Pokey Chatman of the Chicago Sky Fired as Head Coach
- By Shorty
- Oct 30, 2016
- 2 min read
News broke out of the Chicago Sky organization that Pokey Chatman has been terminated as Head Coach and General Manager. Chatman has spent six seasons with the Sky in her tenure posting an overall record of 106-98 including an 18-16 record in 2016. She lead the Sky to their first playoff appearance in 2013 then a WNBA Finals appearance in 2014 where they lost to the Phoenix Mercury 3-0.
The news of Chatman's dismissal has surprised many WNBA fans, who thought it would have been Sandy Brondello in the hot seat after the Phoenix Mercury posted a record of 16-18 this season and barely made it to the playoffs. However, just two weeks ago the Mercury organization signed Brondello to a multi-year contract, citing the team would need some continuity going forward. Many have speculated as to the reason for Chatman's removal, but the question remains, did Pokey get a fair shake?
While the team has dealt with numerous injuries, it seemed as if the Sky were headed into the right direction after their 2014 WNBA Finals appearance. The next following year, the organization was hit with a shocking request from franchise star Sylvia Fowles who sat out the first half of the season to be granted a trade demand.
Soon thereafter, the Sky sent Fowles to Minnesota in a three-team trade that awarded Chicago the rights to Erika DeSouza. Although Elena Delle Donne was named MVP, the Sky ended their 2015 season losing to the Indiana Fever 2-1 in the Semi-Finals.
In 2016 the Sky found themselves in an up-and-down season, losing guard Betnijah Laney to an ACL tear. By the second half, Chicago went on a 7-3 run to finish with the 4th best record in standings and received a single-bye in the playoffs. The Sky were eliminated by the Los Angeles Sparks 3-1 in the Semi-Finals. From an organizational standpoint, the owners were probably thinking to themselves how much did the team improve since 2014? but from Chatman's standpoint, she did the best with what she was given through injuries of multiple players and trade demands. Pokey Chatman's coaching career is far from over, especially in the WNBA where there are currently two vacancies open for the Indiana Fever and the San Antonio Stars head coaching position.
It is poosible that one of the two organizations will bring her in for the 2017 WNBA season.
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