Talk to any key piece of the Sky’s 2021 WNBA championship team and they’ll tell you Chicago is home.
For some — Candace Parker, Allie Quigley — that’s partly because they grew up in the area. For others, it was the experience: the bond of continuity and shared success.
Count forward-center Azura Stevens among the second group. She was an important contributor in 2021 and has since taken her game to another level, averaging a career-high 12.8 points and 8.0 rebounds with the Sparks last season while shooting an impressive 38% from three-point range.
She has evolved into a WNBA rarity: a 6-6 forward who can shoot lights-out from deep. And that combination, even during a free-agency period when nearly every star was on the market, made her a prize.
The Sky won the competition for her talents last weekend, despite coming off a 10-34 season and missing the playoffs for a second straight year.
So what brought her back to Chicago?
Familiarity was part of it. She wanted another chance to play alongside guard Courtney Vandersloot, a good friend and arguably the best player in Sky history. The move also brings Stevens nearer to family in North Carolina, where she grew up.
But she also saw a path to winning. She was impressed by the Sky’s offseason moves to land All-WNBA point guard Skylar Diggins and forwards Rickea Jackson and DiJonai Carrington. She has heard nothing but good things about Tyler Marsh, who’s entering his second season as head coach. And she believes she’ll complement 6-7 center Kamilla Cardoso, the Sky’s young centerpiece.
“I can stretch the floor, and obviously she’s great down low, so I think we’re going to play off each other very well,” Stevens said Monday at an introductory news conference.
That fit was central to the Sky’s pitch. Marsh wants to play fast, with more spacing — meaning bigs get the green light to launch threes. Stevens will fit right in.
The contract didn’t hurt, either: It’s a three-year deal worth $3.15 million, the richest on the roster.
Stevens was open about that being part of the appeal.
“I wanted to get paid,” she said.
The Sky could afford it. Unlike the Liberty or the Aces, they don’t have a superstar or a “Big Three” eating up salary-cap space. Stevens’ deal was a smart use of it. She hasn’t quite cracked the All-Star tier yet, but she’s exactly the kind of bet you make while building toward contention.
She also joins a new and growing group of elite players in the league: the million-dollar club. When Stevens won the championship with the Sky, her rookie contract was worth $70,000. The players’ union spent the last 17 months negotiating to change that, and the result is the most comprehensive revenue-sharing system in women’s sports.
Stevens is already feeling the difference.
“To get seven figures is literally life-changing,” she said. “I’ve been pretty fortunate to make good money playing basketball, but not that much. It’s life-changing for my family — to just give back to my parents. They’ve literally done more than I can imagine for me.”
As the WNBA enters its 30th season, at least 25 players will earn $1 million or more, according to the Her Hoop Stats database.
Back in a place she calls home, Stevens said she intends to earn every penny.
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