Sky sign James Wade to contract extension through 2025 season
Sky head coach and general manager James Wade will stay in Chicago for at least a bit longer. The Chicago Sky announced on Tuesday that they signed Wade to a contract extension through 2025.
Under the new contract, Wade will be the longest-running Sky general manager and head coach in franchise history, signing on for a total of seven years since coming to Chicago in 2018.
In 2022, Wade finished the regular season with a franchise-record 26 wins. The Sky also set multiple WNBA records for assists per game (24.3) and total assists (874).
Wade earned WNBA Coach of the Month honors for both June and July, leading the Sky to go 18–4 over the two month span. He also coached in the WNBA All-Star Game and was recently named WNBA Executive of the Year.
Since joining the program, he has a 74-50 record across his first four seasons and has the highest winning percentage of any Sky coach all-time. He’s the first Sky coach to reach 30 wins in just 48 games, the fastest in franchise history.
Wade is also the only Sky coach to take his team to the playoffs in every season. In 2022, 2020 and 2019, the Sky finished with regular season records over .500; that has only happened three other times since the Sky was created in 2006. In 2021, they finished with a 16-16 record but brought Chicago its first ever WNBA Championship.
Wade and the Sky look to keep their season alive as they head to the WNBA Semi-finals. Game 1 is set for Sunday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. at Wintrust Arena.