The Sky have a target on their backs from one of the league’s most promising rookies.
Storm guard Flau’jae Johnson scored 25 points on 11-for-17 shooting, with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, in Wednesday’s 95-90 loss to the Sky. She made clear the matchup carried extra meaning.
“I used a chip,” Johnson said. “Chicago, they passed on me in the draft. As a competitor, you always have a chip on your shoulder. [I’m going to] have that for the rest of my career. You gotta find ways to motivate you, and that’s one of the motivating factors.”
The Sky could have taken a swing on Johnson with the No. 5 pick in the 2026 draft. Instead, they chose glue player Gabriela Jaquez. Johnson fell to No. 8 before being traded to the Storm.
It is far too early to render a verdict on the decision, but Johnson does have the early edge in production. She ranks fifth among rookies in scoring at 13.1 points per game and leads them in rebounding at 5.4.
Some of that comes down to circumstance. The Storm have room to lean into young talent, giving Johnson more minutes. Jaquez, meanwhile, has been slightly more efficient.
They were always very different bets.
One first-half sequence captured the contrast. With the shot clock expiring, Johnson crossed over Jaquez and finished a highlight-reel layup over two defenders. But in the moment Johnson took to celebrate, Jaquez sprinted the length of the floor, caught Courtney Vandersloot’s outlet and answered with an easy layup.
Jaquez’s superpower is being in the right place at the right time. Johnson creates openings where there appear to be none.
Jaquez finished with 10 points on 5-for-10 shooting and a steal. But the Sky rookie who most impressed Johnson was undrafted guard Sydney Taylor, who had 17 points and 5 rebounds.
“She scored on me, I scored on her,” Johnson said. “I was talking to her telling her, ‘Damn you nice, where you go to college?’”
Stretching things out
The Sky survived the late scratch of leading scorer Kamilla Cardoso, who was out with a knee injury, thanks partly to a fast start from Azura Stevens. She made all 3 of her three-point attempts in the first quarter.
Chloe Bibby gave the Sky a career-high 14 points in her debut, helping fill the frontcourt after signing a development contract two weeks ago. She barely knows the playbook, but looked ready.
“I just went out there and did the simple things and my teammates found me when I was open,” Bibby said. “It was a good day. Had a lot of fun.”
Pairing two stretch bigs in Bibby and Stevens gave the Sky offense a promising new look. It opened up driving lanes and forced the Storm into tough decisions.
Still no Diggins
Point guard Skylar Diggins missed her fourth consecutive game with a knee injury after expressing public bewilderment over her move to the bench.
Diggins said then that she had been playing through an injury and would have to reconsider how much she was willing to sacrifice.
Coach Tyler Marsh said the two have had productive conversations, about basketball and otherwise. But Diggins did not practice Tuesday, and there is still no timeline for her return.
Latest on the Sky and WNBA
