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The Chicago Sky started a new chapter of franchise history Sunday with their first game — and first win — after coach and general manager James Wade’s abrupt exit a day earlier.
Sky players feel confident the team’s identity and style of play will remain unchanged with interim coach Emre Vatansever guiding them the rest of the season after Wade took an assistant coaching job with the NBA’s Toronto Raptors.
“I don’t think it’s going to be any different,” guard Courtney Williams said after the 89-87 win over the Indiana Fever in Indianapolis. “We understand the system. Emre knows the system. We know what has been working for us and what we’ve been building on. So I don’t think that changes.
“When we have players go down, we don’t change our whole game plan, we don’t change the way we play. It’s just the next person (has) got to step up and step into the system that we already built that foundation around. That’s what we’re going to do. The foundation is built. We understand what we need to do.”
The Sky stuck to their recent script to grit out the win over the Fever, powered by renewed scoring from Courtney Williams (28 points) and prolific pick-and-roll action anchored by forward Elizabeth Williams (17 points). After struggling offensively during a six-game skid, the Sky are on a three-game winning streak to improve to 8-9.
The win had a buoying effect for a team undergoing a massive change — but Vatansever said he was more concerned with the team’s emotional performance than the final score.
“I talked to them before the game today: I’m going to measure everything with the (response),” Vatansever said. “Respond to what’s going on the last couple of days. Respond to a new coach. Respond to teammates. Respond to the process we’ve been having.
“And I felt that they fought and that is enough answer for me. It was enough response for me.”
Familiarity was a key for Vatansever in the 24 hours between the announcement of Wade’s departure and his first tipoff as interim coach. Vatansever has been a staple on the Sky sideline since he joined Amber Stocks’ staff in 2017, staying on as an assistant when Wade assumed the head coaching position in 2019.
While his reserved demeanor is a marked change from Wade’s bombastic style on the sideline, Vatansever is well-versed in the Sky personnel and system, which players cited as an immediate foundation of trust in the locker room.
“Emre is an X’s and O’s type of guy,” Courtney Williams said. “He wants to lock in so when he sees something, he wants us to really run a play. James is a passionate type of coach and Emre is an X’s and O’s type of guy, keeping it where it don’t get too high or get too low. But he understands the game plan, he understands us as players, so to me it didn’t feel too different.”
Players were vocal in support of Vatansever, but Wade’s sudden exit left a “bittersweet” sting for a roster composed mostly of freshly recruited free agents.
Wade brought in 10 of the 14 players on the Sky roster during the last offseason to begin retooling around All-Star wing Kahleah Copper. From Marina Mabrey to Alanna Smith, many of these free agents were in a similar place in their careers — underutilized players recruited from underperforming teams looking for a coach and system that would let them play to their potential.
Elizabeth Williams, who signed with the Sky through 2025, acknowledged the difficulty of Wade’s exit.
“This group, a lot of us are here as free agents because of James,” she said. “That’s the reality. At the same time, we’re extremely happy for him. This is an opportunity that you can’t pass up.
“He’s told us from the beginning, he’s committed to his family, he’s committed to us, but at the end of the day, we get it. So we’re happy for him. Obviously the change was sudden, but at the same time, we had a game today.”
Vatansever will maintain both interim positions for the remainder of the 2023 season. Operating Chairman and co-owner Nadia Rawlinson told the Tribune on Saturday that the Sky haven’t decided whether to pursue separate candidates for coach and general manager or to maintain the dual role Wade originated.
Copper jokingly called herself the “assistant GM” for the Sky this season, helping to recruit players and providing guidance to Wade on potential personnel moves. But both Williamses balked at the idea of getting involved as players in the coaching search, citing trust in the front office to fill those positions appropriately in the offseason.
“That’s a Candace Parker type of question,” Courtney Williams joked. “I ain’t that big of a vet. We rock out, we do our jobs. We’ll stay out of the way.”
