The Sky Are Trading for Rickea Jackson and It Could Reshape the WNBA Guard Market Right Now
The Chicago Sky are in serious talks to swap two-time All-Star guard Ariel Atkins to the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for forward Rickea Jackson. According to Front Office Sports, nothing is locked in yet, but an announcement could drop as early as Saturday. This is the kind of move that gets everyone's attention in the WNBA right now.
Who Is Ariel Atkins and Why Is She Going Anywhere?
Atkins is a 29-year-old defensive monster. In her first season with Chicago in 2025, she averaged 13.1 points, 3.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals across 34 games, starting every single one. She won a championship with Washington in 2019 and has been named to the All-Defensive team five times in her career. Over 251 games with the Mystics and Sky combined, she's averaging 13.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals. She can shoot too, hitting 36.2% from three for her career. The 2018 first-round pick (seventh overall) is exactly the kind of two-way player contenders need.
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👉 Claim Your Free $10 at KalshiWhat Are the Sky Getting in Jackson?
Rickea Jackson is 25 years old and the real deal. The Sparks drafted her fourth overall in 2024, and she made the All-Rookie team that same year. Last season, she averaged 14.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 38 games (37 starts). She finished ninth in MVP voting, which tells you everything about how good her season was. Through 78 career games, she's averaging 14.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists. The Sky are betting on her youth and upside here.
This Is Just the Start for Chicago This Week
The Atkins-Jackson deal would be the second major move the Sky have made in the last few days. On Monday, they already dealt two-time All-Star Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream and got back a pair of first-round picks in return. So the Sky are clearly reshaping their roster on the fly. Whether that pays off depends on if Jackson can keep playing at the level she showed in 2025.
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