There was really only one player the Sky had their eyes on in April with the No. 3 overall pick in the WNBA Draft: center Kamilla Cardoso. She and forward Angel Reese, drafted at No. 7, were their targets from the very beginning.
But in hindsight, another player projected to go at No. 3 in several mock drafts could have had a significant impact in a Sky uniform.
Small forward Rickea Jackson, taken fourth by the Sparks, was aware of the projections but considered only a few places to be realistic landing spots based on her conversations with teams.
“[Mock drafts] were plastered all over social media,” Jackson said before Friday’s game against the Sky at Wintrust Arena. “So it was hard not to see, honestly. Even during our games, they would post little mock drafts, but I had an idea. I spoke to basically every team except Chicago and Las Vegas.”
The Sparks consistently called her, leading her to believe that’s where she would end up.
“I was like, ‘Well, if I don’t go [to the Sparks], I’ll probably go to Dallas or to the Mystics,” she said.
The Sky were never in the picture.
Reese talks of expanding her range and becoming a more traditional stretch four. If she does, the tandem of Reese and Cardoso could prove to be the bedrock of the Sky’s return to title contention. But if Reese doesn’t do that, there could come a day when the Sky would part with one of them — and the idea of Jackson paired with either is enticing. Through the Sparks’ last 15 games before Friday, Jackson was averaging 15.1 points and shooting 38.7% from three-point range.
Had the Sky selected Jackson instead of Cardoso, the latter almost certainly would have landed with the Sparks at No. 4, bringing up another intriguing hypothetical: Cardoso alongside forward Cameron Brink, whom the Sparks had taken at No. 2.
In 14 games before tearing her anterior cruciate ligament in mid-June, Brink — with a known ability to stretch the floor — was averaging eight points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.
Playoff picture
Four teams are realistically in the picture for the eighth and final WNBA playoff spot: the Dream, (who held the spot entering Friday), the Sky, the Mystics and the Wings. The Sky have six games left in the regular season, including against the Wings on Sunday, the Mystics on Wednesday and the Dream on Sept. 17.
All three games could factor into the final standings because of the first tiebreaker rule, which favors the team with the better record in head-to-head matchups. The Sky have a 2-1 advantage on the Wings and Dream. The Mystics have a 2-1 advantage on the Sky.