Chicago Sky guard Skylar Diggins’ 2026 season is officially over, but the veteran guard is already looking toward what comes next. After spending the past several weeks working through an aggravated right knee injury and attempting to return to the court, Diggins and the Sky ultimately decided to shut down her season and prioritize her long-term health. The decision followed an extensive rehabilitation process and continued communication between Diggins, the Sky’s medical staff and her medical team at Notre Dame.
Diggins said she had been working aggressively to get back into practice and eventually return to game action, but after reevaluating her progress with the medical teams involved, the decision was made to focus on recovery and preparation for the future. “I reaggravated it earlier this season and it’s something that I’ve been dealing with,” Diggins said. “Since I’ve been out just rigorously working on trying to get back on the floor, trying to get back to practice, trying to get back with my teammates, but been pretty much working parallel with the team.” She said she will continue rehabilitation and undergo additional biometric and biokinetic testing at Notre Dame while working alongside the Sky’s medical staff.
The organization has backed that decision. General Manager Jeff Pagliocca said the Sky’s priority is making sure Diggins is healthy for the long term after she made a significant effort to return this season. “We’re in full support of Skylar and want to make sure we are steadfastly prioritizing her health,” Pagliocca said. “Skylar made a strong effort to get back to the court this season. She’s been in constant communication with us through the entire process.”
Diggins also addressed the timing of the decision, which came around the same time she was moved into a bench role. She said the decision to prioritize her rehabilitation was not simply a reaction to that change, explaining that she had already been dealing with significant limitations before the move. She had been limited in practice and shootarounds and was already supposed to be on a minutes restriction before the road trip when the change occurred. Diggins said she had been playing through pain and had been working with the team on whether she should sit out games, but she did not want to miss time because she believed the Sky were close to winning many of those games.
Diggins said her knee had been an issue well before the season began. She underwent surgery in October to repair a torn meniscus and said her time at Unrivaled represented her first experience running at that level following the procedure. With Chicago dealing with injuries and limited numbers, particularly at the guard position, Diggins said she was trying to help fill gaps while continuing to manage her own recovery. She acknowledged that the situation involving her role and her health could look different in hindsight, but said the organization’s conversations with her have consistently centered on prioritizing her health.
“There’s been a lot of conversations since then to reflect with both Tyler and I, Jeff and I, the organization, Michael Alter, and just trying to continue to work in lockstep,” Diggins said. “But obviously, early in the season and now, it’s been a frustrating experience for a lot of us, and what we felt like the season could look like for our team versus what it turned out to be.”
Despite the frustrations, Diggins made clear that shutting down this season does not mean she is looking to leave Chicago. With another year remaining on her deal, she said she will evaluate the offseason but emphasized that the decision to end her season was made with both her health and her future with the organization in mind. “The decisions that I made, you know, and that we made, as far as how this season would look like for me, or shutting it down for the season, has nothing to do with next year, in my opinion,” Diggins said. “We’ll just have to see how the offseason goes.”
Diggins also directly addressed the possibility of a trade, saying there have been no conversations with the organization about moving her elsewhere. “We’ve never had any talks with the organization or I about trades or wanting a trade or anything like that during this process,” she said. Instead, she said the conversations have focused on her health and her future with Chicago, including the decision to shut down her season so she can be healthier moving forward.
“One of the big reasons why we’re shutting this down is to prioritize my health and for the future and for the future with this organization,” Diggins said. She added that she has not expressed a desire to stop being a member of the Sky. “I haven’t had any or expressed any desire to not talk about me in a Chicago Sky jersey next year,” she said.
One of Diggins’ biggest frustrations with the season has been Chicago’s lack of a permanent practice facility. The veteran guard has experienced similar situations during previous stops in Seattle and Phoenix, where she joined teams that were in the process of building new facilities. Because she understands the complications and delays that can come with those projects, Diggins said she could not say with certainty whether knowing Chicago’s facility would not be ready this season would have changed her decision to sign with the Sky.
“Honestly, if I’m being honest about that, that’s hard to say,” Diggins said. “I understood that, so it’s hard to say, you know, what I would have done if I knew.” What she did emphasize was that the facility is something Chicago needs, particularly with the players expected to return next season. “I’ll be looking forward to it next year,” she said. “Obviously, it’s something that we need, especially with the players that are signed to our team next year.”
For Diggins, the issue extends beyond having a building where the team can practice. She believes resources and player health are connected, particularly after Chicago dealt with an extraordinary number of injuries throughout the season. “No shade, but you know, we need resources,” Diggins said. “And you need obviously leading the league in injuries. I think is not coincident.” She explained that having greater resources gives players more opportunities to stay healthy and prepare properly.
The absence of a consistent home base also created logistical problems for the Sky. Diggins said the team sometimes was uncertain about where it would practice if it returned to Chicago between road trips, which contributed to longer stretches away from home. “It just was unfortunate how it kind of made us extend some of our road trips,” she said. At the same time, being close to Notre Dame allowed Diggins to tap into a familiar network and continue receiving treatment while the team was traveling, something she said she appreciated during an otherwise difficult season.
