The Chicago Sky believed they had found the centerpiece of their new era when they acquired Rickea Jackson this offseason. Early returns suggested exactly that, with Jackson emerging as one of the league’s most impactful players and helping fuel a strong start to the season. But while her season-ending ACL injury has undoubtedly changed the trajectory of Chicago’s campaign, WNBA analyst Terrika Foster-Brasby believes the Sky’s struggles run deeper than the loss of a single star.

“There is just something in their chemistry that isn’t working as of yet,” she said in her recent appearance on Yahoo! Sports. “I also recognize that they lost a huge piece of their offseason acquisition, and that is Rickea Jackson. Rickea Jackson is game-changing for any team, right? On paper, this Chicago team should absolutely be one of the best, if not one of the top teams in this league.

“But you don’t have Rickea Jackson. You still don’t have Courtney Vandersloot back; you still don’t have DiJonai Carrington; you lost Gabriela Jaquez for a few weeks; you didn’t start the season with Azura Stevens. So, not that we’re using injuries as an excuse, but realistically, injuries have been the biggest reason that this Chicago Sky team just haven’t been able to click.

“Then you also look at the fact that there still seems to be some misalignment with the offense, with the half-court transition offenses in particular. So you basically have a recipe for disaster. We’re not quite getting and executing the offense, and we’re also injured at the same time. So, it’s a recipe for disaster, and that’s what we’re seeing,” she said.

Even with Jackson out, the Sky undoubtedly has one of the strongest teams in the league. Yet through 12 games, they have lost eight of them. Because at the end of the day, having talent on paper means very little if those players aren’t available to step onto the court.

And that’s exactly the problem Chicago has been dealing with all season:

• Gabriela Jaquez missed three games earlier this season due to a lingering knee injury.
• DiJonai Carrington underwent ankle surgery last October and later had hardware removed from the area in April. So, she is still yet to make her debut for the franchise.
• Courtney Vandersloot tore her ACL on June 7 last season. While the typical recovery timeline ranges from nine to twelve months, she has now crossed the one-year mark and still hasn’t appeared in a game this season.
• Azura Stevens also missed the start of the season while recovering from a minor stress injury in her left knee.

Each absence has carried a different kind of weight. Jackson was averaging around 22 points per game and functioning as the primary scoring engine before her injury, while Vandersloot’s continued absence has arguably been just as disruptive in a different way. Chicago entered the season without the primary playmaker expected to organize the offense. Carrington, signed for perimeter defense and secondary scoring, hasn’t debuted, and Jaquez, one of the few players producing consistently early, was sidelined just as she was finding rhythm. Stevens’ delayed start only added to the instability of the rotation.

Now, that’s exactly the concerning pattern Foster-Brasby sees in Chicago. Injuries have prevented the Sky from ever establishing consistency this season, forcing the team to constantly adjust its rotations and offensive approach. And with Rickea Jackson joining a growing list of unavailable players, those challenges have only become harder to overcome

Still, Foster-Brasby believes there is a path forward.

The Sky’s answer may lie in getting healthy

“So, I don’t know what needs to happen, but I would like to think that once some of these injured players start to come back, Chicago can find its rhythm. But losing Rickea Jackson, man, that was tough,” she added.

The good news for Chicago is that Gabriela Jaquez and Azura Stevens have both returned to action and are averaging a combined 19.8 points and 10 rebounds per game. However, there is still no specific timeline for the returns of either DiJonai Carrington or Courtney Vandersloot.

So for now, the Sky’s biggest challenge remains the same: finding consistency with a roster that still doesn’t have its key players.