Coach James Wade ended the last practice before the two-day All-Star break more than an hour early Thursday. He knew his players had flights to Las Vegas to catch.
But it wasn’t just the Sky’s three All-Stars — guards Diamond DeShields, Allie Quigley and Courtney Vandersloot — who lugged their baggage to the team’s practice facility, Sachs Recreation Center, in Deerfield.
This weekend’s WNBA All-Star competitions and game will be a team affair with all but three Sky players planning to make the trip to Sin City to support their teammates.
In past seasons, Vandersloot said she was the only one who joined her wife and teammate Quigley at the All-Star Game.
But this season is different — partially because the festivities are in Las Vegas. But it’s also no surprise to anyone who has been around this team that the players would want to pay their way to go show support for their teammates.
“With our team, we already knew how close we were but I think we’ve gotten even closer,” forward Cheyenne Parker said after practice. “And we like to be around each other, like coach Wade always jokes around, like, ‘You guys actually like each other.’ Like we’re around each other even when we don’t have to be and I think that says a lot.”
Earlier this week, several Sky players spent their off day goofing around Six Flags Great America in Lake County. On other days off this season, they’ve chilled by their apartment complex’s rooftop pool.
Forward Jantel Lavender, whom the Sky acquired through a preseason trade, described the Sky’s camaraderie this season to that of her 2016 Sparks team, which went on to win a WNBA title.
“Everybody was super close and everybody supported each other, so it’s good to be back on a team where everybody wants to support each other,” Lavender said. “Just because we’re going to Vegas didn’t mean we had to go to the game, but everybody wants to go, support, be there to show that we’re all here together.”
And for the Sky’s trio of All-Stars, that gesture means the world.
“We’re all All-Stars and we couldn’t be there without any of them,” said Quigley, who will defend her three-point title Friday. “If any team is like that in the league, I think it’s us. We have such a team good where we need every single person. We just can’t rely on one. It says a lot about our team and them for them to come is just amazing.”
The Sky’s off-the-court chemistry is leading to results on the hardwood. They’re 11-8 this season and in a position to earn their first playoff berth since 2016.
Parker said this positive shift within the organization is because of Wade.
“We’ve kind of just turned the culture around,” she said. “It’s more family based instead of political crap like other teams deal with. We’re more focused on winning as a team. And I think that’s the most important thing. As long as we keep selfless mindset, we’re going to be successful.”
