On the heels of the best regular season in Chicago Sky history, James Wade was named the WNBA’s Basketball Executive of the Year on Monday ahead of the team’s first-round elimination game Tuesday in New York.
The Sky’s coach and general manager, Wade previously won the franchise’s first WNBA Coach of the Year award after the 2019 season. The executive award celebrates his dual role in building the roster.
The Sky have been transformed since Wade’s arrival in 2019, making the playoffs in his first two seasons to break a two-year drought before winning the 2021 WNBA championship.
This season, Wade built on that championship success by signing free agent Emma Meesseman, a two-time WNBA All-Star who averaged 12.4 points at center. He also deepened the bench with Rebekah Gardner, a first-year WNBA player at 31 who added 8.4 points and 1.4 steals per game off the bench. A trade for guard Julie Allemand sharpened the bench’s ball rotation.
The Sky sent four players to the All-Star Game this season — Kahleah Copper, Courtney Vandersloot, Candace Parker and Meesseman — while Allie Quigley won her fourth 3-point shooting contest in record-breaking style.
Even with such a stacked roster, the Sky have emphasized balance under Wade. Six players averaged double-digit scoring this season — all five starters plus forward Azurá Stevens off the bench. The Sky dominated the league in offensive efficiency, leading in field-goal percentage (48.1%) and assists (24.3 per game).
The result was the best regular-season record (26-10) in Sky history, which the team hopes to follow with another trip to the WNBA Finals.
This is the first time a Sky executive has received the honor since it was introduced in 2017.
Wade received 11 votes from a panel consisting of executives from every team. Atlanta Dream GM Dan Padover came in second with seven votes, and Washington Mystics GM/coach Mike Thibault placed third with six.