The 2025 WNBA offseason has been a very active one so far, and that continued on Sunday with yet another All-Star player and top pick in the upcoming Draft being moved. The Chicago Sky continued their efforts to build a playoff contender for 2025 by trading for two-time All-Star guard Ariel Atkins from the Mystics, sending the No. 3 overall pick in this April’s Draft to Washington along with a pick swap and second rounder in 2027.
The trade further signals that the Mystics are fully embracing a rebuild after finishing ninth in the league last year and just missing out on the playoffs. Washington now owns the No. 3 and No. 4 picks in April’s Draft, and will look to add two young cornerstone pieces alongside last year’s No. 6 overall pick Aaliyah Edwards, who showed her immense talents recently by making the Finals in Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 Tournament.
The Sky, meanwhile, continue to make additions with an eye on this season having already brought in Courtney Vandersloot, Kia Nurse, and Rebecca Allen this summer around their young big combo of Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. They join the Sparks as teams to move top-3 picks in this year’s Draft for a win-now move (L.A. traded the No. 2 pick to Seattle to get Kelsey Plum in a three-team trade). It figures to be a fascinating battle for playoff position this season and the Sky, who finished 10th last year and two games out of the final playoff spot, are clearly looking to be in the mix. We’ll see if Atkins, who averaged 14.9 points per game last year in Washington, and their new additions to give them a new perimeter rotation around their young frontcourt can give them enough of a boost to make the top-8 in 2025.
