Sky operating chairman, co-owner Nadia Rawlinson confident in team's direction: "This is our era"
New coach Teresa Weatherspoon (left) is at the center of the new era chairman and co-owner Nadia Rawlinson (right) is touting.
Perfect timing isn’t real.
Being in precise alignment isn’t the result of coincidence and certainly shouldn’t be left up to chance. The reality of perfect timing is the successful execution of a number of steps that go unnoticed. So much so that when people finally pay -attention, it appears circumstances casually fell -together.
That’s exactly where the Sky find themselves heading into the 2024 WNBA season.
“This is our era,” Sky operating chairman and co-owner Nadia Rawlinson told the Sun-Times. “This is our time.”
The Sky are without a franchise star after trading Kahleah Copper to the Mercury at her request this offseason.
What they do have, however, is a blank slate with two newly drafted twin-tower powerhouses in Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese and a coach in Teresa Weatherspoon who seems to exemplify Chicago.
Weatherspoon is tasked with rewriting the Sky’s basketball culture. She hired an entirely new coaching staff, including former Sky forward Tamera Young. Cardoso and Reese will be the ones to uphold it in the long term.
But for the Sky to make perfect timing appear real, they need to meet the moment in more ways than one. The most pressing matter will continue to be building a practice facility that matches the standard being set by other franchises.
This was made clear by two of the top free agents — Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike — who chose to sign with the Storm. This week, the Storm opened their $64 million, state-of-the-art facility. In the fall, the Suns and Mercury announced a $100 million investment into new team headquarters, including a dedicated practice facility for the Mercury.
As Ogwumike said, investment matters, but so does engagement from owners. Rawlinson has displayed her engagement. Not only did she attend the draft, but she hosted a number of Sky executives and the coaching staff at her home the day before to discuss the team’s future.
Since 2011, the Sky have practiced at Sachs Recreation Center in Deerfield. Last year, the team announced it was exploring locations for a new team facility closer to the city.
“I’m excited about where we are,” Rawlinson said. “We are close. My ideal would be to announce something before the season starts.”
Rawlinson didn’t elaborate on what direction the Sky was leaning in terms of building a facility from the ground up or refurbishing an existing space. She said there are so many factors to consider, and the Sky’s priority is making the most intelligent business decisions.
“It really is [about] what’s available,” Rawlinson said. “Are the financials right? What we’re building here is a sustainable, viable business. That is the fore for how we’re looking at this. But on top of all that, it’s who is a great partner?”
The meeting hosted by Rawlinson 24 hours before the draft lasted three hours. The group discussed the entire 2024 rookie class and what kind of environment the Sky would be welcoming these players into in terms of culture, accountability, and expectations.
Questions of how the Sky could best communicate with, support and amplify their players were answered. Rawlinson said when they looked around the room, they felt they had the right people to get the job done.
“A lot of the conversation was talking about what we have here,” she said. “This environment and the organization that we’re going to catch these women in after the draft. What we could do to meet them where they are.”