Skylar Diggins Agrees to Sky Contract After Storm Exit, Angel Reese-Dream Trade in WNBA Free Agency

Seven-time All-Star Skylar Diggins is returning for a 12th season in the WNBA after agreeing to a contract with the Chicago Sky.

Alexa Philippou of ESPN reported it's a two-year contract.

This move comes after Angel Reese was traded from Chicago to the Atlanta Dream in a blockbuster trade. Chicago also reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with forward Azurá Stevens and traded for guard Jacy Sheldon.

The Seattle Storm were one of the WNBA's more frustrating teams in 2025. They went 23-21, finishing only two games better than the ninth-place Los Angeles Sparks. In the space of one week in July, Seattle beat the Atlanta Dream and New York Liberty, two playoff qualifiers, before losing by double digits to the 11-33 Connecticut Sun.

Head coach Noelle Quinn was let go at the end of the year, a sign of how badly the team fell short of expectations.

Diggins shouldn't shoulder much blame for how things transpired in the Pacific Northwest, though.

The 35-year-old averaged 15.5 points, six assists and 1.2 steals. She also knocked down 36.5 percent of her three-pointers, her best clip since 2021. Her single best performance came in a May win over the Phoenix Mercury, when she posted the first of four double-doubles (24 points and 14 assists).

Given her age, retirement was a possibility for Diggins. She'll turn 36 midway through the 2026 season. But the southpaw signed on for a second tour of duty with Unrivaled this winter, which was a strong indicator of her WNBA playing status.

Diggins was bound to be on the radar for multiple teams in free agency as well, even with almost every notable player hitting the open market.

The six-time All-WNBA honoree has been a consistent performer, and that didn't change when she returned to the court in 2024 after the birth of her second child. She's a dynamic scorer and playmaker while being a dogged defender at the other end of the floor.

Considering Diggins is a 32.6 percent three-point shooter for her career, some regression could be in store. She has finished below 30 percent six times through 11 years.

Stars in their mid-30s can hit the aging curve hard as well. Brittney Griner stayed pretty close to her peak with the Mercury in 2023 and 2024, only to fall off badly this past season with the Dream.

As the Storm learned, Diggins is miscast as a lead star on a team with championship aspirations. She simply doesn't dominate a game to that degree.

But the Notre Dame alumnus should be an impact player in Chicago's backcourt.