Even after beating 11th-place Wings, Sky stuck between process and payoff

Ignore the standings, and things are starting to look up for the Sky.

Forward Angel Reese broke out of her early-season slump and is averaging 19 points and 16.6 rebounds in the last five games. The Sky have cut down their turnovers and are playing more connected.

“We’ve created and bought into the standard of what we want Sky basketball to be,” coach Tyler Marsh said. “Now it’s just a matter of being able to do that on a consistent basis.”

On Wednesday, they kept it going, beating a depleted Wings team 87-76 at home. Just as encouraging was a 27-point showing from Rebecca Allen, who had all but disappeared from the offense in recent weeks.

And yet . . .

Because of how poorly the season started — with point guard Courtney Vandersloot’s season-ending injury at the center of the troubles — the Sky are tied for 11th place out of 13 teams with only six wins and none against a playoff-caliber team.

So what, exactly, should the goal of the season be?

All year, Marsh has preached patience. Even now, approaching the halfway point, he says the team is staying process-oriented and not explicitly talking about the playoffs.

“If we grow each day, I think the results will end up taking care of themselves,” Marsh said.

The players are taking it day by day, too, but the postseason is still in the back of their minds.

“We still have 20-some games left, so, honestly, anything can happen,” center Elizabeth Williams said of a playoff push.

That’s especially true in a league in which eight of 13 teams make the playoffs. Even with their meager win total, the Sky are only 2½ games behind the Mystics for the last playoff spot. But if they don’t get there?

It raises questions, not just about how the season played out but about how the team was built.

For every team in the league, this season is an audition. With so many stars set to hit free agency next year, every franchise wants to look like a great destination.

The Sky made their pitch early, trading the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft for 28-year-old Ariel Atkins — a bold bet on the present. The lottery pick became Sonia Citron, now a first-year All-Star for the Mystics. Atkins, meanwhile, has been solid but has produced less than the rookie she was traded for.

Why take that gamble, especially at a time when rookie contracts are at a premium?

General manager Jeff Pagliocca believed the Sky had struck gold in the 2024 draft with Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. He wanted to start maximizing them right away, adding veterans such as Atkins and Allen to make a playoff push. But the results have been poor, which creates tension.

Marsh is coaching for the long haul, acknowledging that even his stars, Reese and Cardoso, are unfinished products. But Pagliocca built a team meant to win now. Unlike the Wings or Mystics, who are intentionally taking the long road, the Sky are light on rookie deals and future picks.

Only Reese, Cardoso and Hailey Van Lith are under contract beyond this season.

And the pressure is only mounting, as league expansion stacks the odds against them. Two new, well-funded teams are joining next year, and the Sky — one of only four WNBA teams without an NBA affiliate — already are behind in infrastructure and investment.

Without flashy facilities to offer, the Sky’s best pitch was to win games and make a playoff run.

Maybe that’s what drove Pagliocca’s gamble — trading a top pick for veteran help in hopes of accelerating the timeline. Maybe it just makes it look worse.

He always can point to Vandersloot’s injury as an out. It was a brutal loss in a league in which elite point guards are essential. But unless the Sky start stacking quality wins, their audition might not leave much of an impression.