There’s the well-known version of Sky guard Rachel Banham — the one she has played for most of her 10-year pro career. She’s an assassin with a shooting release so fast, you can hardly see it. Hired to make three-point shots, usually near a 40% clip.
There’s a slightly more hidden version, too: Banham running the offense, handling the ball at the end of the shot clock, making a step-back jumper as time expires.
This season, she has had to be both for the shorthanded Sky, taking the request to play point guard in stride. Though she hadn’t played much point since college, she has always had a point-guard-like influence.
“She’s the epitome of our camaraderie,” rookie Maddy Westbeld told the Sun-Times.
Westbeld remembers not having anywhere to sit for a game of UNO early in the season when Banham invited her in. Now the two watch film together on every trip, and Westbeld sees her as a big sister.
It’s a familiar arc. Banham’s teammates — past and present — all say the same thing: She allows people to be themselves.
“When you step into a room as yourself, it makes it easier for everybody else around you to be themselves,” said Lynx guard Courtney Williams, who played with Banham in Minnesota.
Another former Lynx teammate, Napheesa Collier, put it this way: “She’s not afraid to be weird, which allows you to be weird.”
Banham’s comfort in her own skin — quirks and all — has mostly come naturally. But over the years, she has leaned into it more.
“Especially in this league, it’s very much a fun league where you can be yourself,” Banham told the Sun-Times. “I’ve come to just be a weirdo and not care.”
But as coach Tyler Marsh often points out, she’s not just a goofball — she’s a workhorse and a student of the game. On game days, the two often stay up late on the phone, dissecting what went wrong and what can improve.
For Marsh, a first-year head coach, Banham brings steadiness and adaptability in a season marked by chaos. The team’s major offseason signing, Courtney Vandersloot, went down in early June, and the Sky started the season 3-10.
Banham’s willingness to stretch herself was key in righting the ship. She played double the minutes she’s used to. She expanded her shot repertoire: Instead of knocking down open looks or coming off screens, she’s now creating a quarter of her three-pointers herself.
And she kept turnovers low as she adjusted to the role, ranking in the top 15 in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio before the All-Star break.
“I told her, ‘I never want to take you out of the game,’ ” Marsh said in June.
The Sky went 4-4 before the break, including a win against the first-place Lynx. But then the injury bug bit again, with leading scorers Ariel Atkins and Angel Reese missing time. Both will miss the game Friday against the Valkyries.
The depleted roster has weighed on Banham. She’s turning the ball over much more since the break, including seven turnovers in a loss to the Fever. But she makes no excuses. In news conferences, she’ll call herself out for dribbling the ball off her leg, then crack open a Diet Coke the moment the cameras turn off. She’s still herself, facilitating a sense of ease around her.
She’s also still shooting the lights out — 42% on 7.8 three-point shots per game since the break. For the season, she ranks ninth among qualifying players in three-point shooting at 38.9%.
There have been times in her career when she has lost confidence on the court. But this season has been different.
“It’s been really nice to be believed in and trusted to be that person,” Banham said after making seven threes against the Lynx earlier this season. “I’m having a lot of fun.”
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