The breakout of undrafted rookie Sydney Taylor hints at a light at the end of the Chicago Sky's tunnel of rebuilding.
One would be hard-pressed to find anyone clad in blue in the Windy City pulling for a Cardinal. The Chicago Sky hopes that's just one way Louisville alumna Sydney Taylor defies expectations in the Windy City.
The Sky's best-laid plans for the 2026 season have been blown away: headlining acquisition Rickea Jackson is out for the season, adequate replacement for the traded Angel Reese has been hard to find, while DiJonai Carrington and Courtney Vandersloot have yet to don their 2026 jerseys.
It's a dire place for a franchise that has sputtered since its 2021 championship run and has placed increasing pressure on the head offices. But like many a summer past, there's nothing going out to the arena to see Taylor can't fix, at least the psyche of the Sky fan.
"It's amazing, she's the bucket out there. Everyone can now see it," said fellow Chicago rookie Gabriela Jaquez after a Wednesday thriller against the New York Liberty. "I'm super proud of her. It's so much fun to play with Syd. She's an amazing player and an amazing teammate."
Sky From New York
It's no 'Eras Tour,' but Taylor has staged a sterling summer tour with her latest efforts with the otherwise-meandering Sky (4-10).
Since the tip of June, Taylor is the third-leading scorer (behind only top draft picks Olivia Miles and Azzi Fudd) among first-year women at 12.2 points per game, averaging less than 16 minutes in that span. That tally was partly pumped by a 30-point effort a week ago against Indiana, which stood at the largest rookie output in the WNBA this season before Miles passed by one in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
To put Taylor's scoring rate in perspective, she's the only one of the month's top dozen rookie scorers to be playing less than 20 ... though it appears that tally is due for an inflation.
Wednesday was still a landmark despite Miles later stealing the show, as Taylor made her first WNBA start when the conference-leading Liberty brought its seven-game winning streak to Wintrust Arena. The relatively speedy promotion was part of what could be described as rotational whiplash: Taylor had played 20 minutes en route to her triple-decade against the Fever but only after 11 combined in the prior two games.
Taylor Gets the Starting Nod
Taylor was nonetheless informed of the decision on Tuesday, the last of five off-days following an ultimately futile comeback from 19 down against the Fever. Sky head coach Tyler Marsh nearly spoiled the surprise in his pregame availability, praising Taylor's scoring abilities, which would rank fourth by the per 40-minute metric (min. 10 games played) behind only A'ja Wilson, Chennedy Carter, and Kelsey Plum.
"We got to find some more minutes for her however that looks like, and put her in positions where she can be effective," Marsh said. "I think the times that she's been able to give us a spark offensively have come when we needed it. We'll see her plug in at different times in the game to see what she can give us."
"She had to earn her stripes, and she's made the most of the time that she's had when she's had it," Marsh continued. "She's shown tremendous improvement in practice, and she's been coachable. She's done all the right things thus far. It's tough to play 12 bodies sometimes, and so you got to pick and choose your moments when to do it, and you've got to be okay with going through some of the growing pains that come with being a rookie and playing through some of those things ... But we're going to continue to find ways to get together in there."
Sydney Taylor in her first career start:
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) June 18, 2026
• 24 points
• 3 steals
• 2 assists
• 4/7 3PM
• 10/16 FG pic.twitter.com/EPYuYOBG7N
Let the Rookie Win
Taylor immediately vindicated Marsh's decision by playing a role in 13 of the hosts' first 20 points: she hit each of her next four shots after missing a 3-pointer in the opening minute (one of the makes being a blinding fastbreak created by a Skylar Diggins steal) and assisted on doubles for Azurá Stevens and Natasha Cloud.
Chicago built a 15-point lead before New York found its footing, but the comeback featured little of Marine Johannés' mastery, as the French magician was routinely trailed by Taylor on a 1-of-5 shooting night. It was a strong follow-up to Marsh's calls for better defense from Taylor on a night where her own 30-spot was overshadowed by a pair of them from Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark on the other side.
Despite New York's continued prowess and Chicago foul trouble (Taylor wasn't immune with five charges), the Sky kept the game's thrilling nature intact with a sterling showcase from its youth: Jaquez felt 22 on a 7-of-11 effort from the field while Kamilla Cardoso shook off a nagging whistle to help keep pace in the fourth quarter.
