Kia

Nurse

Banham recorded a season and career high in assists in her final game of the 2025 season. Banham, a natural shooting guard, saw extended minutes for the Sky at the one especially following Courtney Vandersloot’s season-ending ACL injury. She accounted for 10 of the Sky’s 25 assists on Thursday night and had her most assists in the second quarter when she registered five. Banham found five different teammates including her most consistent target Kamilla Cardoso, who scored 10 of her points off Banham assists, in addition to shots for Rebecca Allen, Kia Nurse, Michaela Onyenwere and Maddy Westbeld.

Westbeld had a career night to cap off her rookie season. She scored not only the most points she has in the WNBA but she made the most three-pointers as a pro with five and registered the most assists she has had in a game all season with three. Westbeld was taking her open shots confidently, hitting over the outstretched and often late closeouts of multiple Liberty defenders. She found Kia Nurse for a transition three-pointer and Michaela Onyenwere and Kamilla Cardoso on high-low dump down passes. Westbeld tied her season high in rebounds with seven, a number she last reached on July 16 against the Dream.

Nurse’s nice stretch towards the end of the regular season continued on Wednesday. She reached double figures in scoring for the fourth time in the past seven games, utilizing the three-point line to accomplish such. In only 15 minutes, she tied a team-high in made threes and generated the second-most free-throw attempts (and makes) of any Sky player. Chicago faces Indiana on Friday, and Nurse will likely have opportunities to land a solid final stat line.

For the second time this week, Nurse drained five three-pointers en route to finishing as Chicago’s leading scorer. Aside from a scoreless second quarter, the veteran sharpshooter scored consistently and efficiently throughout the rest of the game. She also tied a team-high in assists in what was another fine game off the bench for Nurse. She’s played well down the stretch of the season and could remain productive on Saturday against the Storm.

Despite being listed as questionable in the lead-up to Saturday’s game, Nurse played and put together one of her better performances of the season. She set a season-high in points and tied a season-high in made three-pointers, with her two fourth-quarter triples and 10 fourth-quarter points being significant in Chicago’s comeback attempt. The strong outing came in just 18 minutes of game action, and although the veteran guard didn’t contribute significantly in other areas statistically, she was still a positive contributor for the Sky. She may potentially have increased opportunities to deliver another productive performance on Monday against the Aces.

Atkins was initially questionable for Thursday’s loss to the Dream, going on to play 25 minutes in her second game back from a left leg injury. Fantasy managers should play for a similar scenario on Saturday as the Dream ease their best guard back into the swing of things. If Atkins cannot play, look for Kia Nurse to return to the starting lineup.

While Atkins was playing on a minutes restriction on Tuesday, she scored an efficient 15 points and dished out five assists. Even though she was ruled questionable by the Sky, she was seen on Thursday morning participating in the portion of shoot around that is open to media members. If Atkins misses Thursday night’s game just two days following her initial return, Kia Nurse will most likely take her place in the starting lineup followed by an uptick in minutes from newly signed point guard Sevgi Uzun and rookie Hailey Van Lith.

The Sky remain without Angel Reese, who is dealing with a back injury, but they welcome back Atkins after she missed seven games with a leg injury. Her return pushes Kia Nurse to the bench, while Williams moves into the starting lineup in place of Rebecca Allen. Williams is worth streaming as long as Reese is out, whether she starts or comes off the bench.

Atkins, who has missed Chicago’s last seven games, is not on the final injury report ahead of Tuesday’s matchup with Washington. Whether she starts or comes off the bench, the veteran guard will not take on a full workload in her first game back. Rachel Banham’s playing time may decrease; the same goes for Kia Nurse.

Atkins is set to miss her seventh game in a row, leaving the Sky void of playmaking, ball-handling and shooting in the opening unit. Chicago will likely continue relying on Kia Nurse and Rachel Banham in the backcourt to replace Atkins’ production and help the Sky end a seven-game losing streak.