When the WNBA announced its first and second defensive teams on Tuesday, not a single Chicago Sky player was voted on for either team.
The omission sparked a mixture of frustration and apathy from Heaven after the team’s defense improved in the 26-10 season. Team Sky finished near the highest defensive stats: second in blocking shots (4.3 per game), third in defensive rebounds (27.6 per game) and fourth in defensive rating (99.7).
Sky captain Courtney Vanderslot has indicated that the team’s focus on balancing the defense may detract from a potential individual honor.
“We play team defense. We don’t have a single defensive blocker. We focus on five out of five,” Vanderslot said. “But we are the fourth best defense. I think this says enough about itself. I don’t really get involved in who votes for whom. As long as we get stops and win matches, that’s what I care about.”
The end-of-season awards are often confusing for WNBA fans and players — and complicated by the structure that requires voters to select players by position despite the centerless nature of modern basketball. For example, Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas received just enough votes to make the second All-Defensive team even though she also voted Las Vegas forward Aces A’Ja Wilson as the second best defensive player of the year.
Two-star Vandersloot and two-star Kahleah Copper were skipped off the rolls, while coach James Wade said the grumbling would serve as additional fuel for Sky’s defense in the semi-final series against The Sun, which resumes with Game 2 Wednesday at Wintrust Arena (7 p.m., ESPN2). .
“I’m glad to have all these non-defenders on my team,” Wade joked.
Despite being known for scoring goals, the defense will make or break Sky’s quest for resurgence as a WNBA champion.
The pressure of their surroundings reversed the scenario in the first round against the New York Liberty, silencing top scorer Sabrina Ionescu after a shock loss in the first game.
Although They also lost the first match of the semi-finalsSky managed to contain one of the most physical teams in the league keeping Sun at 68 points.
Cooper created a spark at both ends of the first-round series, leading the team in scoring while also driving the increasing pressure on young Liberty guards. Her ability to disguise opposing goalkeepers her length while making fouls with frantic pokes and spurs on the ball forces teams to speed up their attack, which plays into Sky’s favorite style of play.
“I embraced being a two-way player because you don’t see a lot of players in the league,” Cooper said. “I can get you a bucket and then I can go down and stop you.”
As brass imposes ups and downs on the periphery, Candace Parker shields Sky’s center back in paint. Parker led the league with 11.3 defensive rebounds per game in her 15th season, moving further into fifth after acquiring Emma Messiman in an ill season.
Parker’s recoil reflects how defense can fuel a sky attack. Cooper led the league in transitional baskets in part because of Parker’s uncanny ability to find and pass teammates in transition, often going up full field passes while Cooper was blown away by opposing players.
Parker was the only line of defense against the sun’s crushing pressure on the offensive glass in the first game, capturing 17 of 29 defensive rebounds.
The Sun was the league’s best offensive rebounder with 37.1%. The trend continued into the first game, with Sun hitting 12 rebounds in the surprise win.
Parker’s presence in the paint helped negate second-chance chances, a key focus for Sky in the remainder of the semifinals.
“She’s just so talented and super skilled, and she’s an elite when it comes to ball timing,” Wade said. “She’s been doing that for a long time, and while she (she) is not as respected as the other players and doesn’t get respect in the league, she is unique in what she does.”
Sky prefers to play fast and run with its opponents - especially against a bigger team like The Sun, who slowed Game 1 and hit the skies paint with their powerful front perimeter.
The best way to set the pace is to force turns early and often, a lesson Sky learned quickly in the first round when they forced 33 turns in their victory over Liberty. The addition of two-way players like Rebekah Gardner strengthened Sky’s ability to change games through transformations.
Defense wasn’t the main concern in losing Game 1 to the Sun. Sky kept them below 70 but only fired 35.3% from the field.
But Sky players know that defensive pressure is the fuel needed to reignite their attack for the rest of the series.
“Last year, that’s what changed for us in qualifying,” Vanderslot said. “We were 16-16, we were seeded No. 6. When we raised it defensively, we became a different team. … When we are good defensively, we take things to a whole other level.”