When the Chicago Sky hired head coach Teresa Weatherspoon back in October of 2023, the theme of the day was ‘gear up’ for the identity that she wants to bring to the city of Chicago. 

As she and new general manager Jeff Pagliocca went about building the roster in free agency and the draft, the identity and form of this group came together, and Weatherspoon feels ‘lucky’ to have this group of women as her first WNBA season as a head coach.

“You want the buy-in and as a coach when you see that, that’s an amazing feeling,” Weatherspoon said at Media Day. “They recognize that all you want is their very best every day. They don’t always hear the tone. They really hear the message and that’s the difference that I really love about this group. They’re hungry. They are for each other. They play with and for each other. They celebrate one another, and that’s big.”

Weatherspoon has spent a majority of her life in basketball, including being a part of the inaugural class of the WNBA in 1997 as a member of the New York Liberty. Now being back in the WNBA as a head coach has brought back some of those same memories and feelings she had as a player on the hardwood.

“It was an unreal feeling to know that you’re traveling in that bus and you’re looking at fans standing outside,” she said. “You’re driving up to the forum at that time to play that first game. You get into the tunnel, all these things are going through you. You’re like ‘oh my goodness this is about to be the first game that we play. The first, very first one in the W.”

To hear more from head coach Teresa Weatherspoon, watch the full, exclusive interview above.