2021 Chicago Sky season

The 2021 Chicago Sky season was the franchise's 16th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and its third season under head coach James Wade. In the postseason, the Sky won their first WNBA championship.

The offseason was marked by two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker joining the team. The Sky started the season with two wins but followed with a seven-game losing streak through mid-June. However, they went on a seven-game winning streak that included back-to-back wins over eventual top seed Connecticut. They entered the mid-season Olympic break with a 10–10 record. After the break, they recorded a 4–3 record in August, including back-to-back road wins in Seattle. In September, they began with a road loss and closed out the season with a four game home-stand that they split 2–2, finishing the season 16–16.

The Sky entered the playoffs as the sixth seed. They hosted the Dallas Wings in the First Round, and won in dominating fashion, 81–64. They faced the Minnesota Lynx on the road in the Second Round, winning the game 89–76. Facing the first-seeded Connecticut Sun in a best-of-three semifinals series, they won the Game 1 in double overtime but lost Game 2 on the road. The series returned home to Chicago, where the Sky won both games to win the series 3–1.

The Sky reached the Finals for the first time since 2014. They were only the third team to reach the finals with a record of .500 or below, and the lowest seed to do so since the new playoff format was introduced in 2016. In the WNBA Finals, the Sky defeated the Phoenix Mercury in four games to win their first WNBA championship. Their only loss came in overtime in Game 2.^[1][2]