You don’t look at Skylar Diggins and think, “Yeah, that’s a bench player in the WNBA.” Diggins is a seven-time All-Star and six-time All-WNBA team member. She hasn’t come off the bench since 2016.
And yet, that streak is about to end soon enough. Diggins shared on her Instagram story that she would be coming off the bench for the Sky—and she’s anything but thrilled about it (which doesn’t bode well for her long-term future with the team). But the decision actually makes more sense than it may seem at first glance. Diggins is averaging career lows all across the board. Meanwhile, Courtney Vandersloot has looked great since her return three games ago, and rookie Sydney Taylor has been one of the few bright spots in the Sky’s season.
A team with as much veteran talent as the Sky that gave up valuable draft assets and good young players to build a win-now roster shouldn’t have the third-worst record in the league. Tyler Marsh has to try whatever he can to find a spark and turn things around. A lineup change is the easiest way to do that.
Diggins hasn’t gotten off to a great start
Skylar Diggins averaged 14.2 points on 39.2% shooting from the field, 3.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 0.9 steals per game in her first 19 starts. That’s her lowest scoring output since the 2016 season, the fewest assists and steals she’s averaged since 2020, and her lowest field-goal percentage in ten years.
Going to a new team, playing with new teammates, and learning a new system usually comes with some early hiccups, so Diggins deserves some grace at least. But Chicago is running out of time to turn things around. The season is already halfway over, and the gap between the Sky and the final playoff spot continues to grow.
So, seeing if Diggins can be more efficient off the bench is at least worth a shot, and the decision can still be reversed if it doesn’t work out.
Taylor’s emergence may have contributed to the Sky’s decision to move Diggins to the bench
The Sky’s roster is very point-guard-heavy with Diggins, Vandersloot, and Natasha Cloud. With Vandersloot out to start the season, it was easy to start Diggins and bring Cloud off the bench. It seems safe to assume that the original plan was to start Diggins and Vandersloot together once everyone was healthy. But Sydney Taylor’s emergence probably factored into the change as well.
The 25-year-old rookie took advantage of the increased minutes she got starting in mid-June. She scored at least ten points in seven of her last eight games, including a 30-point performance in an overtime loss to Indiana and 29 points in a win against the Fire. She’s scoring efficiently, too, shooting at least 46% from the field in six of her last eight games.
Taylor is the kind of young scorer the Sky should want to develop.
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