The underdogs in the WNBA playoffs should be energizing the Sky.
In the first round, the No. 6 Fever knocked off the 30-victory Dream and the No. 7 Storm were a box-out away from sending the Aces home early.
The Sky absolutely should be thinking, ‘‘That could be us next year.’’
There’s even a budding blueprint for getting there. One of the main lessons from playoff action so far is that there’s nothing quite like having Alyssa Thomas on your team.
Opponents have had no answer for stopping the Mercury star. Their best strategy appears to be giving her eight feet of space at the top of the key. But that just allows her to build momentum, bulldoze any remaining obstacles and then make the perfect read.
After leading the Mercury past the defending champion Liberty in the first round, Thomas helped engineer a 20-point comeback on the road against the Lynx in Game 2 of semifinals.
Why does Thomas’s dominance matter for the Sky? Because her style of play is the model for their franchise pillar, Angel Reese.
Head coach Tyler Marsh envisions Reese harnessing her physical gifts, competitive fire and IQ to become a singular force in the mold of Thomas. In only her second season, Reese already was stellar on the drive and her passing off the dribble blossomed.
Thomas, of course, manipulates defenses on another level. She averaged 9.2 assists during the regular season — the second-highest total in league history — and has nine triple-doubles and counting.
Reese, on the other hand, impressed onlookers with 3.7 assists per game and one triple-double.
You don’t become Thomas overnight.
And even Thomas’ impressive play owes plenty to the pieces around her. The Mercury’s front office reminded the league of the value of top-notch overseas scouting by unearthing hidden gems such as Monique Akoa Makani and Kathryn Westbeld.
Does the Sky’s front office have the same chops?
Former general manager James Wade did, landing Emma Meesseman and Rebekah Gardner for what became the best regular season in franchise history. By contrast, in Jeff Pagliocca’s two-year tenure as GM, the Sky have gone mostly American. Their midseason pickup of Turkish point guard Sevgi Uzun did not inspire much confidence. Maybe 19-year-old Slovenian forward Ajsa Sivka, who is set to join them in 2026, will inspire more.
The bigger issue facing the Sky, however, is decidedly domestic. Reese hasn’t spoken about her future with the Sky since being suspended for comments she made about the team, and there’s also the question of what will happen even if this particular conflict blows over.
Will the Sky be able to keep her long enough to mature into a perennial playoff power? Or is the best-case scenario that Reese simply plays out her rookie contract before entering her prime somewhere else?
That leads to another question: Who’s the right coach to help groom Reese — or whatever young star ends up at the center of the rebuild? The Sky fired Reese’s mentor, Teresa Weatherspoon, after one season and handed the reins to another first-time head coach in Marsh.
Meanwhile, the 2025 playoffs delivered a gift to any team in the market for experience. Just a year removed from guiding the Liberty to their first title, head coach Sandy Brondello was fired after the team’s first-round exit.
Should the Sky call Brondello? Probably a moot point. All signs point to Marsh returning for Year 2.