\u201cIt\u2019s a new era here in Chicago,\u201d Stevens said Monday during an introductory news conference. \u201cI think all the OG fans know what Chicago basketball was like. We\u2019re looking to get back to that and we\u2019re looking to win another championship. We\u2019ve done it before. We can do it again. We have all the pieces. We\u2019re going to work hard for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The last time she hit the free-agent market, Stevens met with seven of the 12 teams in the league. This offseason, she kept the list shorter \u2014 and Chicago was always at the top.<\/p>\n
After three years on the West Coast, she felt stretched by the distance to her family in North Carolina. And the Sky are family in their own way. Stevens feels she grew up in the league during her tenure here and she remained close to veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot even after they parted ways ahead of the 2023 season.<\/p>\n
But after the players union inked a paradigm-shifting collective bargaining agreement<\/a>, Stevens had to balance her on-court desires with a more practical priority.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to get paid,\u201d Stevens said.<\/p>\n And the Sky were able to deliver. Stevens will be the highest-paid player on the Sky roster this season. The forward signed a three-year contract worth $3.15 million, which will include a $1 million salary this season.<\/p>\n Stevens is now experiencing a common whiplash shared by free agents throughout the WNBA. The forward made $195,000 last season on a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Sparks, but will make five times that figure this season. And while players like Stevens feel these salaries are overdue, they also aren\u2019t taken for granted.<\/p>\n \u201cTo get seven figures is literally life changing,\u201d Stevens said. \u201cI\u2019ve been pretty fortunate to make some good money playing basketball, but not that much. It\u2019s life changing for my family. To give back to my parents \u2014 they\u2019ve literally done more than I can imagine for me. It\u2019s a blessing to be able to make this money. I\u2019m going to earn every single penny.\u201d<\/p>\n To land one of their most important free agency signings, the Sky had to do more than throw money around.<\/p>\n The team\u2019s leadership was one important selling point. Stevens voiced confidence in second-year coach Tyler Marsh, who she said received unilateral praise from players throughout the league including Sparks star Kelsey Plum. Under Marsh, Stevens feels she can receive a higher attention to detail in her development, even as a veteran.<\/p>\n Through their moves in free agency, the Sky also offered Stevens a sense of familiarity that went far beyond the franchise. Stevens played with Skylar Diggins as a rookie with the Dallas Wings. She spent a year at Duke with Elizabeth Williams. And she built a strong relationship on and off the court with Rickea Jackson during their last two years with the Sparks.<\/p>\n Stevens does not have experience with her most important pairing on the Sky\u2019s new roster \u2014 third-year center Kamilla Cardoso<\/a> \u2014 but feels their partnership makes sense on paper. Stevens is a stretchy forward who can play on the perimeter and create space in the post. The forward will pull attention from defenders as a shooter, giving Cardoso improved space and support on the low block.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can complement each other very well,\u201d Stevens said. \u201cI can stretch the floor and obviously she\u2019s great down low.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sky entered this free agency window with a new asset in their portfolio: the team\u2019s new training facility in Bedford Park.<\/p>\n Stevens spent her previous Sky tenure training at Sachs Recreation Center, a public gym with semi-private facilities for the Sky located in Chicago\u2019s north suburbs. She will return to a newly constructed, fully private training facility with a kitchen, players lounge and other pro-grade amenities. The training facility will not be completed in time for training camp<\/a>, but Stevens said the promise of these improved facilities were a crucial bargaining chip.<\/p>\n (The forward noted she won a ring with the Sky while practicing at Sachs, a detail many members of the 2021 championship team will cite with light defensiveness despite their acknowledgment that the team needed to improve its facilities.)<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CTC-SKY-DRAFT-PARTY-0413-17_261594194.jpg\")
Chicago Sky forward Azur\u00e1 Stevens, general manager Jeff Pagliocca, and coach Tyler Marsh attend a press conference on April 13, 2026, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n