Off to hot start, Chicago Sky hoping to change expectations heading into home opener
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago Sky talked a lot about being disrespected by low preseason expectations, picked to finish 10th in the league, after losing many key players.
So far, they've been backing up that talk.
The Sky are off to a rousing start, opening the season with two road wins. Now they finally get their home opener against the Mystics.
Despite making it to the WNBA semifinals last year, not many observers are expecting much from the Sky in 2023, after losing former MVP Candace Parker, Courtney Vandersloot, Azura Stevens, Allie Quigley, and Emma Messeman in the offseason – five of the six players who averaged at least 10 points per game in 2022.
Sky guard Kahleah Copper said players are just focused on finding their new identity.
"It's easy when they don't expect you to win, right? So we're blocking out the noise right now, really focusing on us, and focusing on trying to figure out what our identity is going to be, and trying to build on that," Copper said. "So we're building on our defensive identity right now, and really just trying to play, and be tough out there."
Marshall Harris: "You're a player that obviously has large potential. You saw it fulfilled when you won the 2021 WNBA Finals MVP. I'm just curious how that moment, if at all, changed maybe the trajectory of what you thought you could do with your career; living in that moment, and winning a title, and being the person who held up that MVP trophy."
Copper: "I think that was a really big moment for my career, but for me personally, and my process. You know, if you asked anybody in the beginning of that season if we were going to win a championship, they would have never said yes. If you told anybody, if you asked anybody if we won a championship, who would be Finals MVP, they wouldn't have picked me. So for that to happen, for me, is just a testament to me putting in the work, me trusting my process, and me just being me, playing my role, and me being rewarded in the end."
