Chicago Sky coach/GM James Wade named WNBA’s Basketball Executive of the Year after team’s best regular-season record ever

On the heels of the best regular season in Chicago Sky history, James Wade was named the WNBA’s Basketball Executive of the Year Monday ahead of the team’s first-round elimination game in Brooklyn Tuesday.

The head coach and general manager previously won WNBA Coach of the Year for the first time in Sky history after the 2019 season, but the Best Executive award celebrates his dual role in building the roster.

The Sky have transformed since Wade’s arrival in 2019, breaking a playoff drought in his first two seasons before winning the 2021 WNBA championship.

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This season, Wade built on that championship success by recruiting Emma Meesseman, a two-time WNBA All-Star who averaged 12.4 points at center. He also deepened the bench with Rebekah Gardner, a first-year WNBA player at 31 who added 8.4 points and 1.4 steals off the bench. The midseason addition of Julie Allemand sharpened the bench’s ball rotation.

The Sky sent five players to the All-Star Game this season: Kahleah Copper, Courtney Vandersloot, Candace Parker and Meesseman, while Allie Quigley won her fourth 3-point shooting contest in record-breaking style.

Even with this stacked slate of talent, the Sky have thrived with balance under Wade. Six players averaged double-digit scoring this season — all five starters, plus Azurá Stevens off the bench. The Sky dominated the league in offensive efficiency, leading in field goal percentage (48.1%) and assists (24.3 per game). The result was the winningest regular-season record (26-10) in Sky history, which the team hopes to follow with another trip to the title game.

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This is the first time a Sky executive has received the honor since it was introduced in 2017.

Wade was selected by a panel comprised of executives from every team in the league, winning with 11 votes. Atlanta Dream general manager Dan Padover came in second (seven votes) and Washington Mystics general manager/ head coach Mike Thibault came in third place (six votes).