The second-worst season in Chicago Sky history ended in protest Thursday night.<\/p>\n
The Sky fell to the New York Liberty 91-86, their 34th and final loss of the season in front of a Wintrust Arena crowd filled to the brim with frustration. The team\u2019s in-house camera operators struggled to highlight fans on the jumbotron without catching glimpses of signs relaying negative messages to ownership, including \u201cFree #5\u201d and \u201cWe\u2019re tired of mediocrity #selltheteam.\u201d Midway through the third quarter, the entire arena rumbled with echoing chants from fans calling for general manager Jeff Pagliocca to be fired.<\/p>\n
The 10-34 (.227) finish under first-year coach Tyler Marsh<\/a> isn\u2019t quite the worst in Sky history \u2014 that label still belongs to the inaugural 2006 team, which won only five of 34 games for a .147 winning percentage. But the Sky hadn\u2019t ended with a record below .325 since then.<\/p>\n The Sky never had put fans through 34 losses \u2014 16 at home \u2014 before. They hadn\u2019t missed the playoffs in consecutive years since 2018. And despite back-to-back dismal seasons, the odds are 5-1 that the Sky won\u2019t land a top-four draft pick.<\/p>\n So what comes next? Here are a few pressing questions as the Sky transition into a pivotal offseason.<\/p>\n When is the expansion draft?<\/p>\n The WNBA has yet to announce dates or rules for the upcoming expansion draft for the additions of the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire<\/a> for the 2026 season. The expansion draft is expected to take place this fall, but that leaves a litany of questions unanswered for teams heading into the offseason.<\/p>\n Which franchise will pick first? How many players will teams be allowed to protect? Will teams be able to core a player \u2014 as a protection from expansion selection \u2014 even though this draft is expected to take place before free agency opens?<\/p>\n The expansion draft will be a crucial turning point of the offseason for the Sky, who are expecting a hefty amount of roster turnover from 2025 to \u201926.<\/p>\n When is the draft lottery?<\/p>\n Similarly, the WNBA has not announced the date for the draft lottery.<\/p>\n The Sky do not own their first-round pick in the 2026 draft, which was traded to the Minnesota Lynx<\/a> through a series of deals to secure the draft picks later used to select Angel Reese in 2024 and Hailey Van Lith in 2025. However, they will receive a lottery pick conveyed from the Connecticut Sun due to a previous deal made with the Sun and Phoenix Mercury.<\/p>\n\n