago needs the fan base to be insane on Saturday when they host the Fever. Even without Clark, ESPN analytics gives Indiana a 57.6% chance of winning Game 2 in the season series.