Despite the injuries and organizational challenges, Diggins believes Chicago has demonstrated that it can compete. When asked whether the roster could compete for the playoffs next season if the team is healthy, she did not hesitate. “Are you asking if I think that roster can compete? Absolutely,” Diggins said. “And realistically, we have been all year.” She estimated that the Sky have been involved in approximately 24 or 25 clutch games this season, pointing to the parity throughout the WNBA and the number of games that have come down to the final possessions.
The problem, Diggins said, is not whether Chicago can compete. It is figuring out why the Sky have repeatedly been unable to finish those games. She believes the team has developed a competitive identity that can serve as a foundation moving forward, but that identity has to translate into victories. “We have to dissect what’s going on and why we aren’t winning those games,” she said. “We know why we can compete with everybody, with anybody. I think that’s the mindset that you have to have coming in here. You don’t fear anybody, but you respect everybody.”
Diggins said the competitiveness of the roster makes the number of close games unsurprising. Chicago has dealt with injuries to veterans and young players alike, forcing the team to constantly adjust its rotations and roles, but Diggins believes the competitive nature of the roster has remained consistent. “With the mix of our team, it doesn’t surprise me,” she said. “With the competitors that we have, it doesn’t surprise me that we’ve been in a lot of these games.” The next step, she said, is determining exactly what prevents the team from closing them out.
That evaluation will also include head coach Tyler Marsh, who is entering his second season leading the Sky. Diggins was asked specifically about Marsh’s development as a WNBA head coach and where she believes he has grown during the season. She said her ability to evaluate his development is somewhat limited because she has not been able to spend as much time on the floor with him as she would have liked, but she pointed to communication and relationship-building as important parts of their working relationship.
“For me, it’s just all about when you come into this league, you build relationships, and you build your identity and what your team, what you want it to look like, and obviously, the best teacher is experience,” Diggins said. She acknowledged that she has only known Marsh for this season and that her injury prevented her from spending as much time playing under him as she would have wanted. “I’ve only known coach for this season, and so getting to know him, getting to learn from him, obviously, not being able to get to spend as much time on the floor as I would have liked with him,” she said.
Diggins also reflected on the unique circumstances Marsh had to navigate during his second season as a head coach. Chicago dealt with injuries, a young roster and constant changes throughout the season, creating circumstances that neither the coaching staff nor the players necessarily expected entering the year. Diggins said she believes Marsh has had to learn and adapt through those experiences just like everyone else. “We’re in these situations that we’re in, and obviously the W is tough every night, and you’re going through so many players, going through so many injuries, all the moving parts,” she said. “And he’s not unique to that. He’s included in that as well.”
Because of that, Diggins said she has focused on maintaining communication with Marsh, including checking in with him during games and at practices when she has been able to participate. “For me with him, just trying to continue our line of communication and how it can be helpful, checking in with him on the sideline and during the games, in practice when I can,” she said. While she stopped short of offering a definitive assessment of his development because of the limited time she has spent on the floor, she said watching him remain locked in with the team has been encouraging. “Does he love basketball? Yes, we know that,” Diggins said. “Just seeing him and game by game how he’s locked into the team, you know, that’s promising.”
For Diggins, the frustration of being away from basketball has been significant. She said one of the hardest parts has been missing the atmosphere surrounding WNBA games, particularly the energy inside arenas and the connection between the players and fans. “As a competitor, that’s been my biggest frustration, missing out on these damn environments,” Diggins said. “You guys know me; I’m competitive. I love basketball, and I hate missing out.”
Diggins said basketball has always served as a release for her, which has made being away from the court particularly difficult. She has remained close to the game by following the Sky, being around her teammates and continuing her rehabilitation, but none of those things can replace actually playing. “You use it as a release,” she said. “The game is a release to me, so I would never just voluntarily take myself away from the game.” Her experience in the league has helped her understand how to manage the frustration, but she remains eager to return.
“Nothing’s like being on that floor,” Diggins said. “And I look forward to the next time I can do that.”
The Sky now enter an offseason that could determine whether the competitiveness Diggins described becomes the foundation for a playoff push. The organization will have to evaluate how to keep its roster healthy, how to turn close games into wins and how to provide the resources necessary for its players to prepare consistently. The practice facility is expected to give Chicago the home base it lacked this season, while Diggins believes a healthy roster has enough talent and competitiveness to challenge the rest of the league.
For Diggins, however, the immediate priority is recovery. She has not asked for a trade, has not expressed a desire to leave Chicago and has not closed the door on returning to the Sky in 2027. Instead, she is giving herself the offseason to heal, evaluate and prepare for whatever comes next while maintaining the possibility of returning to Chicago and helping the franchise take the next step.
The veteran guard has already made one thing clear: she wants to play again. After a season defined by injuries, frustration and missed opportunities, Diggins is now focused on getting back to the place where she believes she belongs.
“I look forward to the next time I can do that,” Diggins said.
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