The Chicago Sky franchise played its first WNBA game on May 20, 2006.

Ajša Sivka, whom the Sky picked No. 10 overall in the 2025 draft Monday night, was born just five months before that date. And while the 6-foot-3 forward is young, she already has one year of professional playing experience under her belt with France’s Tarbes Gespe Bigorre.

Sivka turned heads at Tarbes this past season, shooting 47.5 percent from the field while being one of the best 3-point shooters in the league.

“We had a lot of really good conversations with her,” Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca said of recruiting Sivka. “She’s an outlier at her size. … (To see someone) who can move like she can, who can shoot as fast as she can … she has extended range and a lot of length.”

Sivka became just the second Slovenian ever drafted into the WNBA and the only player to go in the first round. The Internet almost immediately drew comparisons to Lakers superstar and fellow countryman Luka Dončić, who also was drafted at age 19 after spending his first pro seasons in Europe.

“It shows we really work well in Europe,” Sivka told reporters about the attention being drawn to international players. “Balkan countries like Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia … we really have the talent. This old-school, tough basketball that we play — I’m really glad people in America get to see that now.”

The Sky are in the thick of a rebuild — they uprooted their coaching staff after previous coach Teresa Weatherspoon finished 13-27 in her first season. Former Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Pacers assistant Tyler Marsh was hired to help lead that process, and Sivka is the first piece.

“There’s a direct correlation in winning and developing,” Marsh said. “We want to set a level of expectations … a championship standard.”

Pagliocca added that he was excited to see how the Sky coaching staff can develop Sivka.

“Ajša, at that age of 19, is a player that we’re going to try to continue to develop,” he said. “We want to see if we can have her game grow to be much more than just a shooter. A player like that, long-term, the sky is the limit at her size.”

It remains unknown if Sivka will make her WNBA debut this season — the Sky have the option to defer her contract, keeping her rights without signing her. Additionally, Sivka is a member of the Slovenian national team, who will play in the FIBA EuroBasket tournament in June.

However, Pagliocca said he hoped Sivka would be in Sky blue “sooner rather than later.”

“As far as her coming to the W, there will be ongoing conversations,” Pagliocca said. “But we drafted her because we want her to play here. She’s got a chance to be special.”