Clutch Down the Stretch
Taylor, however, was the undeniable headliner with enlarged trust on pure display once she re-entered the game for good in the penultimate minute of the third quarter despite carrying four fouls. It was a stark contrast from the prior game, where, despite her scoring, she was made to watch most of the fourth quarter from the sidelines.
She responded with a sterling effort from deep that made up for the idea that Chicago was unable to get physical due to an early entry in the penalty. Taylor sank 4-of-6 from the field in the final 10, including a perfect 3-of-3 mark with an extra point on the line. The last in the latter category was a triple that made Chicago hysterical, as she created space against Liberty defensive stalwart Rebekah Gardner to coolly sink a go-ahead tally with just over 15 seconds remaining.
SYDNEY TAYLOR IS NOT AFRAID pic.twitter.com/OvrBrnm7gN
— Nekias (Nuh-KAI-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) June 18, 2026
Tyler Marsh Praises Taylor
Alas for Taylor and starved Chicago, her debut single featured a bittersweet ending: Sabrina Ionescu went inside for a go-ahead two of her own, and Taylor's response, a coast-to-coast try that ended in the mid-range, fell just short at the top of the paint. It was enough for Taylor to claim that "[her] mistakes" cost Chicago the game, but Marsh offered absolution as a sign of enlarged trust that renders the early light workloads long-forgotten.
"This game is far from Sydney's fault," Marsh emphatically declared, praising Taylor for setting a tone for the "selfless" identity he's hoping to establish. "For a first start, to play the way that she did in her rookie year, you can't say enough good things about it. I think, overall, there's just a general disappointment in coming up short from a loss standpoint. But she has nothing to hang her head about tonight."
"If you're willing to take those shots, you've got to be willing to live with the results," Taylor added in a more balanced take after burdening the blame. "That's the shot, you know, that I'm not scared of taking. It was a very tough shot, maybe could have gotten a better look, but I appreciate my teammates standing around me and encouraging me and helping me keep my head up."
Euphoria for Sydney
Taylor is the latest in a series of RINOs—rookies in name only—staging a takeover of the WNBA freshmen headlines amidst the early success of conventionally drafted talents like Fudd, Miles, and Kiki Rice. She spent last season with Polish club MB Zagelbie Sosnowiec after a four-year college tour between Louisville and UMass.
But unlike some of her European-born RINO contemporaries (i.e., Awa Fam, Jovana Nogic, Wednesday opponent Pauline Astier), the entrance of the Long Island native Taylor lacked a certain brand of flair and fanfare, a muted affair that came with the uncertainty surrounding the Sky after its jaw-dropping trade of Reese. A 5'9 frame also perhaps limited her prospects and led to the relatively natural climax of a training camp contract.
But Taylor impressed with an impressive preseason, needing just 16 minutes to score 23 points in the latter half of the exhibition couple against Reese and her new Atlanta employers. She beat out several homegrown Chicago talents to reach the opening day roster, including 2025 first-round draftee Hailey Van Lith.
Sydney Taylor, Gabriela Jaquez Make History
Pressure continually hovers over undrafted talents, a feeling that has not dissipated in the W despite new roster opportunities (i.e., expansion teams, developmental player slots) surfacing.
It somehow became larger for Taylor, whose roster spot perhaps came with an unspoken condition of helping solve the Sky's developmental issues along with recent No. 5 pick Jaquez: the departures of Reese and Van Lith speak for themselves, but Chicago's formation of a post-title nest egg has gone further haywire with Shyla Heal out of the league and Ajša Sivka going back to school.
THE CHICAGO ROOKS ARE HEATIN' UP 🔥
— espnW (@espnW) June 18, 2026
Sydney Taylor and Gabriela Jaquez became the first rookies in Sky history with 20+ points in the same game 💪 pic.twitter.com/9042hfijnW
The emergence of Taylor and Jaquez hints that there's indeed a plan to make things right, the breakouts even buoyed by the heartbreak endured on the path forward, and the knowledge that every minute on the undrafted entrant's ledger is perhaps a victory on its own.
"It's pretty cool going against some of these girls ... even just having Dwyane Wade sitting courtside," Taylor said, taking a small consolation prize in taking the 2024 champions to the brink. "[I'm] just grateful for the opportunity to come out here and do what we do. I think success is in the future for us. We'll watch some film, tweak those little things that we messed up with in the end, and get some rest."
Taylor and the Sky will search for their next step on Saturday, which features a primetime showdown against the Dallas Wings (7 p.m. CT, CBS).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
