Ariel Atkins has quietly put together an excellent career as a complementary piece to star teammates.
The Sky want her to step into a spotlight of her own.
They traded the No. 3 overall pick to the Mystics for Atkins before the season, believing they were acquiring a star guard, and lately she has played like one, emerging as their go-to player offensively over the last three games — a narrow loss to the Mercury and two wins over the Wings. She doubled her shots in that span, scoring an efficient 21.3 points per game to lift the team from its 0-4 start.
“We go as she goes, and her confidence right now is through the roof,” forward Angel Reese said. “I told her, ‘We need you,’ from the beginning. She’s done a great job asserting herself early. No one can stop her when she gets going early, and we feed off her energy.”
A two-time All-Star, Atkins long has been a valuable perimeter scorer and defender. Now in her eighth WNBA season, she not only has been chosen five times for the first- or second-team All-Defense team but also is a 36.4% career three-point shooter.
With the Mystics, however, she played alongside dominant figures such as guard/forward Elena Della Donne and center Tina Charles. When the Sky traded for her, she joined a team that featured emerging stars in Reese and center Kamilla Cardoso, as well as future Hall of Fame point guard Courtney Vandersloot.
It’s easy to slide into the shadows on teams like that, but Sky players and coaches have been practically begging Atkins to start thinking of herself as a star.
“That’s 100% where they’re pushing me,” Atkins told the Sun-Times after practice Monday. “I can be passive at times, and they’re really trying to get that out of me. I’m really excited about it because it’s pushing me to that next level of my game.”
As the Sky try to steer themselves on track, continuing Saturday against the Fever at the United Center, Atkins will be essential. The two wins against the Wings last week got them off their losing streak, but the Wings are one of the worst teams in the WNBA and were missing rookie point guard Paige Bueckers in the second game. The Sky still have a long way to go and a lot to prove.
With a new coach in Tyler Marsh and an overhauled roster, they’re less concerned about the standings than about what type of team they are. Results eventually will be the only thing that matters, but for now they need to identify strengths — and at the moment, there aren’t too many sure things. Reese and Cardoso have been up and down. Guards Rebecca Allen and Rachel Banham have been strong three-point shooters off the bench, but no starter other than Atkins has been hitting from deep. Defensively, the Sky are allowing a league-worst 92 points per game.
Atkins appears to be a clear answer for a team urgently searching for them. Once she’s established as their primary piece on offense, other elements could fall into place. Nudging her into a prominent
role might be the first of many steps toward getting the team to play the way Marsh envisions.
“We want a good balance of her finding where she fits in but also us fitting in with her,” he said. “She’s been great at being more aggressive, so we want to continue to put her in position to be effective.”
