Column: Chicago throws stellar party for WNBA All-Star weekend — but Sky left watching from sidelines

There wasn’t really any doubt. But after the city spent the weekend hosting the WNBA All-Star Game for the second time in five years, it’s more clear than ever: The love of women’s basketball in Chicago is alive and well.

In every sense that matters, this weekend was a resounding success for both the WNBA and the city. The league is predicting a sellout for Saturday’s All-Star Game at the United Center, meaning more than 20,000 fans will flock downtown for the event. The city is now home to three women’s sports bars — Whiskey Girl Tavern, Babe’s Sports Bar and Level Sporting Club — that spent the week throwing elaborate parties sponsored by league partners such as Nike.

Chicago isn’t new to this. The city hosted the All-Star Game in 2022. But four years ago, the WNBA was still in the early stages of a massive popularity boom — and everything was different. Parties and corporate activations were still scarce. The game was held at Wintrust Arena to accommodate smaller crowds. Players such as Kahleah Copper joked during media day that it was easier to catch some time to relax or spend an afternoon cruising Lake Michigan on a boat back in those days.

Now, the pendulum has swung considerably in the opposite direction. Players spent All-Star weekend bustling between commitments. Fans were forced to choose between a lengthy list of parties, panels and pop-ups scattered across the West and South sides of the city. Celebrities from Barack Obama to Dwyane Wade to Jayson Tatum made appearances at Friday’s events.

But throughout a weekend meant for celebration in Chicago, one absence was undeniable — and inexcusable: the Sky.

The Sky did not have a single player represented in any official WNBA event this weekend. It could not even host an event in its own training facility, which will not open in 2026 after a yearlong delay in construction.

Per a source, the Sky did turn down a league offer for specific player participation in Friday’s Shooting Stars event, which aligns with the team’s lack of health from injuries affecting most of its starters. And the Sky still is grappling with the “what if” questions caused by the loss of Rickea Jackson, who was trending toward her first All-Star selection until a red-hot start to the season was cut short by a torn ACL.

Still, these factors can’t outweigh the reality: Despite serving as the host team, the Sky spent the weekend stuck on the sidelines.

Sky ownership made the only bid for this year’s All-Star weekend. And for three days, it threw one hell of a party. But what does it mean to host something like this if your team is so dysfunctional that it can’t provide a single player to participate in the centerpiece event?

The Sky has struggled with a somewhat problematic reputation for more than a decade, dating to the messy exit of Sylvia Fowles in 2014. But it’s important to remember that it hasn’t been truly bad in quite some time. Not like this. The Sky had not gone a season without at least one All-Star since 2016. In the 21-year history of the franchise, only four times has it not had All-Star.

The landscape surrounding the All-Star Game obviously has changed. The WNBA is significantly larger in 2026 than it was a decade prior. As more teams enter the league, it will become increasingly difficult for players to earn spots on these exclusive rosters. Still, this year’s absence captures the Sky’s solemn slide out of leaguewide relevancy as it trends closer toward its third straight season without a playoff berth.

The Sky has lost before. It won only 10 games last season and 13 the year before. Its inaugural season in 2006 ended at a brutal 5-29. Famously, it finished the 2021 season with a .500 record before going on to win the franchise’s first and only WNBA championship. But this team rarely has been sidelined from the greater zeitgeist of the league. And the Sky has never truly existed without a center of gravity around which to revolve.

From Candice Dupree to Elena Delle Donne to Allie Quigley to Angel Reese, this franchise is defined by the rich bevy of talent that always stocked the sidelines. They weren’t always happy or healthy, but the Sky almost always has had a star. There are plenty of ways to win games (and a championship) in the WNBA, but the baseline logic is simple: Find a star. Develop the player. Reap the rewards. But for now, the Sky neither has a star nor a clear path to acquire one. And while the city recovers from the hangover of a weekend well-spent on women’s sports, the Sky must face down the back end of a season that is already almost lost.

The weekend can’t be salvaged for the Sky, but it should serve as a lesson in priorities. Chicago should be eager to throw another WNBA All-Star weekend soon. But next time, the Sky can’t be left on the outside looking in.